Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Festival inflatable leads to bounce in custom for traders
BUSINESSES in Dundee city centre are walking on a i r a f te r a g i a nt i n f l at a b l e s t r u c t u r e helped to d raw in thousands of punters over the weekend.
And it has led to calls for town planners to dream up more imaginative ways of increasing footfall in the city.
The second annual Summer Streets Festival has been hailed a huge success by organisers and participants alike, thanks largely to the luminarium which dominated City Square on Saturday and Sunday.
About 3,600 people took part in the sensory experience, with some queueing for several hours to get into the attraction.
Elsewhere there was live music, dancers, children’s activities, science experiments and the Dundee farmers’ market to keep the crowds entertained.
Shop owners on Reform Street were among those who benefited from the increased footfall.
Lisa Shek, 34, owner of newlyopened Little Things Cafe, said: “Saturday was a very good day for us.
“They should definitely do things like this more often.
“People don’t tend to come to this area unless there is something on so the festival gave them something to come to.”
Melanie Ward, 32, owner of Blend, said: “We definitely noticed more people around at the weekend.
“This is our first summer on Reform Street so we were wondering what it would be like during the holiday period.
“The festival brought a lot of new people here which was great.”
William Smallwood, a shift supervisor at Asian street food restaurant Dai Pai, added: “It was very busy at the weekend.
“Our busy time is usually about two hours but over the past few days it has been busy for three or four hours.
“The festival has been good for us.”
Alan Ross, convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee, said the local authority would learn lessons from the festival.
But he quashed rumours that the long queues for the luminarium were due to people spending too long in the attraction.
Some customers in the queue were reportedly told people had been sleeping in the structure and even holding yoga clases.
Mr Ross said: “Over the twoday run, about 3,600 people took part in the luminarium experience, with a whole host of activities helping to attract families into the city centre.
“Stewards were on hand to manage the process and ensure people were well looked after.
“People who queued on both days were good natured about their waiting times and recognised that the structure was hugely popular.
“Before the event officially opened to the public, we took the opportunity to invite community groups in to experience the luminarium.
“No yoga classes were held inside at any point.
“We are delighted the second Summer Streets Festival has been such a big success for the city and will look to learn lessons from this in terms of what people enjoyed and would like to see again next year.”
A spokeswoman for luminarium designers Architects of Air, said: “We’ve had a great experience in Dundee.
“The people have been so friendly and we’re delighted so many people turned up to take part and have a great time.”