Shop Local

The Shop Richmond Hill Photo Contest [“#ShopRichmondHill”] begins on Monday, March 1, 2021, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. 

To Enter

Participants will have two ways to enter - either through Social Media (Twitter, Facebook or Instagram) or through our online submission form. Participants must submit an original photo of how they “buy local” and “shop Richmond Hill” in March. As visiting small businesses in-person may be a challenge in the COVID-19 landscape, participants are encouraged to get creative in their photo of showing how they support local small businesses in Richmond Hill and why they think it matters, while following public health guidelines.

Steps to Enter

1. Support a small business within the City of Richmond Hill by purchasing local gifts, ordering takeout, purchasing a gift card or otherwise showing your support for buying local.
2. Take a photo showing how you support that Richmond Hill small business. Photo eligibility outlined below.
3. Post your photo on Social Media (Twitter, Facebook or Instagram) OR send your photo via the online submission form
• For social media entries:
  • Follow the City of Richmond Hill @myRichmondHill.
  • In the caption, please include the business name and tag them if applicable.
  • You must tag us @myRichmondHill and use the #ShopRichmondHill hashtag.

• For online submission entries: Please send your photo (max file size 2MB) as a JPG or PNG file to our online submission form with the subject line: Shop Richmond Hill Contest - [Insert Small Business Name]. You must include the small business name and your name to be entered.

Although not required for eligibility, we encourage you to share why you chose to support that small business or why shopping in Richmond Hill matters to you.

Multiple entries are allowed as long as each photo entry is unique. You may post about the same small business as long as each photo entry shows a different subject or angle.

Photos selected in a random draw will be reviewed for eligibility, and City of Richmond Hill staff will contact the winners.

Photo Eligibility

The City of Richmond Hill has full discretion in applying the following criteria to judging photos received in the #ShopRichmondHill Contest:

• An entry must show items purchased from a Richmond Hill small business or otherwise show support for Richmond Hill small business between Monday, March 1, 2021, to Wednesday, March 31, 2021
• A participant may enter multiple photos from the same or different businesses, as long as each photo entry shows a different subject or angle, it will be considered as a separate entry.
• Items purchased online and delivered via curbside pickup or a local porch drop are eligible. 
• Photos must not contain negative or obscene gestures, symbols or words, or show illegal behaviour.

Prizes

The following prizes are available as part of the #ShopRichmondHill Contest:

• Three first prize random draw for a voucher valued at $500 ("Prize Voucher"), to be spent at a small business in Richmond Hill 
• Three secondary prize random draws for vouchers valued at $100 each, to be spent at a BIA member business from the BIA's Business Directory
• Three tertiary prize random draws for vouchers valued at $100 each, to be spent at selected Richmond Hill Board of Trade members' businesses

The random draws will include all eligible photos posted during the contest [March 1 to March 31 inclusive], and the winning photos will be selected the week the contest ends.

Prizes winners must complete the prize declaration by April 14, 2021 or will otherwise forfeit their prize.

Prizes must be collected from the City of Richmond Hill at a mutually agreed upon time and place by no later than April 30, 2021. The City reserves the right to amend this deadline past April 30, 2021 based on public health measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prize amounts include taxes, tips, or other expenses incurred while redeeming the voucher.

Alcohol and tobacco products cannot be purchased with prize vouchers won.

Eligibility for #ShopRichmondHill Contest

To win, players must be Ontario residents who have reached age 18 prior to March 1st,  2021. Employees of the City of Richmond Hill, the Richmond Hill Board of Trade, Richmond Hill Business Improvement Area, and their consultants and consultant subcontractors are not eligible to play.

Procedure for awarding prizes in #ShopRichmondHill Contest

CITY OF RICHMOND HILL staff will contact contest winners to notify them of their prize.

Players will accept their prize outside the business location where their photo was taken, at a date and time pre-arranged by the player, a CITY OF RICHMOND HILL staff, and the business.

Declaration of a winner is subject to the contestant answering a skill-testing question and showing valid photo ID as further set out in the General Rules for #ShopRichmondHill Contest.

