Follow the buzz in this edition of the
Downtown Woodstock BIA newsletter!
December 16th, 2020
BIA Hours of Operation
The Downtown Woodstock BIA staff will be seeing individuals by appointment only. Please e-mail us at info@downtownwoodstock.ca to set-up an appointment if you wish to speak with someone!
PLEASE NOTE:The BIA office will be closed from December 23rd, 2020 until January 3rd, 2021 for the holidays.
Manager Virginia Armstrong will be out of the office on indefinite leave. Judith Fleming will serve as acting manager until her return and be handling all communications.
Social Media Contest
in
Downtown Woodstock!
A Chance to Win a $100 BIA Gift Card
Some of our Social Media Contest Winners:
Follow our social media accounts and share this promotion and campaign with all of your friends and customers!
🚨Downtown Woodstock BIA is supporting the BIA District Businesses by offering a chance to win a $100 gift card from any Downtown Woodstock Business!
Let your customers know that if they win, they can choose where their gift card comes from!
Your customers can support your Downtown Woodstock Business, by following these steps ⬇️
Step 1: Take a selfie at their location enjoying their product/service (even with an employee if it’s a business that doesn’t ‘sell’ anything!).
Step 2: In the comments of our social media post, share your picture with the hashtag #OurDowntownWoodstock and give a shout out by tagging (or naming) the company.
For an extra ballot, share the post! But make sure to share the post publicly…we can't see your share if you do so privately!
It’s THAT easy!
Winners will be drawn at random twice monthly and announced on the Downtown Woodstock BIA Facebook & Instagram pages so make sure to follow our social media pages to find out who won (our previous winners can be seen above)! 🤞 No purchase is required to participate.
➡️The next draw will take place on December 30th⬅️ This will be the last draw of the 2020 season...thank you to everyone who participated!!!
Encourage your customers to post and share selfies at your place of business while visiting #OurDowntownWoodstock!
NOTE:***Our BIA District is from: Beale Street to Mill Street on Dundas Street, including Hunter, Princess, up to Oxford St. and Bay to Main Streets.***
Christmas in Downtown Woodstock
Volunteers Neededfor Carriage Rides!
This is our last weekend of offering horse drawn carriage rides with Santa – weather permitting. The dates and times are listed below:
Friday December 18th – 5:00pm to 8:00pm
Saturday December 19th – 12:00pm to 4:00pm
LAST CHANCE: We have approximately 12-13 carriage rides available each day! Share with your customers to stop by Museum Square to register!
In order to make this event run smoothly, we NEED VOLUNTEERSto help during these dates and times! If you'd like to help volunteer for one or both days, or if you'd like to assist for even part of the day, please let us know at info@downtownwoodstock.ca!
Spreading Holiday Cheer from your
Downtown Woodstock BIA
Keep an eye out for some of these awesome Christmas promotions that the Downtown Woodstock BIA Board of Directors are organizing for Downtown Woodstock!
From the Santa House in Museum Square, store visits by Santa and Carriage rides around the square with Santa (weather permitting), Downtown Woodstock is bustling with holiday spirt...safely of course!
Additionally, letters to Santa can be dropped off at the mailbox located in front of the Santa House in Museum Square! Let your customers know that if they send a letter, Santa will reply!
Help Us Keep Our Downtown Clean!
Please clean-up your storefronts every day to help us beautify and keep our Downtown clean!
As the temperature gets cooler, wet leaves and snow will soon grace our streets. We would like to remind our Downtown businesses to keep your storefront areas cleared of dirt, leaves, ice and snow so that your cliental can safely enter your business.
We need all Downtown businesses to do their part in keeping our Downtown clean and clear!
But if you do have any concerns regarding the streetscape cleanliness, please contact the City of Woodstock Works deparment!
Downtown Woodstock BIA Beautification Committee
We are currently looking for individuals to serve on the Downtown Woodstock BIA Beautification committee. If interested, please e-mail the BIA office (info@downtownwoodstock.ca) for more information.
Grants for PPE Support for
Small Businesses
Find out if your business is eligible to recover costs for personal protective equipment (PPE) or for rebates to help with fixed costs, such as property tax and energy bills.
Fill out an online application to apply for PPE support, property tax rebates or energy cost rebates. You will be able to complete a single form to apply for any – or all – of these programs
More information is provided at the following link: https://www.ontario.ca/page/businesses-get-help-covid-19-costs
PPE Kits for
Downtown BIA Businesses
Signage, Hand Sanitizer, Disinfectant Spray and Masks
The BIA is currently in the process of creating and deliveringFREE PPE kits for Downtown BIA Businesses! We hope to have these kits distributed to everyone in the next few weeks.
These kits will offer the following PPE products:
Hand sanitizer
50 Disposable masks
1 bottle of disinfectant spray
1 BIA max-capacity window decal
2 BIA social distancing floor decals
Laminated COVID-19 Signage
Parking Extensions
in
Downtown Woodstock
Downtown Woodstock BIA Board of Management sent a request to Woodstock City Council, asking for time extensions for on-street parking and short-term municipal lots in the BIA district.
Woodstock City Council supported the request unanimously!
So parking spots on Dundas Street and in short-term municipal lots will now have three hours of 📢FREE📢 parking until June 14th, 2021.
All FREE municipal lots located in the BIA district now have 3 hour FREE parking. These changes are NOT applicable for municipal PERMIT parking lots or PRIVATE parking lots. For a list of all parking lots and whether they are permit or free, please see: https://www.cityofwoodstock.ca/en/residential-services/municipal-parking-lots.aspx.
Given the current situation with COVID-19, we hope this will encourage individuals to shop, dine, work, and play in the Downtown core; helping BIA Businesses make-up for lost business and to help revitalize Downtown Woodstock. 💰
The Downtown Woodstock BIA has FREE plastic shopping bags available for Downtown merchants.
Please contact the BIA office at info@downtownwoodstock.ca if you would like some of these bags and please indicate how many you would like!
Meet Your BIA Board of Directors
All Downtown Woodstock BIA Board of Management meetings are open to the public. If you are interested in attending, please e-mail the BIA office for the invitation link.
The next Board of Management meeting will be taking place in January 2021.All meetings are recorded and the minutes are available through the City of Woodstock website.
Your current volunteer BIA Board of Management, Board of Directors are as follows:
Steve McGregor (Chair): Your Neighbourhood Credit Union Melanie Burns (Vice Chair): Scout HR Solutions & At The Office Fadel Zabian (Treasurer): Zabians Menswear Ron Fraser (Council Representative): City of Woodstock T.J. McNamara (Director): Crabby Joes Tap & Grill Philppe Lehner (Director): Habitual Chocolate Ryan Shelton (Director): Wilson and Markle Jewellers Mark Ellis (Director): Forshire Group Inc. & Ironworks Kitchen
NOTE: Currently, we have THREE board positions open for the Downtown Woodstock BIA Board of Directors. If interested, please e-mail the BIA office at info@downtownwoodstock.ca for a nomination form.
