THE organisers behind Winton Carnival have launched a new competition called ‘Search for a Star’ to try to increase footfall for small businesses.

Stars will be displayed in the shop windows of 30 businesses in Winton, Moordown and Charminster for the nine days leading up to the carnival. Customers are supposed to go and collect special stickers from the shops involved and the three largest collectors will be awarded prizes at the carnival on June 29.

The project manager of Winton Carnival, Molly Heinrich, said: “This is a great opportunity for small businesses in the area as it will give them a chance to capitalise on the success of the carnival.

“We have had a great response from traders and we hope this competition will increase interes.”

The carnival parade starts at 10.30am on June 29 and there are attractions including a funfair, land zorbing, inflatable rides, puppet shows, face painting and trampolines.

The main stage will be graced by entertainment including Bournemouth University Big Band, Winton Salvation Army Band, Samba Panache and The Decatonics.

Molly said: “There were some reservations from traders in previous years about how the road closures during the carnival impacted their sales, but now they are more positive.”

The road closures include Wimborne Road, Cardigan Road, Maxwell Road and Winton Rec.

The Winton Carnival team has delivered 30,000 leaflets in the area surrounding the carnival route to draw attention to the competition.