Festival of Transport at Hempstead Valley
Published: 23 September, 2011
Some of the world’s most famous cars were on show at the second Festival of Transport event, held at Hempstead Valley shopping centre in Gillingham.
The James Bond themed festival featured a rare 1960's Aston Martin DB5, an Aston Martin DBS, a 1970's classic Lotus Esprit and a Jaguar XKR film prop from Die Another Day, which visitors were allowed to sit in and have their photo taken with, in return for voluntary a donation to Kent Air Ambulance (KAA).
Over £2,600 was raised for KAA through a combination of customer donations, merchandise sales, and a contribution from Hempstead Valley.
A children’s drawing competition, a postcard exhibition of local history and ‘Bond Girl’ themed dance shows were held to coincide with the show and helped to increase spend.
Centre manager, Mark Rumfitt, explained: “Hempstead Valley tenants fully supported the festival and included Superdrug and The Body Shop offering customers complimentary mini-pampering sessions and Burton kindly supplying our smartly dressed James Bond lookalikes. We have already had excellent feedback from our tenants, with year-on-year sales increases of up to 58 per cent being recorded.”
Marketing manager, Su Button, added: “The centre was very busy over the three day event, with a noticeable increase in footfall on the Sunday, due to the added attraction of the Classic Motor Show. There was a lovely atmosphere too, as customers of all ages clearly enjoyed the festival and many were taking photos of the displays. We had originally pre-booked 140 classic, vintage and custom cars for the Classic Motor Show, but by the end of the day over 165 cars and 12 bikes turned up for the show, which was held outside in green car park, alongside the monthly farmers' market on Sunday. The Classic Motor Show was a resounding success, with many of our visitors wanting to book for next year’s show.”
