‘Paint The Town Red’ Extended – Over €5,000 worth of prizes up for grabs!
Calling on businesses in Naas, Blessington, Johnstown and Kill, Ballymore and Kilcullen to get festive for Punchestown Festival 2017
30 March, 2017 – Punchestown Racecourse, in association with Bank of Ireland, are calling on businesses in six local towns and villages to ‘Paint the Town Red’ by decorating their businesses and store fronts in a racing-related theme. Now in its 4th year, the campaign has been extended to include Blessington, Ballymore Eustace/Kilcullen, Johnstown/Kill to be judged alongside Naas. The campaign aims to highlight that they are open for business to welcome racegoers who wish to dine, shop, and do business during the festival and beyond. It will see the towns and villages adorned in bunting and banners to celebrate the festival, which runs from the 25th to 29th of April.
Over €5,000 worth of prizes are up for grabs for the traders who are the most creative. A finalist will be chosen from each of the participating town/villages and will receive €800, while the overall winner will receive €1,500 plus the use of a private suite at the racecourse on a non-festival race day. Last year’s competition was won by premium late night bar One New Row, Naas. Second place went to McAuley Place Charity Shop with The Stationery Store securing the third prize.
Speaking about the campaign, Punchestown General Manager Dick O’Sullivan said “The Paint the Town Red initiative was launched four years ago to showcase the businesses of Naas and offer a warm welcome to the 120,000 festival goers who attend the festival. We are delighted to extend the reach of this initiative to even more local towns and villages as all roads lead to Punchestown for the last week of April. Great racing areas and huge supporters of the racecourse include Kilcullen, Ballymore Eustace, Kill, Blessington, and Johnstown so it is great to see them getting behind the project. The spin off for the locality is massive. Hotels, restaurants, salons, golf courses, pubs, taxi firms and shops in general all benefit from the festival invasion. With over 20,000 travelling from the UK it means there’s barely a bed free for miles! Each year the standard of entry for Paint the Town Red gets better and better so it is only right that the prize increases also. We are delighted to welcome Bank of Ireland on board as partners of Paint the Town Red 2017. We are calling on all businesses to get creative and decorate our towns.”
Treasa O’Neill, Head of County Kildare, Bank of Ireland, said “We are delighted to be supporting and extending this fantastic campaign. The Punchestown Festival is an important and busy time, driving increased footfall and trade for the surrounding towns and villages. It’s fantastic to see such a strong relationship between the festival organisers and local business people as we work together to create the best possible experience for visitors and locals alike. We are proud to be involved and look forward to seeing the red carpet rolled out across the six participating places this year.”
Another part of Bank of Ireland’s support for business in local communities is its Enterprise Town initiative. The Bank is investing €1.2 million in the programme in 2017 and has confirmed that over 120 events will take place nationwide this year. Around the time of the Punchestown Festival, Enterprise Towns are being organised in Johnstown/Kill on Friday 21st April, with Blessington and Kilcullen/Ballymore hosting theirs on Saturday 6th May. The events are free to attend and there will be something for everyone of all ages and interests.
Competition Details and Timelines:
Wednesday 5th April – register your business for the shop front campaign with Liz Fay, Punchestown
Tuesday 18th April – email pictures of the themed business front to Liz Fay – lfay@punchestown.com
Friday 21st April – the five finalists will be personally contacted and announced on social media
Tuesday 25th April – the finalists and the overall winner will be presented with their prizes in the parade ring on the opening day of the festival
For more information contact: Liz Fay – lfay@punchestown.com 045-897704