The Dolphin's 50th Birthday Party

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To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Dolphin has a weekend of celebratory activities planned on Saturday August 3 and Sunday August 4, which will include the ‘50 for 50’ treasure hunt. The Dolphin will be hiding a selection of £50 mock-up notes at undisclosed locations in the centre for members of the public to find.

Clues regarding the location of the notes will be shared on social media in the lead up to the event and include:
​​​​​•    Dolphins enjoy playing in them and surfers enjoy riding them
•    This store has its Head Office located in Poole
•    The biggest department store in Dorset
•    Everything sparkles at the longest-standing jeweller in the centre
•    Ahoy there sailors, grab your favourite meal at the biggest restaurant inside the centre
•    A place where food can be shared to reduce waste

The Dolphin officially opened its doors on July 1 1969, known for the first two decades as The Arndale Centre, before a newly refurbished centre opened in 1989 under its new name, the Dolphin Shopping Centre.

Activities for the celebratory weekend include:

Free ice cream – Ice Chefs will be making fresh ice cream for shoppers, served on sustainable bamboo plates in celebration of the Dolphin’s sustainable ethos. The ice cream flavour will be ‘birthday cake’

Postal service – three postal workers will be roaming the centre to encourage shoppers to write a postcard which will arrive 12 months later to the specified address

Giant Pass the Parcel – keep a look out for giant parcels stuffed with prizes, which will be passed around the centre from cheerful parcel passers that will be dressed head to toe in bright and colourful outfits

Live music from The Summer of ’69 Birthday Band – complete with 1969 and Beatles-inspired costumes to get shoppers in full swing to celebrate

Cartoonist Rose Popay – Rose will be creating mini portraits for 50 shoppers, as well as creating a painting ‘Portrait of a Party’ for the centre to capture the spirit of the celebratory weekend

Walking birthday cake – characters dressed up as birthday cake will be roaming around the centre to bring laughter and entertainment

 

John Grinnell, centre manager at the Dolphin Shopping Centre, commented: “We’re very excited to officially celebrate the Dolphin’s 50th anniversary and this ‘50 for 50’ treasure hunt is just one of the fun things we have in store for the weekend’s special activities.

“Further clues and updates will be shared on our social pages over the course of the weekend, so we advise keeping an eye on these for a better chance of working out the secret locations. If anybody is lucky enough to find one, please bring this to centre management desk, located at the top of the escalators by Animal and HMV, and this will be exchanged for a £50 voucher to be spent at a selected retailer in the centre.”

To celebrate the centre’s 50th anniversary, the Dolphin’s renowned wooden animals will be making a return to the centre for a limited period of time.

John added: “The hippo, turtle and whale are a cherished part of the centre’s heritage, so it’s only natural that these would return for our special celebratory weekend and several weeks following this.

“We understand that they hold great sentimental value for many people that spent their childhoods in the shopping centre. Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to climb on the animals, but they will be in full view for people to enjoy.