To support the Cosmopolitan 'Curve Edit', Evans are running a 'Cosmo Loves Evans' event. The event will consist of:

• ​​20% off reader offer with the May issue of Cosmo
• Lucky Evans scratchcards where customers can win 25% off, 50% off or their shop for free!
• In store party and treats
• Personal Styling and Shape advise
• See the 'Cosmo Loves' must-have items for Spring/Summer 15

To support the Cosmopolitan 'Curve Edit', Evans are running a 'Cosmo Loves Evans' event. The events will consist of:

• ​​20% off reader offer with the May issue of Cosmo
• Lucky Evans scratchcards where customers can win 25% off, 50% off or their shop for free!
• In store party and treats
• Personal Styling and Shape advise
• See the 'Cosmo Loves' must-have items for Spring/Summer 2015

This popular event is returning to the Guildhall on Saturday 2nd May 2015 for its sixth consecutive year.  There will be lots of FREE health and life-style advice as well as FREE blood pressure and pulse checks, FREE blood sugar tests and confidential advice about a healthy diet and life-style choices. 

Expert advice will be available from nurses and healthcare professionals from NHS hospitals, Community First Responders, Ambulance Service and colleagues from the Stroke Association.

GUILDHALL SHOPPING CENTRE

#STYLEHUNTERS “What’s Your Style?”

FRIDAY 29^TH MAY & SATURDAY 30^TH MAY AND SUNDAY 31^ST MAY

Move over Gok Wan, the Guildhall Shopping Centre's style experts will be offering free fashion tips and advice at the exclusive #Stylehunters “What’s Your Style?" event on Friday 29th May,  Saturday 30^th May and Sunday 31^st May.

Meet the style gurus and get inspirational advice on colour, make-up, hair and style that will be tailor-made for each customer. If you feel indecisive, nervous or reluctant to shop and unsure as to what style and colours suit you, then this opportunity to speak to experts is just what you need.

Each consultation will leave the shopper with a personalised plan of their colour or style palette and there will be the opportunity to have a mini make-up makeover to demonstrate how important it can be to choose colours and styles that suit an individual's skin tone and body shape.

Working with the major stores in the Guildhall including TopShop, River Island, Wallis, Roman, Store Twenty One and Evans, the experts will explain how to select outfits that flatter and how to accessorize a look to take it from daywear to glitzy nightwear, as well as incorporating style and comfort.

Why not share your style tips to be in with a chance of winning great prizes.  Simply post your favourite hints and suggestions on the special mannequins and the best ones will appear on the Guildhall’s website.  The contributors of the winning tips will receive a share of £200 in shopping vouchers.   Or if you’re spotted as somebody with outstanding style, you could be chosen as a Guildhall Style-Star and receive a free goody bag.

Enter the Mannequin Challenge!  Mums, dads and children can join in the fun to see if they can stylishly dress a mannequin in under 3 minutes!  The winners will be chosen by a public vote from all the pictures posted on the Guildhall’s website.

107.3 Stafford FM will be supporting us with live radio roadshows, hosted by Breakfast presenter, Stu Haycock. There will be plenty of chances to win spot-prizes in our fun competitions.  There will be music and giveaways throughout the event including free 12 month subscriptions to Staffordshire Living magazine.

Staffordshire Living magazine are proud to be an official media partner for the event.  As the Midland’s leading independent lifestyle magazine with over 10 years’ in the industry, they have concentrated their attentions on fashion.  This makes Staffordshire Living and the Guildhall a natural pairing for our joint emphasis on style in Staffordshire.

The #Stylehunters partnership is the brainchild of “Only on the High Street” - style consultants who specialise in organising events for shopping centres and high street retailers.

Director Laraine Robathan-Field said: “Traditional retailing continues to face stiff competition from the growth of online shopping, so it is imperative for retailers to be innovative and think creatively to survive and compete.

“The key is to provide the customer with an experience they can’t get online.

“#Stylehunters “What’s Your Style?” will do just that – it will help the Guildhall engage with customers and encourage them to visit and shop at the Centre by providing them with a fun and exciting experience.”

