The All Around the Bend Business Showcase from the West Bend Area Chamber of Commerce is back for its second year. This year, the event takes place on April 13th at the West Bend High School Fieldhouse. There will be more than 80 exhibitors, plus food and entertainment!

Amber Cypcar from the Chamber joins me this week to talk about the event and what to expect this year!

Mentioned in this episode:

• All Around The Bend Business Showcase - A Community Event! - Apr 13, 2024 - Events - West Bend Area Chamber of Commerce Inc., WI
• All Around the Bend - Facebook Event

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I told that to someone on the phone today, and they said if they were standing next to me, they would have hit me, and I would have deserved it, though I don't condone violence. We did have a fantastic time, and while I fear we may be becoming, and I'm using finger quotes, Disney people, Disney people. We enjoy it.

Our daughter enjoys it. My wife enjoys it. I know Disney enjoys that we're there and uh, our credit card company, they enjoy it as well. So that's nice. Hey speaking of nice Nice transition fuzz. This week, Amber Cypcar the Events and Programs Manager for the West Bend Area Chamber of Commerce, joins me to talk about All Around the Bend Business Showcase, a great event for the community happening at the West Bend High School Fieldhouse on Saturday, April 13th.

It will feature businesses from around the area and a lot of fun activities for the whole family, kind of like Disney. See? With that, here are 15 minutes on All Around the Bend Business Showcase with Amber Cypcar. On Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.

Amber, the West Bend Chamber of Commerce is hosting All Around the Bend. Uh, the business showcase at the West Bend high school field house coming up on Saturday, April 13th. Can you start by giving us an overview of the event?

And you can learn about all the different resources that are available. So it's a great Showcase our thriving business community here in West Bend, but it's not only just about business We have to have a little bit of fun, too So we have a lot of fun elements in the event as well. There's different entertainment groups coming in different school groups They're going to be singing and showcasing their talents There is a play zone for kids.

We have to have something for everyone, right? So we got the fun play zone going on. There is a huge raffle. There's almost 80 raffle prizes in the raffle and a lot of other giveaways. There's a grand prize giveaway too, which I'll talk about a little later. And of course there's food and concessions. So be sure to come hungry.

Try some local flavors here in town. So we're just happy to have brought together so many different parts of the community for this event. And we cannot wait to see everybody on April 13th.

What inspired the chamber to create All Around the Bend?

We make sure that it aligns with those pillars and the business showcase does just that. It is a platform for businesses to form connections with other businesses and with clients. It is a chance for businesses to promote themselves and get their names out there And it's a way for the community to learn About what their businesses are doing and how we can build support for our business community as well So that is what inspired the mission of this event the purpose of it And then for the logistical parts of it too, we, in this event, the first year of it was last year.

So we were taking into account a lot of the effects of COVID. Businesses were still coming out of COVID difficulties. We know that many physical stores were impacted. Many businesses shifted to an online model maybe. So they don't have that in store face to face time anymore. Right. Staffing was an issue and is still an issue.

Business owners can't get away from their businesses for long. So in the logistical sense that we knew, okay, it needs to be a one day event that business owners have the chance to get out and participate. It needs to be affordable. It's not going to be your fanciest showcase. It's not the big screens and the big lights and things like that, but it's so authentic and it's so genuine and we want to keep it that way.

And of course it's in person, which is a big part of this. So. That is what helped us form the basis of it, the foundation, and then we didn't want to limit it to a theme or a specific topic like a home explorer or a trade show. We wanted it to be West Bend. So that's how we came up with the name too is, you know, West Bend, Bend, all around, All Around the Bend.

Business showcase. Excellent. That's what inspired

It did. Yes. The home show, the chamber hosted the home show that went on for 47 years. So that was a well run event. And it was time to retire it because it wasn't speaking to our mission anymore. It, it was a lot of outside businesses and we wanted to just focus more on our community. So

How has the All Around the Bend changed since year one?

So we kept the foundation, of course, you know, inviting businesses. We're happy to welcome almost 80 businesses this year. And the cool thing about that is a lot of them are different than last year. So even if you came to last year's showcase, you're going to see a whole new slew of businesses. Some will be from last year as well, but a lot of them are new.

So that's really exciting. We evolved the, or the entertainment people loved it. And we just grew that more. So we got even more school groups involved. We have a big lineup this year. The play zone is new. That is just another fun element we added in. And then for businesses, we, on the business side of things, we incorporated some sponsorship opportunities for them.

Sponsorships are important for businesses. They are often, a part of their marketing strategy. So we wanted to make sure that that is available for them, too, so that it can evolve on that end as well. So it's gonna keep growing. It grew a little bit this year, and it's probably gonna grow a little bit more next year, so we can't wait to see where it goes.

Bigger names that you're going to recognize. It's the showcase. It was open to any West Bend business, so they don't necessarily have to be a chamber member. But many of them are, and you'll see them, they'll have a sign by their booth, proud chamber member. But it was open to all businesses. Any business located in West Bend or a company that services the West Bend community.

So you're going to find all different types, all different industries, real estate, construction, insurance, photography, vendors, real tail retailers, both large and small food. The Humane Society will be there with some adorable doggies. Oh, excellent. So, you can melt your heart.

Oh, man. And it was the cutest trade show I've ever been at. That sounds great. So, having the Washington County Humane Society be there with pets will be awesome. Uh huh, yep. So You talked about some live performances and entertainment. What do you have planned for the event in that way? What can people expect to see?

