Celebrate Platinum Jubilee with free family trail
Families in Luton can enjoy a free family day out to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with a story trail around the town centre.
Luton Business Improvement District (BID) has teamed up with High Street Safari to run the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacon Trail.
The innovative experience, which has been fully funded by Luton BID, lets families choose what happens in the story, and anyone with a smartphone can take part for free.
Participants will not only discover cute characters along the route, but they also get to see them burst to life in augmented reality and take selfies and record videos with them.
Families will be guided on their trip by Sir Barnaby Beacon as he visits seven memorable and magical friends, like Charlie Crown or Theadora Throne, who have come to life from Buckingham Palace and gone on a trip to see Luton town centre.
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacon Trail is located at seven stops around the town centre to visit, including The Mall and The Galaxy:
- New Look, The Mall
- The Entertainer, The Mall
- The Works, The Mall
- Luton Central Library, St George’s Square
- The Galaxy, Bridge Street
- Gravity Active Entertainment, The Galaxy
- The Hat Factory, Bute Street
Julia Horsman, Luton BID Manager, said: “The idea behind this trail is to encourage families to come into Luton town centre with a safe, socially distanced and free event.
“Shopping parents will love being able to get the kids on board with this amazing experience and families looking for a relaxing day out can encourage kids to have a screen-time break, do some walking and get rewarded at the end.
“With the cost of living rapidly rising right now, this is a great way to keep the whole family entertained for free in Luton town centre. The trail takes about forty-five minutes to complete but can be completed in more than one visit, and participants win a free, digital fun pack at the end.”
The trail is running now until June 12. To find out more about the trail, visit www.jubileebeacontrail.com.
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Luton Business Improvement District (BID)
Luton BID was officially launched in 2014 following a vote by local businesses to make Luton town centre a designated Business Improvement District. After a successful ballet in 2019, Luton BID’s second term runs until 31st December 2024.
A BID is a defined area where the rate-paying businesses decide on improvements to their area, they then vote on the plans and agree to invest in the delivery of activities which directly impact upon their business turnover and profit. This money is then ring-fenced to provide the improvements agreed through the BID plan and can be used to generate other revenue to boost the pot of money available to deliver the plan.
Business representatives in Luton have developed a five-year action plan around the key objectives of promoting the area. These objectives are to ensure the town centre is accessible and appealing, to provide a safe and attractive environment for businesses and visitors, to support and promote business growth and to develop and invest in a sense of community.
Luton BID is project managed by Partnerships for Better Business Ltd (pfbb uk). pfbb UK is a specialist BID Project Management company which develops and manages a wide range of Business Improvement Districts across the UK including town centres and industrial estates.
About High Street Safari:
High Street Safari is a project being coordinated by Martin Blackwell, former CEO of Assoc. of Town & City Management (ATCM) and the Charity Retail Association. It was set up to create a unique high street family experience that aimed to raise significant sums for local good causes.
The trails work by utilising QR codes, without the need for players to download or sign up to anything. The trail consists of 7 vinyl window characters with QR codes that local businesses, as well as cultural and public venues, will host.
Families will be able to start the trail by scanning any of the characters. For families on the trail they will be able engage with the experience by scanning each character’s QR code and learning their names and stories and seeing them in AR. Younger children will delight in spotting the cute and colourful characters in window corners and older (and grown-up children) will engage by learning more about them. Everyone will have fun taking silly selfies in augmented reality. They can do this in their own time and pace, if it takes a week it doesn’t matter.
After spotting all 7 characters, families will be rewarded with a free, e-book that concludes the story.