Steve Moran, Management Surveyor at DTZ who manage the Guildhall Shopping Centre said “It can be challenging to create events that will appeal to a wide range of customers but #Stylehunters “What’s Your Style?” ticks all the boxes.  It is suitable for all ages and abilities, will offer terrific prizes and encourage interaction between our customers and our stores”. 

The Guildhall Shopping Centre and Stafford College students have joined forces to celebrate Adult Learners Week with a major new event.

Stafford’s largest retail destination will be opening at night for the only time this year on Thursday 18^th June to help young people host a fashion extravaganza, featuring students’ designs with fashion shows on the malls, and art and media displays in 6 of the Centre’s empty units.

Graphics design students will create flyers, posters and invitations for the event, while the catering department will produce refreshments for the 1000 expected guests. A team of carpenters, decorators, electricians and students have been working for a full 3 weeks to transform the empty shop units into stylish art galleries and for the special launch event a catwalk will be positioned on the shopping malls for fashion shows hosted by Year 2 and Year 3 Fashion and Design students.

There will be live music, dance and performance to keep everyone entertained, and at least 15 of the Centre’s retailers, including Top Shop, Poundland, Carbon and Kismet Rose, will open late to support the event.

Parking will be free after 5.30pm and the car park will stay open late until 9.30pm.

DTZ’s Senior Management Surveyor Steve Moran said: “We jumped at the chance to work with Stafford College on this as it gives us an opportunity to help young people and offers the community a unique opportunity to see the talented work produced by our local students.

“Putting together an event on this scale will be a great experience for everyone involved, but particularly for the students who will be able to use it to develop their skills and portfolios.”

The fashion shows will take place on 18^th June, between 6pm and 8.00pm, and repeated during the day on Saturday 20^th. The exhibitions in the empty units will run for the whole of Adult Learners Week (18^th-24^th June).

While the event is by invitation, the Centre will still be open for people to pass through.

1.     

Notes to editors

1.     Adult Learners Week is a national celebration of lifelong learning, which is now in its 24^th year. It’s the biggest event of its kind in England and has spawned many similar celebrations around the world.

As Stafford prepares to welcome new personnel to RAF/MoD Stafford, an inspiring exhibition will go on display in the Guildhall Shopping Centre which records the human story connected to the past and present of the MoD.  

The main aim is that through this work the rich cultural and historical significance of the base is acknowledged and celebrated.

A thought provoking exhibition of photographs donated to the project, enable visitors to understand why many of the veterans have settled in Stafford and find out what the serving personnel like about the area, what it has to offer and how much they appreciate the welcome given to them by the wider community.

The aim is that the people of Stafford not only increase their already evident sense of pride in MoD Stafford but also in themselves; in how they have supported and welcomed the Armed Forces Personnel over the years and how much this has been appreciated.

For this project, funded by the Armed Forces Community Covenant, twenty veterans and current serving personnel of MoD, formally RAF Stafford, were interviewed about their time at the base.

National Armed Forces Day will be marked by photographic exhibitions hosted by shops in Mill Street, Stafford, from 22^nd June to 3^rd July and pieces of work produced by year 6 children, aged 10 to 11 years old from primary schools local to the base and inspired by the stories and photographs will also be on display in One Staffordshire Place.

The exhibition will then move to the Guildhall between 13th July and 26^th August before it returns to the Stafford base for the MoD Open Day on 29^th August.

Year 9 students from Weston Road Academy have actively supported this project by producing a bespoke information handout on the exhibition and a leaflet on the project during their IT lessons.

The schools involved in the project are St Andrews in Weston, St John’s, St Patricks and Weston Road Academy in Stafford.

Acknowledgements

None of this work would have been possible without the generous support of The Royal British Legion, Sandon Road Baptist Church, MoD Stafford and Tactical Supply Wing, Weston Road Academy, Staffordshire Museum Service, many of the shops in Mill Street Stafford and the interviewees; Karl Jones, Chris Shipton, Matthew Duff, Emma Hemmings, Jo Tomsett, Russ Heynes, SSgt Subaraj, Alan Preece, Victor Ingledew, Morris Roden, Mr Leslie Broomfreild, Ray Bassett, Jim Morton, Bill Knight, Jack Kennedy, John Pink, David Thompson, Darren Easton, Les Bouts and Eric Gregory. 

