Happy October!

October is genuinely my favorite time of year on Cape Cod. Everybody is out and about enjoying the sunshine and crisp fall air.

Thank you to all the members who attended the Cape Cod 5 Business After Hours. The turnout was fantastic, and seeing everyone after a jam-packed summer was so nice. Congratulations to our drawing winners, Bev Fuller, Paul Shorthose, and Jen Cusack.  Also thanks to Amanda Constant, Branch Manager, and her fantastic team for a terrific setup. Thank you to Brian Junkins and his team for the great wine and food (I'm very excited to see the new Friends' Catering Menu coming soon), and thank you to Hog Island for my favorites being cold!

We will be launching a new website in the next few weeks. Emails will be going out to Chamber members to update your profiles with logos and links to your business. The information in the business profile will be fed directly to the new website. I will send instructions for easy edits as soon as I have them. Keep an eye out.

Several events are taking place this month, and they are listed below. But I also want to mention one December event because the bots on the World Wide Web have confused quite a few of us in the past few searches. Santa Stampede will be on Saturday, December 2. Information on the Stampede and Small Business Saturday will be going out shortly. But please mark your calendars for Santa Stampede on Saturday, December 2, 2023.

I look forward to seeing you all around town.

Be well!

Judy Lindahl

Executive Director

October Business After Hours

Join us for an evening of networking & socializing at our October Business After Hours at Crane Appliance on October 19th, 5:30-7 p.m. Free for members and $10/non-members. Sign up here.

Head to the Orleans Farmer's Market every Saturday from 8 a.m.-noon and receive exclusive, local offerings for different businesses in Orleans! Businesses that would like to be included in the promotion should reach out to [email protected] by 12pm every Thursday.

Halloween Stroll

Orleans Elementary School Annual Halloween Stroll on Main Street will be held on October 28th with an October 29th rain date. Time TBD.

Bridge to Honor Fallen Coast Guard Vet

A bridge on Route 28 along Pleasant Bay will be named after U.S. Coast Guardsman Norman Finch who died with 131 other people aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Tampa in 1918. Finch's family has been working to try to get the purple heart veteran honored and it will finally happen on October 21 at 10 a.m. For more information, please click here.

Cape Cod Healthcare in Urgent Need of Blood

Cape Cod Hospital and Falmouth Hospital are in urgent need of blood donations. Numerous blood drives are being held across Cape Cod in October to benefit Cape Cod Healthcare (CCHC). There will be one in Orleans on October 20: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Orleans Police Department, 99, Eldredge Park Way. Donors will receive a Stop & Shop gift card. Sign up here.

Housing Summit

Join us at the 2nd Annual Housing to Protect Cape Cod Summit on Thursday, October 26, 8:30 a.m.- 1:30 p.m. at the Cape Codder Resort to hear about progress made over the past year and receive tools and resources to advocate for housing in your community. Click here to sign up or for more info.

Courses Offered at Snow Library

Snow Library will be offering 24 courses as part of their Lifetime Learning Program. For more information and to register, click here.

Andrew Petitto at Addison Art Gallery

On Saturday, October 14, the Addison Art Gallery, 43 South Orleans Road, Orleans, will present Fused Media by Andrea Petitto with a reception from 4:00 to 6:00. In this, her latest work, Petitto incorporates charcoal drawings and vigorous and colorful brush work with digital painting.

Outermost Music Fest Seeking Sponsors & Volunteers

The Sold Out Outermost Roots & Blues Music Fest being held at Nauset Beach on October 7th is looking for sponsors and volunteers for the festival. For more information, please click here.

Create a Content Calendar for Your Small Business

Most small businesses collect email addresses and maintain social media accounts. Once you have them, how do you use them? Creating a simple content calendar will allow you to organize the content for your emails and posts, to ensure consistency and avoid last minute scrambling. As you reach out to your market for holiday and end of year sales, consider creating a content calendar using these four tips: 

- Define your goals and identify your methods of reaching customers. Are you using it for emails or social media? Are you trying to move merchandise? Grow a customer base?
- Create a template for your calendar. Include the date, content theme, and method.
- Use a traditional calendar for inspiration. Use holidays and times of year for inspiration. Need further inspiration? Search “national day calendar” – there’s a day for everything!
- Decide how often you are going to publish. How frequently do you want to reach out? Be realistic – start small to set yourself up for success.

The CDP offers a range of small business programs to nurture the launch and growth of small business. Learn more by visiting https://capecdp.org/local-business.