THE Malvern Gazette's #VeryMalvern Christmas campaign is gathering pace.

Traders are already rallying around the hashtag, which has been shared widely on social media after just one week.

Now Small Business Saturday, a national initiative, is throwing its weight being efforts to support local businesses on Saturday, December 5.

Malvern Hills District Council is supporting the event by offering free parking all day in its short and long-stay car parks in Malvern and Upton, as well as on every Friday and Saturday in the run-up to Christmas, starting on Friday, November 27.

Cllr Rebecca Massey, portfolio holder for economic development on the district council, said: “Independent traders are the lifeblood of our towns, giving them their distinct character.

“There’s a range of reasons to shop local. For a start. it boosts the local economy, with research suggesting 63p of every pound spent with a small business stays within the locality compared to 40p with larger stores.

“They also sell a range of items you cannot get anywhere else and are very knowledgeable about their products. I would urge all our residents to head into out towns on Small Business Saturday and discover what’s on offer.”

There are a number of Christmas events also being held on the day including the annual Christmas extravaganza in Barnards Green, organised by local traders.

This year the event, which runs from 10am to 1pm, will feature the Dave the Wonder Dog puppet show, Father Christmas in his grotto, a circus skills workshop and more.

Father Christmas will be in his grotto with free presents for each child who visits, and there is also a double-decker play bus parked in the Green for extra active fun.

Tenbury Wells is also holding its annual mistletoe festival with markets, events and entertainment throughout the day.

Each week until Christmas the Malvern Gazette will turn the spotlight on the expert service and terrific value offered by one our independent traders.

The exciting events going on around the town at this time of year will be showcased too.

As well as publishing all this in print, online and on mobile, we will be speading the message via social media.

Businesses simply have to add the hashtag #VeryMalvern to their own social media posts so our search engines can find them.

We will then share them on our own social media platforms – bringing them to a much larger audience. The hashtag works on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Visit malvernhills.gov.uk/small-business-saturday for more information on Small Business Saturday.

Look out for more information about Christmas events in Malvern in the Malvern Gazette.