Christmas markets for Small Business Saturday
Anew‘Spirits of Christmas ’trail is being launched in Steyning High Street. The initiative - by Steyning &District Community Partnership in association with Horsham District Council-is part of the council’ s‘ Buy Local’ campaign, aimedat boosting trade for local independent businesses.
Families can hunt down and bring ‘Spirits of Christmas’ to life on their smartphone sin a new type of virtual reality trail.
Completely out in the open air and contactless, the trail is hosted by 10 Steyning businesses bringing added interest to gift hunting in the village now lock down is being lifted.
The trail will run from today (December3) for six week sand is called The Christmas Spirit’ s Safari. It takes the form of solving a simple mystery involving the disappearance of Father Christmas’s brother– Albert Claus.
His job is to maintain the Christmas Spirit and spread joy bubble son Christmas Day, but he’s gone missing.
By visiting all the trail stops and speaking to each of the virtual cheerful ‘Spirits of
Christmas’, players will learn what has happened to Albert, and, finally beable to solve the mystery, save him and read a free Christmas S pi rite Book at the end of the trail.
Families will beable to take selfies with the characters alongtheway.
It is free to play and creates a happy reason for families to get out of the house, walk the trails and take in the shops and other businesses on Steyning High Street. Families simply tap or scan posters of any trail character decals that are on view in shop windows with their smartphone– once tapped the figures become interactive.
There are 10‘ windows’ which are spread through S te yn ing High Street and once all 10 characters have been collected, the Christ ma se Book will be unlocked.
At the beginning of the trail and throughout the trail process, there is a voluntary opportunity to donate to The Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice charity.
The virtual reality trail has been created by the same team that originated Horsham Rotary Club’s Halloween trail in October and, following areview of the effectiveness of the trails, it is hoped to develop more trails across the whole of the Horsham district in 2021.
Steyning& District Community Partnership Visitor& Tourism Committee helped to organise the trail. Partnership member Re in aA ls ton said: “We are excited to be bringing this‘ new technology’ trail to Steyning and to join with Horsham District Council in promoting it to our residents, and of course, any visitors to the village-as a cheery community project in the run up to Christmas.”