Music, Food, Drink and Shopping: Spring begins in Topsham
This event has been POSTPONED due to Coronavirus and will now take place on Saturday 26 September 2020.
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Spring isn’t just about daffodils and longer days – it’s also about one of the biggest events of the year in a glorious part of Devon.
Spring Forward Saturday on Saturday March 28 is a feel-good family-friendly day of music, shopping, food and drink taking place across the Exe estuary town of Topsham.
Almost all Topsham’s 50 shops, cafés and restaurants are involved with special offers for visitors and locals - one store offers 25% off everything, a restaurant is offering a free crepe dessert to every lunch guest, while another shop is giving a Marseille soap with purchases over £15.
All of these deals - and there are many, many more - are available for one day only. And if that’s not enough, there are even better offers for holders of the Love Topsham Card, a community initiative promoting the town.
Why not take in the pop-up art gallery, a special outdoor fair at the town’s Matthews Hall and the new exhibits at the Topsham Museum on the first day of the new season?
There are special treats for children, too. They can join the adults in awe at the work of Topsham fire station over the years, or get down and dirty at a Craft For Kids event.
And when you’ve shopped-til-you’ve-dropped, there’s the music to enjoy as highly-talented local musicians perform around the town.
The Liberty Sisters, a harmony singing trio, will transport us back in time with their tributes to 40s-era jazz and swing artists; Queen Biscuit, a folk duo with strong connections to Topsham, will play too; and don’t forget The Exmouth Shantymen - they call themselves the original buoy band! - who have performed all over the world including at the Olympics - they will be wandering the streets to entertain everyone.
Even more local are the choir from the town’s St Margaret’s Church and the Topsham Folk Club, both giving performances throughout the day.
“This is the perfect way to celebrate the start of Spring whilst giving the local shops a boost” explains Jo Berman of Love Topsham, the not-for-profit group behind the event.
“It’s a charming antidote to what can be a faceless shopping experience in city centre chain stores. Almost every Topsham business is local and unique, and it’s great fun to ramble through the streets of our beautiful waterside town. This is just one of the initiatives Love Topsham delivers to remind everyone to shop locally and support the businesses on our doorstep” she says.
Spring Forward Saturday is a great example of the independent community of Topsham coming together and creating a showcase for the best in life, whether that’s artisan produce, one-off hand-made art and crafts, or live and local entertainment.
This will be the third Spring Forward Saturday and it’s set to be the biggest and best yet. There will also be opportunities for visitors and residents to get their own Love Topsham Card giving reductions at many of the town’s shops, eateries and businesses throughout 2020.
All funds from the card enable activities to take place that promote the town such as Spring Forward Saturday, an upcoming VE Day Anniversary party-in-the-park, publicising Topsham across Exeter and beyond, and the Topsham’s spectacular Christmas lights at the end of the year.
