Chamber Annual Events
One of the Chamber’s Strategic Priorities is to facilitate the growth of business-to-business relationships. One of the ways we accomplish this is by hosting events. We connect your business to other businesses – while having FUN! Chamber events also give your business opportunities to Network – Advocate – and Promote! One way to achieve this goal is to participate or sponsor in events.
Here is a summary of our Chamber annual events.
If you have any questions, please contact our staff (218-736-6951).
If you are looking for a great opportunity to network with other business and community members and have something you want to promote (whether you’re a new business or have a community event coming up), Cafés are a great event to attend.
They also allow you to be “in the know” about lots of community projects and events. They are held six times during the year on the second Thursday of a month from 7:30-9:00 am. The January and March Cafés are held virtually due to the unpredictability of the weather, and the remaining cafés are held at a sponsored location of a Chamber member and include breakfast.
This event is a fantastic networking event to connect with others.
If your business wants to have a fun team building activity to do together in the winter, then the Battle of the Businesses Bowling event is YOUR ANSWER.
The BoBB event is typically held on the Saturday of the Super Bowl at Northern Aire Lanes in Fergus Falls. Not only is this event a great team builder, but it’s lots of fun, too. Teams of four adults bowl three fun games – dressed in optional costumes. This is a bowling tournament geared for people who don’t regularly bowl. Tons of door prizes are given away.
We created a new series of training classes in 2023 called the Member Benefits Academy or MBA program. The classes offer members a mixture of business-to-business networking, valuable content from a local expert, and dash of “secret Chamber sauce” (learning more about resources the Chamber offers), served with a light lunch.
Training topics include workforce recruitment strategies, human resources tips, financials, workplace concerns, leadership, and much more.
In partnership with the Fergus Falls High School, we want to recognize all graduating seniors for their accomplishments and future plans, regardless of whether they are entering the workforce, going to college, or taking a gap year following high school. Each May we have an event at the high school where we invite each student and their parents to witness them “signing” a document for their future plans.
Each summer the Chamber encourages shopping locally with some type of shopping incentive or punch card to shop locally and earn a chance for prizes. Chamber member businesses can choose to participate in this special promotion.
Shop, Move ‘n Groove is held typically on the second Thursday of July. It is usually held downtown on Lincoln Avenue or at Spies Riverfront Park. All Chamber members can host a booth space included with membership. Other businesses can also join the fun, but for a fee.
Shop, Move ‘n Groove is a great community summer event with vendor booths, tons of kids games and activities, music, food and more!
The Chamber golf scramble is an event typically held on the third Friday of August. Each year the scramble has a theme and participants are encouraged to take part by dressing in the theme and decorating their tee boxes!
The event is open to Chamber member businesses and is a great day of fun, networking, and laughter. Businesses can sign up to have a golf team, be a tee box sponsor (present on the golf course), a hole sponsor (not present on the course), lunch sponsor, or a party cart sponsor.
Our golf scramble gets rave reviews from businesses participating in it every year. Not only is it a fun event for the golfers but will also get your business the exposure you desire.
This is an event that shows the collaboration of efforts between the City of Fergus Falls, the Fergus Falls Chamber, Visit Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County and Greater Fergus Falls. These organizations work closely together to make Fergus Falls a great place to do business. Each entity has a distinct role in the growth and success of our community.
Business Gives is an annual program that recognizes Chamber member for-profit businesses that donate two percent or more of their pre-tax earnings for charitable donations that come in the form of cash, in-kind services/products, and volunteer hours. The program is designed to motivate, educate, and recognize local businesses for the important and significant contributions they make to their communities. All information collected is confidential and no financial documents are required.
Participants of Business Gives are recognized at the Fergus Falls Refresh event.
In the fall, our Chamber collaborates with the Fergus Falls High School to host this expo. Colleges and businesses can host a tradeshow booth to share information about themselves with more than 1,000 area high school students. Local businesses can also choose to be a tour stop for students to see their place of business firsthand.
This event is usually held in early December. It is a gathering open to Chamber business members to get in the holiday spirit. It is a great holiday celebration event.
In 2023, we took this event ‘on the road’ with a mobile Merry Mix & Mingle tour to a few different establishments, transportation provided by deluxe motorcoach so we can travel as a group.
The Chamber encourages holiday shopping within Fergus Falls at member businesses by having a punch card or other type of promotion for holiday shopping. A variety of prizes are given away for winners drawn at the end of the promotion period. This gets everyone into the holiday shopping spirit!