• Nordic walking has its roots in the 1930’s when cross-country skiers came up with a way of training in the summer months using just poles;
• Nordic Walking is a form of physical activity where the active use of a pair of specially designed Nordic Walking poles is added to regular walking;
• The common characteristics of natural, bio-mechanically correct walking and appropriate posture are maintained in all aspects;
• Technically correct use of the poles integrates activation of the upper body and physical strain is distributed to various muscle groups of the whole body in a versatile , balanced and appropriate way;
• This process significantly intensifies the standard effect of walking;Nordic Walking is a safe, natural, dynamic and efficient form of exercise that trains the body in a holistic, symmetric and balanced way, helping individuals to  achieve general physical and mental well-being.

Call in at the Guildhall Shopping Centre on Friday 13th or Saturday 14th August to see a fabulous exhibition of photography.  Members of the Stafford Photographic Society have put together an intriguing and interesting display of their work for everyone to enjoy.  Members of the Society are on hand to answer any questions and explain how  the photographs have been developed- some using a number of layers of photographs to create the finished effect.  

The exhibition will also return to the Guildhall on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd August.  It is free to enter and everyone is welcome.

The Stafford Photographic Society is a great place to meet new friends and develop your interest in photography.  Visitors and new membes are always made very welcome.  If you are interested in joining or are just curious, visitors are very welcome to come along to one of their meetings.  The Society meets at The Arthur Findlay Centre in Stafford (ST16 2RS) on Tuesday evenings at 7.30pm from September through to the end of May (with summer activities).

For more information, visit www.staffordphotosociety.org.uk

Dancers, musicians, and artists will be taking to the streets of Stafford for the town’s 5^th ‘Arts Festival’.

The Festival is the brainchild of Stafford’s Town Centre Partnership along with the Borough Council with the ‘Arts Fest’ to go ahead in September.

As well as dancers and musicians providing a carnival atmosphere for the day, the event will include a range of art workshops including the “painting party” and balloon modelling.

Performers in the town’s Market Square,  will include professional Brazilian  drummers and dancers ‘Art Brasil’ and the Stafford  Morris Men, The local dance partnership and delightful children’s group Dappa Dance will also be entertaining members of the public.

Talented street theatre favourite the “Bubbleologist” will delight the crowds with his amazing bubble tricks - from giant bubbles to very tiny bubbles, bubbles inside bubbles and lots more.

Residents and visitors will also get the chance to enjoy activities at various venues around the town centre including, exhibitions at the Shirehall Gallery and the Ancient High House, storytelling at Stafford Railway Station and  poetry at the Gainsborough art studio.

In addition to an Arts & Craft Fayre inside the Guildhall Shopping Centre, with over 25 local crafters demonstrating and selling their unique goods, there will also be an art and craft market along Greengate Street offering an array of goods. 

Chris Lewis, Chair of Stafford Town Centre Partnership said : “This is another exciting project for the town and builds on the great work the partnership has been doing to make sure Stafford is seen as a place to visit”

The festival is set to get underway on Saturday 5th September.

Children and model railway enthusiasts will be thrilled to see a new exhibition coming to the Guildhall Shopping Centre for one weekend only on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25^th October.

This free to enter exhibition will feature two layouts which will amaze visitors with their intricate design and detail.  The first layout will be of interest to our younger shoppers as it is “Hogsmead on Sodor” which features all the children’s favourite engines and is one that they can operate themselves.

The second layout will be “Stackton Tressell”.  This is a modern layout operating many types of trains that can be seen in the West Midlands area. This layout has won “Best in Show” awards at previous exhibitions and there is plenty of action taking place at all times.

The exhibition will be open 9am to 5pm on Saturday 24th October and from 10am to 4.00pm on Sunday 25th October.

For more information about the Stafford Railway Circle, visit www.staffordrailwaycircle.org.uk