Traders applaud entertaining move

– Kelly Yates
DANDENONG’S peak retail body believes free on-street entertainment is responsible for one of the city’s best Christ-mas shopping periods in recent years.
The Dandenong Retail Traders’ Association (DRTA) paid for three days of street performances in the lead-up to Christmas.
Entertainers included an accordion-playing lady dressed as a Christmas tree, jugglers and high stilt walkers.
DRTA chairman Roy Aspinall said the streets were “pretty buoyant”, and there seemed to be more people shopping compared to previous years.
He said the entertainment was one of the reasons for consistent improvement in the city’s strip shopping precinct.
Mr Aspinall said businesses were happy with the entertainers.
“They were excellent, they were the best batch we’ve ever had,” he said.
Mr Aspinall said the DRTA would consider live entertainment for this year’s Christmas shopping period.