The Town of Bristol and the Bristol Merchants Association are accepting applications for businesses interested in obtaining outdoor equipment like heating lamps, tents, and string lights. The Town took delivery of a truckload of materials on Saturday and is hoping to distribute quickly to local businesses.

The ‘Take It Outside‘ Initiative was created to encourage and increase outdoor commerce and reduce the transmission rate of COVID-19. Earlier this month, the Town of Bristol was awarded $75,000 in grant funds from the Rhode Island Commerce to support this program.

The Town of Bristol and BMA have established two rounds of applications. Due to limited supplies, the Town asks applicants to limit their request to essential needs only.

The Round One application deadline is Tuesday, Oct. 20. Applications should be submitted by email to the Bristol Merchants Association at bristolmerchantsassociationri@gmail.com. If the Town of Bristol has additional supplies, it will review applications submitted after the round one deadline on a first-come, first-serve basis.

To download the application, please visit www.bristolri.gov/take-it-outside.

For additional questions related the Take It Outside initiative, contact the Bristol Merchants Association at bristolmerchantsassociationri@gmail.com.