Downtown Spring Bingo Crawl happening throughout May

Alex O’Shea from the Flour Mill holds up a Bingo card patrons of downtown businesses can fill out as part of the BIA Bingo crawl taking place in May.

By Wendy Lamond

Who wants to play Bingo? For the month of May, the St. Marys Business Improvement Area (BIA) is giving locals the opportunity to join in the fun.

They BIA has been looking for ways to bring people to the downtown area that would bring customers to local restaurants, retail stores and service businesses, but not add a lot of work for the business owners. This is the first year for the crawl and it is a great way to get residents and visitors to check out all of the wonderful spots the downtown has to offer.

The Bingo cards are free and can be picked up at most downtown businesses. The cards are a good size to fold up in a purse or bag while shopping. They have 16 squares on them with an action item in each square. Once complete, the store owner will initial the appliable box. When a line of four boxes is complete, names will be entered into a draw for $100 in St. Marys money.

However, if the full card is completed, that will be an automatic win of St. Marys dollars.

Any of the businesses within the downtown BIA can participate and sign a card. This includes retailers, restaurants, cafés, service businesses and also staff at town hall.

Some of the action items include purchasing a treat for a friend, having lunch in a downtown restaurant and shopping in a store not visited yet.

The Bingo crawl runs until May 31 when cards will need to be handed in to the Flour Mill or Betty’s Bookshelf.

“The BIA exists to help keep downtown vibrant by supporting local businesses, encouraging community engagement and creating initiatives that bring people downtown,” organizer and BIA board member Alex O’Shea said. “After a long winter, it’s encouraging to see people back out on the streets, exploring shops, stopping for coffee and enjoying downtown St. Marys again. We hope this event gives people another fun reason to visit local businesses this spring.”

Though this is a BIA initiative, the group works together with the town on many projects throughout the year. The Bingo crawl is a great reason to visit some old favourite stores and to also check out new places yet to be explored.