Shop til’ you drop

Start looking forward to next weekend now – because Lincoln BIG is promising extra fun for everyone!

But Business Improvement Group has been talking to its levy payers and High Street stores have decided to start opening for Late Night Shopping from this Friday (November 22)!

It’s a brilliant move, which ties in with the city’s three exciting festive lights switching-on ceremonies.  That means there are loads of good reasons to bring the whole family in to the city centre and enjoy the festive glow, maybe have a bite to eat and also shop until everyone is really ready to make their way home.

Lincoln BIG Chief Executive Sarah Loftus said: “We thought it was great move to rally shopkeepers to stay open late on Fridays. We know several have opened late on Thursdays in the past, but it has been recognised that Friday’s are a good idea because there’s no school on Saturdays, so it doesn’t matter if the youngsters stay out a bit later.

“We’ve produced a cheery bright yellow poster emblazoned with the Lincoln Imp and we’ve handed them out businesses to go into their shop windows, so we’re encouraging their children to get spotting them.

“So far, we know stores from Four Seasons in the Upper High Street down to Peacocks in the lower High Street, along with St Marks Shopping Centre, the Waterside Shopping Centre and some traders in the city’s fantastic Cornhill Quarter are taking part.

“This is also a superb opportunity for shoppers who haven’t been into the city centre for a while to see the dramatic changes taking place in the Cornhill Quarter, where the new Everyman Cinema is taking shape.  It really is worth seeing.”

Lincoln BIG is also encouraging its levy payers and their employees, to give themselves an extra boost in the run-up to Christmas by downloading the LoyalFreeApp which it introduced earlier this year.

Downloadable to smartphones, it is easy and fun to use to claim a wide variety of discounts and deals from scores of shops and other businesses in Lincoln.

“We already have more than 2,000 engaged App users and there have been more than 20,000 LoyalFree interactions with Lincoln and early 5,300 redemptions of offers/stamps have been made,” said Sarah.

The switching-on of Lincoln’s Christmas lights gets underway at St Marks Shopping Centre, where children’s entertainment and live music start at 4.45pm. The pantomime cast from Lincoln Drill Hall’s Cinderella will be on stage during the evening too, with the lights across the centre switching on at 6.30pm.

The city main switching-on ceremony takes place in front of the War Memorial in the High Street. It begins with entertainment from 5pm with the cast of Robin Hood from the New Theatre Royal in Lincoln performing the switch-on around 7.10pm.  Finally, it’s the turn of the Waterside Shopping Centre.  Following entertainment at 6pm, the centre will flick the switch on its lights at 7.30pm.

Late Night Shopping on Fridays will continue right through until December 20 and special parking deals means there are even more good reasons for people to pop into Lincoln and get their weekend off to a great start.

For more information on parking deals this Christmas, please see Visit Lincoln website information at:   http://bit.ly/2NYKhBF