By By Paula White – President, Boerne Chamber of Commerce
The Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for one of the holiday season's biggest and best events. Our Retail and Marketing Committee, headed up by Paula Hayward of Bear Moon Bakery, has been meeting with merchants who created this wonderful event. The Chamber wants to ensure that we are doing everything we can to promote this event and make it the best it can be to benefit all businesses in our area.
Trolleys have been secured by the Chamber of Commerce this year, in addition to the horse and carriage rides that the merchants always provide. These two 32-passenger trolleys will move people up and down Main Street and River Road with nine stops to let passengers off and pick them up for the return route.
The old Wal-Mart parking lot will be used for free parking.
The free trolleys will shuttle visitors on a revolving route back and forth from the Wal-Mart parking lot into the heart of Boerne for the festivities. Hopefully this will allow the streets to be less congested and open to foot traffic.
Main Street will close down to only two lanes of traffic, with the center lanes open for carriages and trolleys to help move visitors to the event from one point to another.
Each retailer in the downtown area has been contacted to encourage them to stay open late on both Friday and Saturday evenings and to get in the spirit of the event by having their employees dress in Victorian costumes. This adds so much to the event, and visitors love the unique experience of stepping back in time in our quaint, beautifully decorated little town.
Music will abound as many groups have been secured to entertain our guests at several different venues. Be sure to include music (live or otherwise) in your plans for your establishment. Goodies such as cookies and wassail never hurt your business either!
Shoppers tend to stay a little longer in your shop with food and entertainment available.
Many new additions have been made by the Boerne Retail Merchants this year. A booth for shipping your purchases directly to the recipient will be set up for shoppers' convenience. There will be community organizations that will have gift wrapping booths as well.
And, of course, the wassail-tasting contest will be going on in many of the shops for your pleasure (and hopefully your vote). Ballots will be available in various shops to allow you to vote for the best tasting wassail.
Besides providing the trolleys, the Chamber of Commerce will have a booth set up at the corner of Theissen and Main Streets to provide maps and information about the event, as well as general information about Boerne.
Costumed Visitor Specialists will man the booth to help give directions and information. The Chamber has hired extra help to keep the Visitor Center open both Friday and Saturday, which is typically a holiday for our volunteers and staff. All in all, this event, in its fourth year now, has the potential to grow and flourish with the help of many volunteers.
Next year we hope to add step-on guides on the trolleys to give historical information about our town and tell visitors about points of interest that otherwise might be missed during their visit. If you would be interested in being a step-on guide in the future, please call the Chamber and ask for Jim Bond, who manages the Chamber Visitor Center. And above all else, enjoy the season and make our guests feel welcome. Show them our true Boerne charm and hopefully they will come back many times and tell others just how special Boerne is.
CHAMBER WELCOMES THREE NEW MEMBERS – JOINING AT THE BRONZE LEVEL … Paradise Tan, Tracie Purdy, Owner/Operator, 1414 E. Blanco Road, Suite 11, Boerne, (Tanning Salon); Friedman's Jewelry Beatrice Charles, Store Partner/Manager, 1375 S. Main Street, Suite 201, Boerne (Jewelry Store}; and Pat's Creative Stitches, Pat Gray, Owner, 201 Idlewilde Blvd., Comfort (Custom Embroidery). Please help us welcome these new members.
The Chamber appreciates the support of our members so that we can continue to be the business advocate for our area. For information on becoming a member of the Greater Boerne Chamber of Commerce, call Stacy Minor at (830) 249-8000 or drop by our offices at 126 Rosewood.
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