Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Economy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council schedules May 6 cash-mob for Bridal Scoops, explores festival rescue and a 'passport' to boost local businesses
Summary
Council confirmed a May 6 'cash mob' at Bridal Scoops with promotions and staffing plans, discussed the apparent cancellation of the Rockwell Festival and the possibility of a rebrand or partnership, and approved exploring a business 'passport' program (physical or digital) to drive foot traffic and year-end engagement.
The Bristol Diversity Council confirmed plans for a May 6 "cash mob" at Bridal Scoops to support a new local business and discussed longer-term community events after learning the West End/Rockwell Festival may be canceled.
Chair said Bridal Scoops owner Lola plans to run the shop during its full shift (approximately 2 p.m.–9 p.m.) and offered a two-part promotion: free soft-serve with purchase during the first half of the day and nonalcoholic Caribbean-style slushy drinks in the second half. Council members asked volunteers to help staff parts of the day and agreed to share promotional posts. The clerk and others discussed Facebook sharing limits and recommended creating a public event page (rather than a private group post) to make sharing easier.
Council members also discussed the West End Association’s Rockwell Festival after the chair relayed a report that Dave Haberfeld said the festival "is canceled for this year — and every year going forward," according to the transcript. Members said they need clarification from Haberfeld; in the meantime they discussed options including meeting with Haberfeld to explore partnerships, rebranding the event as an arts-and-culture festival, or staging a smaller-scale replacement that would require less lead time and volunteer bandwidth.
A business-promotion idea drew strong interest: a "Diversity Council passport" in which residents collect stamps or digital entries at participating local businesses and become eligible for year-end events or rewards. Members debated logistics — unique stamps versus a single council stamp, whether to use physical passports or a digital QR code/Google Form to record purchases, and how to recruit businesses and underwrite any raffle prizes. Dan Mina (named in the transcript as a potential printer and passport partner) was suggested as a possible collaborator; several members recommended exploring Chamber of Commerce involvement and low-cost QR/digital solutions to minimize maintenance burdens.
Other community updates included a successful seed-paper workshop run by Crystal Pride and a community garden opening. The council closed after routine business and agreed to pursue follow-up conversations about the festival, passport program and support for Bridal Scoops.
