Tag: redcar

Redcar Racecourse Completes £250,000 Refurbishment

By on 28th February 2016in Local Biz

Teesside’s Redcar Racecourse is eager to kick start the 2016 racing season on Easter Monday after undergoing a £250,000 refurbishment…

The racecourse – which is yet again the cheapest paid admission racecourse in the country having kept its admission prices frozen for the ninth year in a row – will host seven Premier Meetings between March and November.

Redcar Racecourse’s general manager, Amy Fair, said: “The region went through a tough time last Autumn with the closure of SSI and a number of other businesses, and we understand that times are tough for many of our racegoers.

“We’re very proud to be part of the community, and that’s why we’ve kept our admission prices the same, because we believe everyone should be able to enjoy a fabulous day at the races.”

Over the winter months the racecourse has undergone a £250,000 refurbishment with a number of improvements, including a new roof on the parade ring viewing stand, new windows on the top floor of the Petch Stand, a revamp to the hospitality boxes and the toilet facilities, and improvements to the Crow’s Nest ‘Dine & View’ restaurant.

Amy is thrilled with the renovations and is looking forward to seeing what racegoers make of the developments.

She said: “We’ve been very busy over the winter period. The 2015 season was spectacular, and this year we expect it to be even better thanks to the improvements we’ve made.

“The racecourse has invested in a number of facilities around the venue as part of a 5 year improvements plan because we want to offer visitors a great racing experience.”

The Tees Valley racecourse has an exciting schedule of 18 racing fixtures until the seasonal finale in November. The highlights of the season include:

  • Easter Monday 28th March – Bank Holiday racing and lots of children’s entertainments
  • Bank Holiday Monday 30th May – Zetland Gold Cup day
  • Saturday 18th June – Ladies’ Day
  • Sunday 17th July – Helps For Heroes Family Fun Day
  • Saturday 6th August – Caribbean Carnival day
  • Saturday 27th August – Ladies’ and Gents’ Evening
  • Saturday 1st October – Seasonal climax with the £175,000 Tote Two Year Old Trophy, the Listed Guisborough Stakes and the final of the Straight Mile Championship Series

To celebrate the start of the season on Easter Monday 28th March, Redcar Racecourse is giving one lucky child the chance to win a VIP day for four people by taking part in their ‘egg-cellent’ colouring in competition. The winner will also see their artwork displayed on the front cover of the official racecard and have a race named after them on the day.

Anyone who wants to be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize should head over to Redcar Racecourse’s Facebook page or website and follow the instructions.

Admission prices on the day start from £5 per adult, with free admission for accompanied children aged 17 and under. The admission gates will open at 12 noon, and the first race is scheduled to start at 2.05pm.

Parties of 10 or more can also save over 20% when they book their Grandstand or Course Enclosure admission tickets in advance.

There are many hospitality options, from the Dine & View package in the Crow’s Nest Restaurant to racegoers’ packages, including admission, a racecard, food and drink.

For more information, visit www.redcarracing.co.uk, and to enter the Easter Monday VIP competition, visit www.redcarracing.co.uk.

Festival Of Thrift Relocates To Redcar For 2016

By on 24th February 2016in Lifestyle

Plans are afoot to take the fourth annual Festival of Thrift to the stunning location of Kirkleatham in Redcar on 24th and 25th September 2016…

The award-winning, free family festival shows people how to save money – and the planet – by being creative.

Heading out of its birthplace in Darlington for the first time since the inaugural Festival in 2013, the team wants to show how the event can inspire and support the economic future of communities throughout the Tees Valley.

The festival will return regularly to Darlington in future years.

A ten year plan is currently being drawn together for future festival locations, working towards 2025, the 200th anniversary of the world’s first passenger steam railway (which journeyed between Darlington and Stockton), and the year for which Tees Valley is bidding to be UK Region of Culture.

A proposal detailing the festival’s aims, values and programme will be presented at the Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council Cabinet Meeting at the Leisure and Community Heart on 1st March, where councillors will give the final decision as to the 2016 Festival taking place at Kirkleatham. HRH The Prince of Wales visited the estate last week as part of a wider visit to the borough, as The Prince’s Foundation is working with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to develop plans for its regeneration.

The proposal also follows the recent visit to Tees Valley by Lord Heseltine to discuss plans to drive forward investment opportunities to the region. Lord Heseltine has been appointed chair of the Tees Valley Inward Investment Initiative, with a specific remit to boost the region’s international profile.

The Festival of Thrift is the UK’s National Celebration of sustainable living. It brings together international and emerging artists, superscrimpers, makers and designers, as well as stallholders selling all manner of homemade, home-grown, upcycled, recycled and thrifty produce. The festival brings people together to share skills through workshops, talks, films and a whole lot of hands-on joining-in and making.

