30 Nov #Harlow: Businesses Band Together To Organise The Stow Christmas Market
Local businesses are coming together to organise The Stow Christmas Market on 9th & 10th of December, promising a weekend full of festive fun for all the family.
The market will have over 30 stalls selling cakes, jewellery, handmade Christmas decorations and more, all run by local Harlow people.
Alongside the market there will be plenty of fun to enjoy including face painting, reindeers, live music, mulled wine, fire breathing, hot chocolate, carols from Passmore School’s choir and of course a festive Christmas tree.
Local shops, business people and residents are putting in their time free of charge to organise the event to bring people back to The Stow and to raise money for charity.
Shops in the precinct are struggling following the tragic incident which took place in August.
Negative press coverage about the incident has severely affected the local businesses in the area, with many worried about how they will be able to stay open if business doesn’t improve
The Stow is the original town centre of Harlow and has the distinction of being the first pedestrianised shopping precinct in the UK.
There are a wide range of independent businesses run by Harlow locals, some that have been open for nearly 30 years, but which are now under threat.
Tina from Tiara’s Hair and Beauty is organising the The Stow Christmas Market and is also part of the campaign with MP Robert Halfon to “Save Our Stow”.
Tina commented:
“Everyone is really looking forward to the Christmas Market. It will be a brilliant event with something for everyone to enjoy.
“I can’t wait to see The Stow buzzing with people enjoying the market that everyone has worked so hard to organise.
“Every business here has been affected by the awful incident that happened, but now we want to try and get over it and bring everyone together to put The Stow back on its feet again.
“There are some really good people here, working hard to keep their businesses going, and we want to ask the local community to Support The Stow by continuing to come here and do their shopping.
“We’ve got businesses like Dorringtons, Fashion Avenue, Appliance Care and Mr Luigi’s who have been here for over 20 years and we’ve got new places like our beauty salon, Mo Afro-Caribbean Shop, The Stow Butcher’s and Lee Valley Cycles.
“We’re proud of our precinct and want people to come and see for themselves what a great range of businesses there are.
“There’s something for everyone, but we need the support of our local community to make sure The Stow stays open.”
Since the incident took place a team from across Harlow Council, the Community Safety Team, the Police and local charities like Harlow Street Pastors have been working together to improve safety and boost morale.
There are plans afoot for improvements to brighten up the precinct with paving repairs, redecoration, more signage and new plants for the flowerbeds.
The team are aiming to have some of the improvements finished in time for the Christmas Market on 9th & 10th December.
