I’ve got a confession to make: I’d never been to the Piña Colada Festival before! 

But this year I was determined to go, so when it came to booking this year’s family holiday, I made absolutely sure I had the date in the diary – and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

The atmosphere around the town centre was electric. Apple Market Place was full to bursting with crowds of people enjoying the live music. 

Witton Street was adorned with games and street entertainment.  And every café, every bar, every restaurant had Northwich’ers and visitors alike spilling onto the streets and soaking up the vibe and the piña coladas in equal measure.

The real unique quality about this event, compared to others in Northwich’s busy calendar, is in the way it’s purposely designed to support existing town centre businesses, the ones committed to being in the town 365 days of the year.

The event has now grown to a point where it is now supporting some to be able to continue trading in the quieter points of the year.

Events like the Piña Colada Festival don’t happen overnight and it now forms part of a vibrant scene, including Now Northwich, the River Festival, the Christmas Extravaganza, and many more happenings throughout the year.

Over the last 10 years or so, Northwich Town Council, Northwich Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID), Rotary in Northwich and many others have come together with a deliberate strategy to boost the town centre through events, all under the Visit Northwich banner. 

These have grown slowly over time, driven footfall to the town centre, and created opportunities to discover how much Northwich has to offer.

The world of town centre retail has changed beyond all recognition in my lifetime. 

What once would have been a dependable Saturday morning family trip to a bustling high street has been replaced with an online order from the comfort of your own settee.

That world isn’t coming back but what hasn’t changed is people’s desire to see a vibrant town centre they can be proud of.

The work put in by the Visit Northwich team has been the first step towards the town centre re-inventing itself and I’m already looking forward to next year’s festival and I hope you are too.