The Downtown Simcoe BIA (Business Improvement Area) is launching a special in-store Valentine’s contest from Feb. 4 to Feb. 13, 2026, to encourage more people to shop locally in Simcoe, Ontario. The BIA says the campaign is designed to help local retailers during the typical post-holiday slow sales period.
To enter the contest, shoppers must visit participating stores in person and complete paper ballots. An estimated 20+ shops along streets such as Peel Street, Norfolk Street and Robinson Street are expected to take part. Each participating merchant will donate an item or gift card to create a collective grand-prize basket for one winner.
The Downtown Simcoe BIA will provide ballot boxes, entry tickets and promotional support; participating businesses’ only stated cost is the donated prize item. Ballot boxes will be picked up the morning of Feb. 13 and the winner will be drawn that afternoon via a Facebook Live on the BIA’s page.
Les Anderson is the coordinator of the Downtown Simcoe BIA. The BIA’s event messaging says the choice to use in-store paper ballots — rather than a purely digital entry — is intended to get more shoppers through storefront doors and increase direct engagement with merchants.
The contest comes after a period of leadership turnover and governance scrutiny for the BIA in 2023–24 (including resignations reported in mid‑2024) and is part of broader efforts to restore foot traffic and vibrancy to the downtown core.
