The City of Penticton is refreshing its ‘Love Local’ campaign as part of its efforts to shine spotlights on local businesses and encourage people to shop and support local.
“By shopping local, we help each other out as a community, and this is especially important during times like these,” says Mayor Julius Bloomfield. “By purchasing locally grown food, for example, it supports local farmers and creates demand, making it possible to scale up operations, which would also benefit our food security. With the markets opening soon, this is a great opportunity to shop local, while being mindful of where our food comes from.”
The City’s Economic Development and Communications departments launched the Love Local campaign in 2020 during the pandemic as a means to remind residents to spend local. This included a visual identity, with decals distributed to local businesses to display in the window, as well as a series of videos, blog and social media posts profiling local stories.
Now, amidst economic insecurity and tariffs, City Council agreed to renew the campaign with a fresh look and focus, once again working in partnership with the Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Penticton Business Improvement Association and Travel Penticton.
“As the commercial hub of the South Okanagan, Penticton has all the conveniences of a big city – including a wide variety of shops, businesses, specialty services and some pretty incredible wineries and breweries that are being recognized on a global scale,” says Michael Magnusson, the Chamber’s executive director. “Love Local is about celebrating these businesses and showing how much they mean to our community.”
The City will be handing out a limited number of ‘Love Local kits’ to businesses who may be interested in handing them out to customers. This includes canvas Love Local shopping bags, key chains and stickers, while quantities last (sign up at penticton.ca/lovelocal). In addition, the City is distributing free Love Local window decals for businesses to display on-site.
“Small businesses are the heartbeat of our community and we’re supportive of any campaigns that showcase downtown Penticton and the wonderful goods and services on offer,” says Brett Turner, executive director of the Downtown Penticton Business Improvement Association.
Watch for reels, blog and social media posts in the coming weeks as the teams explore unique businesses, shopping plazas and reveal some fun facts along the way.
“Above all, we hope this Love Local campaign will continue to instill community pride and raise awareness of the importance of supporting our 3,600+ local businesses,” says Blake Laven, Penticton’s development services manager.
