If you have visited the baby changing area within the Buttermarket in Ipswich, you may have noticed paintings on the walls of the Buttermarket Bear. This bear was reimagined by local artist and team member, Lorna Hodgson and has now been brought to life as the Buttermarket mascot and face of their new ‘Bear Club’ – a kid’s club held within the centre which will provide free activity-based family events throughout the year.
The Buttermarket launched its new mascot with an online competition to name the bear, and a very successful launch event held in the centre on Wednesday 12th April. During the event, families got to meet the Buttermarket Bear on its first outing and sign up to the Bear Club, which will give them information on upcoming events and a loyalty card. Each time a child attends a Bear Club event they collect a stamp, and a full loyalty card leads to a free gift from the centre. The first 500 children who sign up for the Bear Club will also receive their very own Buttermarket Bear.
The naming competition received nearly 100 entries. Out of all the suggestions, the top 3 names were put to the online community in a poll to decide the winning name, which has now been revealed – say hello to Butterbear! The winner of the naming competition is Emily Boore, she was the first person to suggest the name and she wins a family pass for superbowl and her own Butterbear teddy.
Rebecca Bird, Centre Manager at The Buttermarket says; “We are super excited to reveal the name of our Buttermarket mascot! We loved reading the suggestions and it has been great to see an idea, created and re-imagined by one of our team members come to life with the launch of Butterbear and the Bear Club.” She continues, “It is really important to The Buttermarket to be able to provide free family events for our local community to enjoy. We can’t wait for families to discover all of the upcoming Bear Club activities we have planned throughout the year!” The next Bear Club event will be held on Level 1 in the Buttermarket on Wednesday 31st May. Find out more HERE!