Our team has spent much of the first month of this year planning for all that’s ahead, and that includes working on our Chamber calendar of events for 2024. Chamber events are designed to focus on our mission: to build vital connections, provide professional resources, and champion our local businesses in Chautauqua County.

Building connections is part of everything we do at the Chamber of Commerce. We connect businesses with customers, businesspeople with peers, and businesses to resources. Our events reflect these objectives. 2023 was a big year for Chamber events as attendance climbed by more than 82%. We hope you’ll join us this year to see firsthand what all the business buzz is about.

Out of the gate this year we have been heavily involved in planning for the 20th Annual Doors Open Jamestown coming up February 3 and the Mayville Winter Festival set for February 16-18 at Lakeside Park. To many, these events appear to be just fun opportunities for the community to get involved in something during the winter. For the Chamber of Commerce, they really do focus on building customer bases for local businesses. Doors Open Jamestown will feature a texting scavenger hunt among 19 local attractions and 18 additional local businesses – encouraging consumers to visit those venues. The Mayville Winter Festival brings together local concessionaires and vendors so potential customers can experience their products, while also drawing traffic to other nearby businesses. Both events draw thousands of people who can, and likely will, be current and future customers for local businesses.

Similarly, the annual First Friday series is scheduled in Westfield. A First Friday preview evening will be held May 3 as local businesses open to additional foot traffic, then for the additional summer months First Friday will be expanded as it was last year with the closure of Main Street to allow for vendors, activities, and live music. Those dates are set for June 7, July 12 (to coincide with Alumni Weekend in Westfield), August 2, and September 6.

The Chamber offers a variety of resources for local businesses, and this year is ramping up its Business Builder Workshop series as an additional way for businesspeople to gain knowledge and focus on helpful services. Our first session on insurance and business planning was a resounding success featuring outstanding questions and answers. Coming up for the rest of the year we will offer a reprise of our Eclipse Opportunities session to help local businesses focus on how they can capitalize on the influx of tourist traffic. That session is set for March 8 at the Marvin Community House in Jamestown. In July we will focus a Business Builder Workshop on branding through storytelling and imagery, and coming up in October our focus will be on prepping your business for the holiday season.

The Chamber’s Business After Hours networking sessions continue to grow in popularity and very directly meet our objective to create peer to peer connections. The first this year will be held in the upstairs media arts center at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown March 21. Music for Your Mouth in Mayville will host Business After Hours May 15. We continue to work with local businesses and organizations to confirm dates and venues countywide, with a goal of at least six Business After Hours events through the year.

Our legislative series is coming together this year as well. The Chamber’s annual County Executive Breakfast will be held April 19 at the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel. The State Legislative Breakfast will be May 10 at a location to be announced, and our Congressional Breakfast will be scheduled in the summer.

As we continue to lock in dates and places for Chamber events throughout the year we always encourage our members to look at our online calendar for updates at www.chqchamber.org or sign up for our emails on our Stay Up to Date page so you can get our weekly email newsletter and special emails announcing upcoming events.

DOORS OPEN JAMESTOWN IS FEBRUARY 3

Nineteen local venues will participate in Doors Open Jamestown, Saturday, February 3. Doors Open is designed as a day when local museums and attractions open their doors to the public for free, providing opportunities for local people to get a taste of the many assets available right here in our own community.

Participating this year are: Audubon Community Nature Center; Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center; Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame; *Fenton History Center; Infinity Visual and Performing Arts; Jamestown Prendergast Library; Lucile M. Wright Air Museum; *Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum; Lucille Ball Little Theatre of Jamestown; Martz-Kohl Observatory; Marvin Community House; *National Comedy Center; *Northwest Arena; Partridge-Sheldon House; Pearl City Clay House; Reg Lenna Center for the Arts; Robert H. Jackson Center; Roger Tory Peterson Institute; and Winifred Crawford Dibert Boys & Girls Club. Those marked with an asterisk require pre-registration and restrictions may apply. Please check those venues’ websites for details.

Doors Open will run from 10am-4pm and will feature a scavenger hunt using questions at each location with answers to be submitted by text. In addition to the entries available at each participating attraction, you can get bonus entries by visiting local businesses. Participating are: 4 Below Haggy’s Bar and Grill, Art Cloth & Craft, Ballgame Heroes, BioDome Project, Brazil Craft Beer and Wine Lounge, Chautauqua Art Gallery, Chautauqua County Humane Society, Chautauqua Soap Co., CHQ Plus Store, Country Woods, Crown Street Roasting Company, Epic Floats & Wellness, Hazeltine Public Library, Labyrinth Press Company, Pearl City Hops Restaurant and Tavern, Peterson’s Candies, and Reishore Clothing.

For more information visit www.jtny.events.