General Rules for #ShopRichmondHill Contest

1. To be declared a winner of the #ShopRichmondHill Contest (the “Contest”), the selected eligible contestant must first correctly answer a skill-testing question: (i) acknowledges that the contestant has read, understood and has complied with these General Rules; (ii) that by participating in the Contest of the Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill (“CITY OF RICHMOND HILL”), the contestant: (1)  represents and warrants the contestant is the exclusive owner of the Photo submitted and any image therein and/or have all necessary rights, title and interest in and to the image; and further that the Photo has not been copied in whole or in part from any other work, does not violate or infringe any copyright, moral right, trademark or other proprietary right of any person or entity, and is, together with the copyright and moral rights therein, your sole and exclusive property (2) acknowledges and agrees that, upon submission of the Photo, all the contestant’s ownership rights shall be assigned to the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL, the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL shall become the sole owner of the Photo and all intellectual property and every right, title and interest, including all copyright, in and to the Photo shall become and remain the sole property of the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL without further consideration and to irrevocably waive in favour of the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL all rights of integrity and any other moral rights to the Photo for all time; (3) further acknowledges and agrees that the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL may, in its sole and absolute discretion, use, modify and or further develop the Photo as it deems necessary, including, without limitation, in media such as printed media, promotional materials, website, social media, videos, and in submissions to other print or digital media for publicity purposes;  (4) confirms that the contestant has not incorporated anything into the Photo that would restrict the right of the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL to modify or further develop or otherwise use the Photo in any way the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL deems necessary; (5) understands that once the Photo is posted on a website or other online format, the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL has no control over the Photo and its possible download by any digital user, and that the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL is not responsible for how the photo(s) is/are subsequently used ; and (6) hereby releases the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL and all its officers, directors, employees, appointees, subcontractors and volunteers from any and all claims and/or demands for damages and/or losses of any kind whatsoever arising from the use of the Photo and waive any rights of compensation.
2. In the interests of privacy, the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL will not share publicly any photo submitted as part of this contest which includes, or appears to include, any secondary person other than the contestant.
3. No purchase is required to enter in the Contest. To enter without making a purchase, submit your name, how you are supporting local and your contact info to ecdev@richmondhill.ca.
4. The prize must be accepted as is, and may not be exchanged or refunded for any amount of money, sold or transferred. No substitutions will be allowed.  Any unused portion of a prize will be forfeited. Refusal to accept the prize releases the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL and all its officers, directors, employees, appointees, subcontractors and volunteers from any further obligation to the Contest winner.
5. If the prize cannot be awarded as described in these rules, the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL reserves the right to substitute a prize or prize component with another of comparable value, as determined in its sole discretion.
6. For each random draw, the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL staff will use computer software to select a winning “ballot.” The CITY OF RICHMOND HILL shall assume no liability for losses, delays, errors, technical malfunction, damage or any other issue that may occur during collection or processing of contest “ballots” into the software, including, but not limited to: (i) lost, stolen, delayed, damaged, misdirected, late, destroyed, illegible or incomplete entries; (ii) loss, theft or damage to software or computer or telephone date, including any breach of privacy; (iii) fraudulent calls; (iv) inability of any person to participate in the Contest for any reason including mistaken addresses on mail or email; technical, computer or telephone malfunctions or other problems with computer online systems, servers, access providers, computer equipment, or software; congestion on the internet or at any website, or any combination of the foregoing; (v) damage to any person’s computer, including as a result of playing or downloading any material relating to the Contest; (vi) any delay or inability to act resulting from any event or situation beyond their control whatsoever, including a public health or other emergency, or strike, lockout or other labour dispute at their location or the locations of the organizations and businesses whose services are used to administer this Contest; or (vii) prizes that are lost, damaged or misdirected during shipping.
7. THE CITY OF RICHMOND HILL reserves the right to withdraw, terminate, amend or suspend this contest at any time without notice. The published contest schedule and rules are subject to change at any time and without notice.
8. The CITY OF RICHMOND HILL reserves the right to disqualify from this contest and any future contests or other promotions conducted by the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL, any individual that they find or believe to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the contest, to be acting in violation of the official rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person.
9. Any personal information, such as phone number or email address, will not be kept on file or shared, and will be used solely for the purpose of contacting players who have won the contest and shall not be used for any other purpose without your express consent. By providing this information, you consent to it being used for the stated purposes. Please see the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL’s’ privacy policy at https://www.richmondhill.ca/en/our-services/privacystatement.aspx 
10. If the identity of a contestant is disputed, the authorized account holder of the Facebook or Twitter platform used to submit the entry at the time of entry will be deemed to be the contestant. The individual assigned to the Facebook or Twitter platform associated with the submitted account is considered the authorized account holder. A selected contestant may be required to provide proof that (s)he is the authorized account holder of the Facebook or Twitter account associated with the selected entry. All entries must be submitted from a valid email account that may be identified by reverse domain name search. The sole determinant of time for the purposes of receipt of a valid entry in this Contest will be the Contest server.
11. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries. All entries that are incomplete, illegible, damaged, irregular, have been submitted through illicit means, using any robotic, automatic programmed method that artificially increases the odds of winning or do not conform to or satisfy any condition of the rules may be disqualified by the CITY OF RICHMOND HILL. The CITY OF RICHMOND HILL is not responsible for any errors or omissions in printing or advertising this Contest.
12. Participation in this contest includes acceptance of these rules, which will be applied by CITY OF RICHMOND HILL. All decisions are final.
13. This contest is subject to all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws.  

Show your support in the #ShopRichmondHill contest:

• Download and print off the Shop Local sign to display in your storefront 

Download the Digital Business Toolkit to spread the #ShopRichmondHill campaign to your customers  

• Download Digital Business Toolkit - Word file
• Download Digital Business Toolkit - PDF file

Create your own social media #hashtag and run your own contest alongside #ShopRichmondHill. Follow these easy steps: 

• Encourage your customers to buy something from your business or restaurant
• They take a photo of their purchase (e.g., item, meal, service rendered) and then
• They post it to their social media using #YourBusinessHashtag, #ShopRichmondHill, tagging @MyRichmondHill and mentioning your business in their social media post 

Once posted, their entry will be eligible for your own contest as well as the #ShopRichmondHill contest. 

Please Note: You are responsible for tracking your own hashtag (#YourBusinessHashtag), and contacting and awarding the winner(s) at the end of your contest.