Farmers Market Opening Day, Rapid Testing Kits, Gift Certificate Collection & more!

Orangeville Farmers’ Market - Opening Day!

A cow, a chicken, a pig, a sheep

A carrot, lettuce, apple & beets

A goat, cheese, & strawberry

And don’t forget the bumblebee!

Looking closely at the market stalls

See if you can find them all!

Write down the name of the vendors your meet

And you could win a basket of Farmers’ Market treats!

We hope you’ll join us this Saturday for fresh air, fresh food, and a lot of fun too!  We’re celebrating opening day with a Scavenger Hunt! 

Play to WIN a basket of Market Goodies!  Full details available here: https://downtownorangeville.ca/farmers-market-scavenger-hunt/

Town of Orangeville Tourism Brand Survey

The Town of Orangeville is building a new tourism brand to celebrate and showcase the beauty of our town. They would love to hear from you about why you love Orangeville. The simple, short survey gives you a chance to tell them what you think distinguishes Orangeville from other communities. The Town is looking for input from business owners, residents, visitors, and other stakeholders so please feel free to share this survey far and wide. If you'd like to share more of your ideas and be included in upcoming interviews or focus groups, please include your contact information at the end of the survey.

The online survey can be found here. The survey takes about four minutes to complete and is open until Friday, May 14.

For more information about the tourism brand strategy, please visit www.orangeville.ca/tourism-brand.

COVID-19 Rapid Testing Kits Now Available

Rapid Tests have arrived!  We know that early detection of asymptomatic carriers is key.  Dufferin Small Businesses can receive FREE rapid testing kits to test their employees twice weekly and help reduce the spread of Covid-19 in your business and our community. 

To book your appointment to pick up your kits and learn more about the Program visit www.dufferinbot.ca/rapidtest. This Program is managed by @Dufferin Board of Trade with support from Dufferin County Economic Development.

As a condition of participation in the program, businesses agree to have one person trained on use of the kits, and to report all aggregate results (number of tests, number of presumed positive, etc.) to us and we in turn report to the Province.  Those who test positive with a rapid test must self-isolate and get a PCR (standard) test as soon as possible.  Self-screening does not take the place of other prevention measures, such as social distancing and wearing masks. Visit www.dufferingbot.ca/rapidtest for FAQ’s and to learn more.

Downtown Orangeville Gift Certificate Reimbursement

If you have any Downtown Gift Certificates, Coupons, or Downtown Dollars that were redeemed at your store, please reply to this email for reimbursement!  In your email, please include:

  • If you would like re-imbursement via cheque or visa payment (I can pay you with visa over the phone, cheque will take 2-3 weeks to process)
  • A clear photo of the gift certificates
  • The total amount that is owed to you (i.e. 3 x $5 coupons = $15)

**Important: Please retain the originals as these will be collected once the Province wide Shutdown comes to an end.

Please note that we introduced “Downtown Dollars”, a new look for our gift certificates, earlier this year. I have attached them here for your reference.   If you have any questions about the gift certificate program, please contact me:  Ambassador@downtownorangeville.ca .

Covid-19 Energy Assistance Program

The Government of Ontario recently simplified the eligibility criteria for the COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program for Small Business (CEAP-SB) making it easier for those struggling with their electricity and natural gas bills to access financial assistance. Through CEAP-SB, eligible small businesses and registered charities can receive a one-time, on-bill credit to help them catch up on their energy bills and resume regular payments.

Amounts of support have also been increased. Small business/registered charity customers can receive up to $1,500—for electricity and natural gas bills, respectively. 

 

CEAP-SB is funded by Ontario and delivered by electricity and natural gas utilities and unit sub-meter providers (USMPs). To apply, contact your utility or USMP directly as each may have a unique approach for application in-take. CEAP-SB funding is limited with applications processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Visit www.oeb.ca/ceap for more information.

Upcoming Webinar: Lunch & Learn with The Hon. Lisa MacLeod

Hosted by: Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries

Click here for your FREE tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/lunch-learn-with-the-hon-lisa-macleod-tickets-150764664169

Get Ready to Rock!

The Kindness Rocks Project is coming to Downtown Orangeville!   Originally scheduled to start this week, we decided to push this project to next week due to all the wet weather we’ve been having!  Starting soon, we’ll be asking Orangeville residents to bring their painted rocks to the raised garden beds outside of Readers’ Choice and Broadway Music.

The idea behind the Kindness Rocks Project is that one moment, one positive message, can change your whole day! One day can change a life, and one life can change the world.   Each act of kindness creates a ripple effect and spreads hope throughout the community.  

 

This is a fun and safe activity that will bring some colour & energy to Broadway!   We encourage all our members to participate by contributing some rocks to the garden (get your kids involved!) and/or sharing our social media posts about the Kindness Rocks Project when you see them!  Small, hold-in-your-palm sized rocks are best for everyone’s safety!  We’ll be sharing some painting and decorating tips when the project is announced on social media, stay tuned!

Do you sell paint and supplies for making Kindness Rocks?   Please let us know so that we can mention you in our post!