We’re all mad here at the retail arcade

The retail arcade ground floor of Stamford Corn Exchange Theatre celebrated its first birthday on Saturday with an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party.

And organiser Christine Bradshaw said the theme was apt as the concept of the retail arcade with different independent retailers all operating in one space was a “little bit mad”, as was the party itself!

A special cake was baked by Sarah Cawood featuring a Mad Hatter hat and playing cards, which was shared by the guests during an afternoon tea.

Among the guests were Stamford mayor and mayoress Tony and Valerie Story, who were on hand to congratulate the winner of the children’s fancy dress competition. That accolade went to Mia Jayne Hirst who impressed dressed as Little Red Riding Hood.

Many of the retailers at the arcade also got on board offering a 10 per cent discount on the day and there was also a chance to win a voucher to spend in the arcade by taking part in a treasure trail.

Stage 2 Coffee Shop, which is in the arcade, provided party food and Rutland Radio’s Rob Persani was also there broadcasting from the shop.

Christine said she was really pleased with how the day went.

“It was a very good afternoon and a really nice way to celebrate all that has been achieved in the last year,” Christine said.

“It was great to have the mayor come along and we also had Alice and the Mad Hatter there. Lots of children and some of the adults really got into the spirit of things by dressing up.”

Christine said that since the retail arcade opened, taking up the space previously occupied by Love Stamford, footfall had been high.

She added: “Over the last year we’ve had our challenges the same as anyone in retail but overall the retail arcade is proving very popular and the footfall is fantastic. The coffee shop in particular is a draw for people and we get lots of visitors to the town coming in to have a look around.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to all the customers who have supported us over the last year and I would like to say a personal thank you to Jess Bradshaw from Jazzy Jewellery for her role as supervisor at the arcade.”