This year, the festival will concentrate on sustainable business development. If the move to Kirkleatham is agreed, the programme will also include locally grown produce, food and drink inspired by the kitchen gardens and traditions at Kirkleatham.

Stella Hall, festival director, said: “I’d be delighted to head out to Redcar this year. Redcar received such a huge blow in 2015 with the demise of the steel works, which coincided with last year’s festival.

“We hope to show how each of us has skills and creativity we can contribute to create a sustainable community. The Festival of Thrift is dedicated to shining a light on the Tees Valley, celebrating the area’s individuality and the strength of its people.

“We will be heading back to Darlington for 2017, but the opportunity of holding the festival at Kirkleatham this year was too good an opportunity to miss.

“The site is the epitome of great regeneration. Kirkleatham has a fascinating museum collection, a stunning church and mausoleum, almshouses, railway cottages, park and woodland within walking distance.

“Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council will be sensitively developing the stables on site, with an eye to business startups. Together with the new adventure playground, it’s a complete gem of a festival location.”

Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, Councillor Sue Jeffrey said: “The festival organisers and Darlington Borough Council have worked extremely hard to make the festival a huge success, and we would work closely with them to replicate that in Redcar.

“We would be delighted to welcome the festival in 2016, particularly to such a special site which perfectly suits the festival’s values. It would be a real boost to our communities to host such a fantastic event.”

Councillor Bill Dixon, Leader of Darlington Borough Council, said: “Darlington’s ingenuity gave birth to the festival, and we are delighted to see those ideas developed and explored in other settings and places, but look forward to welcoming the festival back home.”

The festival has continued to grow in size as well as reputation. In 2015 the festival welcomed 45,000 visitors throughout the weekend at its first home at Lingfield Point, Darlington, and scooped the Observer Ethical Award for Arts and Culture – a national coup for a home grown festival. In the same year, it won the North East Tourism Event of the Year.

This year’s festival will invite the UK’s thriftiest and most sustainable stallholders to build on some of the great programmes from previous years, including Alternative Village Fete with its mix of wandering performance and music stages, Oxglam recycled fashion shows, Bistros du Vin with local and amateur chefs, and Fix It Café, helping to save waste by fixing everything from a child’s music box to a broken computer. Workshops, demonstrations, exhibitions, The Big Talks and Peoples’ Encyclopaedia will all be about sharing skills, and showing how each of us has something special to offer. The most exciting elements will emerge from the history and heritage of the site itself, and will be announced in the coming months.

For more information, visit festivalofthrift.co.uk and sign up to receive email newsletters, keeping you up to date as the festival programme develops over the next few months.

Redcar Handmade Bouquet Business Is Blooming

By on 14th December 2015in Local Biz

Brides all over the UK are exchanging bouquets for buttons, thanks to the talent and craftsmanship of a North East business woman…

Cute as a Button is the brainchild of Danielle Rigg, who creates bespoke wedding bouquets out of buttons and brooches.

The mum-of-one has seen her business bloom since setting up in 2013, with some of her designs making it as far as Italy and Las Vegas.

Working out of her Redcar home, Danielle spends more than 20 hours working on a single bridal bouquet, and already has over 28 orders placed for next year.

Talking about the popularity of her handiworks, she said: “I honestly can’t believe how crazy business has got in the last two years. It’s been incredible how Cute as a Button has really taken off.

“Some of the bouquets I have designed and created have made it all over the world, which is amazing, and I’ve started to get interest from wedding companies abroad, as they’re much easier to carry around and pack in a suitcase. Plus they last longer than traditional flowers… in fact they can be kept forever, which is a great memory!

“I think people also like how personal the bouquets can be, as I’m often asked to put family brooches, bits of jewellery or even photos into the designs.”

It was while organising her own wedding that Danielle created her first bouquet, having been inspired by pictures she saw on Pinterest.

She said: “I thought it looked easy and wanted to give it a go for my own wedding, but after trying it, I found out it wasn’t easy at all.

“My friend Tracy, who owns Sugarcraft in Middlesbrough, offered to help me with the first one, and it took us ages but I really enjoyed making it.

“Lots of people commented at my wedding about how amazing and original the button bouquet looked and then someone contacted me to ask how much I charge for them and it went from there.”

Danielle sources all the materials she needs from the North East – with the bulk coming from Thornaby’s Cleveland Wholesale Supplies and Country Baskets, in Gateshead, and the silk, handmade flowers coming from Scarborough’s ZBaccessory.

“It really is a North East business in every sense of the words, which feels great,” said Danielle.

“In the future, I’d love to be able to work out of a summer house in the garden, as the way things are going, my spare room just isn’t big enough!”

To find out more about Cute as a Button or to place an order, contact Danielle via her Facebook page.

Is your business blooming? Let us know, and we could feature you on In & Around Online!

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