PARIS — An event showcasing more than 60 local businesses from across Oxford Hills will be held Saturday, Oct. 12, at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School.
Businesses that plan to attend the event run the gamut, from auto sales to art galleries; hot tubs to home builders, and everything in between.
The business showcase, organized by the Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce is open to the public and entrance to the event is free. The showcase, held in the school’s gymnasium, will start at 9 a.m and run until 3 p.m.
The intention, said Chamber Director John Williams, is to give Oxford Hills residents an opportunity to see the variety of products, services and organizations available in their own communities.
It also gives a chance for businesses and organizations to meet and network with one another, Williams said.
Exhibitors from 13 towns encompassing the greater Oxford Hills area are coming to the event, Williams said.
A chili and chowder cook-off will be held alongside the showcase, with ten area restaurants showing off their culinary skills.
The cost to taste both chili and chowder is $2 and participants will vote for their favorites. A winner will be announced at the end of the showcase.
This is the first time in four years that the Chamber has held a public showcase.
In the past few years the chamber has tried different annual forums, like a business-to-business meeting, but the Chamber’s members clamoured for a return of the showcase, and reaction to it has been “tremendous,” Williams said.
The many small, self-owned businesses that are members of the Chamber regard the event as a way to promote themselves and reach out to a variety of different people who may not know them, said Chamber Executive Assistant Jennifer Boenig.
It also gives people attending the event a chance to see the full spectrum of services available in their own towns.
“If smaller businesses don’t have money for marketing, maybe they haven’t gotten their name out to let folks know what they’re all about; it lets folks know we have a lot to offer here in Oxford Hills.”
pmcguire@sunjournal.com
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