Online live social media festival promotes local businesses

By Steve Hubrecht
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An online festival promoting Columbia Basin businesses that meet with great success this past spring is set to launch a second iteration in a week’s time.

The #BuyBasin Festival was conceived by the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) and Festival Seekers as a means to help businesses across the region that were struggling in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It was such a hit that the CBT and Festival Seekers are bringing it back again, starting on Monday, Oct. 18.

The festival, which will run until Wednesday, Nov. 10, takes place live on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and will feature more than 100 local businesses, as well as performers, artists, musicians and special guests. The businesses will highlight an eye-catching array of products and services, and there will be plenty of giveaways, demos, tips and more.

The CBT website, ourtrust.org/grants-and-programs-directory/buybasin-festival/, will serve as the hub of the action, and each day through the festival, five or six of the businesses will be going live on their own social media pages with videos, promotions and all kinds of other fun. 

A pair of Columbia Valley businesses — Kootenay Clothing Company and Kootenay Adventure Collective, both of which are part of the Kootenay Collective — are among those set to go live early on in the festival.

“I was part of the first #BuyBasin Festival with my zipline and Segway tour company, and it was very successful,” says Kootenay Adventure Collective owner Patrick Tolchard. “With my new business, this second #BuyBasin Festival is a great opportunity to branch out to the local area and to tell people what we offer.”

“It’s one of the most unique ways to showcase local businesses on social platforms that I’ve seen so far. It will certainly help us amplify what we do on our social media and hopefully will help us to reach new people in the Kootenay region,” says Kootenay Clothing Company owner Andrea Tubbs.

The spring edition of #BuyBasin also featured more than 100 local businesses and managed to reach nearly 1 million people, explained Festival Seekers social media manager Stevie Froese. 

“It was pretty exciting to see that interest. Obviously, at that level, we were reaching quite a few people outside the Columbia Basin as well as in the basin, and it was a great way for basin businesses to showcase products and services that are unique to the area, that are made here or produced here,” says Froese. “Even as a local, you may forget what is in your own backyard, and this is a great reminder.”

When the pandemic began and restrictions set in, many people stayed in their homes and turned to large online portals such as Amazon for online shopping, and foot traffic in basin business dropped off, she explained. “The festival started as a response to that. But once we found out how valuable the live videos are and live social media festival concept is in terms of not only boosting the economy, but also creating optimism for the community, we wanted to do another.”

The full lineup of business can be found at /ourtrust.org/grants-and-programs-directory/buybasin-festival. From here, you can connect to each business or performer’s Facebook or Instagram page and tune in when they go live. If you miss a live video, no problem, simply use the lineup to catch up and to find outstanding local deals.