Okay. That's really exciting. And there's a few different, just local students who have interested music. There is a band that some high school students have, it's called the brass project and it's a brass band. And then there is a local student, Tristan Colbert, and he plays the cello, but he plays the cello like, a, Beast.

He's so good. So we cannot wait to see them all. All the groups that were at the showcase last year were great, and we imagine that it's going to be just as great this year. Awesome.

What kind of activities for kids and families do you have there?

Connections with business leaders, but they love jumping in a bounce house and getting their face painted. So that's what we did. We brought in a bounce house. Thanks to one of our wonderful sponsors. There will be a face painter, a free face painter from 10 until one. There's a little arts and crafts section.

So you can make a fun project if you want. There's a showcase scavenger hunt. So if kids do get stuck walking around with their parents. They have something to do and interact with the booths on their level. And then also citizens advocates, they're going to be in the showcase this year and they do a craft project for all ages and all abilities.

And they're going to be doing this craft project out of their booth. And it's cool because you can create this project, but then these projects are donated to a local organization. Oh, great. You can make a little project. And it will go to a senior citizen or something like that. It's a craft that brings joy to others.

Oh, that's fun. That's cool, too. So they'll be there and you can do that as part of the play zone as well. It's a fun time. Lots of things for kids to do of all ages.

Will there be local restaurants or who is? Supplying the food this year.

So they have the classic offerings, subs, pizza, chips, pretzels, water, things like that. So it definitely support them by getting something from concessions. And then we do have a few restaurants participating this year. We're excited about Billy Sims barbecue. They had samples last year. I'm sure they'll have them again this year.

People like the samples, so they got great barbecue and great mac and cheese and then timmers resort is also in the showcase this year. They are a staple in our community. We're hoping they're bringing they bring samples But they'll definitely be there talking about their event space that they have and their menu and events going on, too So lots of food options, a little bit of flavor from around town, so you can come eat.

All types of raffle baskets. So fun baskets, tech. Tech gadgets, gift certificates, gift cards, different services, tickets to shows, all kinds of things that you can get a raffle ticket for. There's also a lot of free giveaways, thanks to the vendors. And you can pick that up as you're going and visiting their different booths.

And then there is the grand prize giveaway, which is a grand prize drawing of a hundred dollars in chamber checks. Cool. So if you don't know what chamber checks are, they are Pretty much a gift card for local businesses in town. They can be used at any member that is a chamber member, any business that's a chamber member.

So all attendees have to do is they're going to get a punch card when they come to the event, they go around, talk to different vendors, get a little signature from the vendors they talk to. Once their punch card is full, turn it in and then they'll be entered. We'll pick one winner at three o'clock at the end of the event and they'll get the 100 in chamber checks.

So, two businesses were, participated last year. Beats Goes On, which is a local record store in downtown, and Laffy Mountain Gourmet Popcorn, uh, gourmet popcorn shop downtown. They were in the showcase last year, and they just, their booths happened to be next to each other. And at the event, they got to talking and they wanted to find a way to cross promote their products and they got to talking and they and they came up with this idea that Laughing Mountain would create a popcorn flavor and they would title it.

According to uh, album. Okay. A music album! So the first flavor they came out with, was the Bark Side of the Moon. Oh nice. Pretty self explanatory. And it had chocolate bark, it was a butter toffee popcorn and it was sold at beats goes on. And it sold out in the first two weeks! People loved it! And so they kept, they made more flavors and more names, and So that project came just because they met at the business showcase and it strengthened their both of their businesses and helped both of them grow and that I think is what this is really all about.

Sure. You know, we had the foundation, so now we weren't scrambling so much. So now we could get it out and promote it a little more. It's a free event, so I'm hoping everybody comes. Maybe 600, maybe 800, I don't know. We want everyone there. Fill the parking lot. Fill the field house. Free parking, lots of parking.

Come on down.

That's a huge goal of this. And then actually another goal is to involve the school district as much as possible. We know how important a strong relationship is between the school district and the business community. The students are our future leaders and our future team members. So we need to have that strong relationship and we want to get them involved.

They are so supportive of us, so we just want to reciprocate that. So we have the entertainment and the concessions. I'm talking with, Family and Consumer Sciences For next year's showcase to help them help with the play zone and involve that more, tech department and pro portfolio projects for students, things like that.

So just giving support in ways that we can so that they can utilize this event in their endeavors as well.

That are participating are so excited to meet everyone. They're there. They're going to be there to answer your questions and talk to you and tell you what about what they have going on. Don't be scared. It's not silly, silly, pushy, pushy. It's a nice chance to meet everybody and get to know who is in our community.

Of course, Spreading the word about the event, getting lots of people there that's going to help the businesses too, because everybody's going to make even more connections, a lot of social media like and share the social media posts. You see, there is a Facebook event, the All Around the Bend business showcase.

Okay, that can be liked and shared. You'll find a lot of info about the event too. And then of course, Supporting the local businesses on their social media is also a lot of them depend on that for their marketing So a simple like can go a long way for a local business So just doing that and then of course the support goes long after the show when we're utilizing all of them for our needs

All right So if somebody wants to learn more about All Around the Bend and see the details see some more of that Where can they find more information?

Click on that. You'll find very detailed information about the event on our events calendar. You also find other events that the chamber hosts throughout the year, social media, the chamber Facebook page, and the All Around the Bend Facebook event. Those are there. Great resources and spots for information too.

All right. Awesome.

Doors are open from 10 until 3 All Around the Bend Business Showcase. And it's free. And it's free.

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