Mall at University Town Center giving away $5,000 shopping spree in photo contest
UNIVERSITY PARK -- The Mall at University Town Center is giving a creative Facebook fan a $5,000 shopping spree in advance of its Oct. 16 opening.
The "Show off Your UTC" contest asks Facebook fans to post a creative photo forming the letters "UTC" in a photo and post it on the mall's Facebook page at Facebook.com/MallatUTC through Sept. 30. More than $20,000 in prizes will be awarded along with the $5,000 VIP shopping spree.
"The community has expressed tremendous enthusiasm and support for the grand opening of The Mall at University Town Center," said Kim Dominguez, marketing and sponsorship director for the mall. "We anticipate strong contest participation and look forward to seeing the creativity of our shoppers as they 'Show off their UTC.'"
The mall partnered with local photographers Barbara Banks and Detlev Von Kessel to take example photos with the Sarasota Ballet, Southeastern Guide Dogs, Lakewood Ranch High School's cheerleading team and Waterlefe Golf and River Club to illustrate the type of creativity they want.
Mall officials will review entries Oct. 1-9 and select five photos to move into a semi-final round where Facebook fans will vote from Oct. 10-19 up to once per day. The photo with the most votes wins the grand prize.
The $5,000 shopping spree also includes one year of monthly valet parking, $250 in dining vouchers and a mall Santa photo package.
Voters also will be entered for a daily $1,000 shopping spree during the 10-day period. Those winners will also receive two tickets for the sneak peak shopping event Oct. 15, the night before the mall opens.
The contest is open to legal residents of the United States, 18 years old or older as of the entry date.
Charles Schelle, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow him on Twiter @ImYourChuck.
This story was originally published September 3, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Mall at University Town Center giving away $5,000 shopping spree in photo contest ."