Economic Recovery Task Force campaign to support businesses

Photo: Contributed

The City of Penticton has launched the Love Local Penticton marketing campaign to support businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The initiative aims to draw strength from the community to generate support for small businesses and all things local.  

“It was a suggestion that came out of the Economic Recovery Task Force,” said economic development specialist Andrew Kemp. “As an economic development department, it made a lot of sense to support our local business community, as well as arts and culture and the social development organizations that are working in town. They all make Penticton hum. So I felt it was time to highlight some of those positive stories and amplify some of the great work people in our community are doing.”

The campaign will raise awareness about how local businesses are operating today, while encouraging residents to buy, eat and choose local first. 

“We want to make our local residents understand that some businesses are open and ready and available for the business again, and there’s ways we can be supporting them, and that is by shopping local," said Kemp. "Therefore, Love Local Penticton. Do what you can to ensure that those businesses that you love will be here for the long haul in Penticton.”

Love Local Penticton will showcase the stories of business, social, and arts and culture groups as residents work collectively toward recovery. 

According to Kemp, that recovery, albeit slow, appears to be evident in Penticton.

“We’re still seeing development applications come through. Projects like Highstreet at the south end of the city are moving forward, and the Mission Group is still coming here to develop on Westminster,” he said. ”There’s been a bit of a slowdown in the housing sector, and definitely our retail, our food sector and our travel operators — all are being drastically affected in this time. Certainly it’s quite challenging.”

Many operators have changed their business model during the pandemic, allowing them to stay open, continue sales, and plan for a future.

“I’m definitely seeing some great pivots from many of our local businesses. And that’s part of the reason we wanted to launch Love Local is to highlight some of our businesses being able to pivot, and seeing them re-open now,” said Kemp. “Brodo changing their model to be able to do deliveries out their front window. It’s just a great way to continue to serve your customer base during these tough times.”

Businesses can print the Penticton is Open for Business poster.

‘Love Local’ window cling decals are available to businesses to show they are open.  

Following are the many ways businesses can support the initiative: share the word on social media and use #lovelocalpenticton; share the blogs from StartHereOkanagan.com/lovelocal across your social media feeds; post the ‘Safely Open for Business’ poster at your establishment; post the Love Local decal on your front window.

For more information on the city's economic development department, click here.