Ready or Not, Harvest Happens
If you weren't there, you must be insane.
The Chamber's Harvest Happening brought together awesome food from The Flying Dish, superb bluegrass music by the Bandolins and the unbeatable ambience of the Grange Hall for one fun-filled evening Oct. 19.
In a season that hasn't quite decided whether it's autumn yet, at least our Harvest Happening happened on schedule. Torrential rains turned the Grange's driveway into a river that emptied out into the back yard -- where people happened to be parking their cars -- and we hear that one unlucky soul's vehicle got stuck back there and had to be towed out of the mud.
Inside the hall a leaky roof completed the scene, which was expertly decorated by Sue Cadwell's team of elves. (Wait -- wrong time of year for elves. "Pumpkin people," maybe?) Everyone agreed that the location was perfect for a down-home, country kind of party, and that's exactly what it was.
The dinner menu included corn on the cob, BBQ chicken wings and ribs, corn bread, potato salad ... everything you could ask for, plus a keg of beer on the floor. Abner Yokum's Pie Baking Contest drew four entries, with Dr. Bob Hobbie's perfectly presented pastry declared the winner. It disappeared in short order, along with the pies submitted by Pam Shaughnessey, Peter Addison and the Chamber's own Patricia Ritchie.
Besides the band, the night's entertainment included several rolls of pink toilet paper, a game of Find the Light Switch, and Mary Ellen McLean and Patricia waltzing across the dance floor. We don't have the photographic evidence yet, but in the meantime Greg Beno's hysterical cartoon will give you a flavor for it. UPDATE: Now you can see for yourself thanks to Greg's slideshow. No sign of the pink toilet paper, so you'll just have to use your imagination (no, not like that).
The pair of motor scooters donated by Shaney Akinlade's OYM Motors were auctioned off -- live -- and claimed by Fairfield County Bank's Arianna Hudson. Arianna couldn't make it to the event in person, but she authorized Patricia to spend money on her behalf. (A bank manager letting Patricia spend her money? Let's see: Arianna wasn't there, Arianna is insane -- yep, it all adds up.)
The apocalyptic weather kept some people away -- on second thought, maybe they were sane after all -- leaving a number of silent auction items unsold. But everyone who was there had a blast. Leftover food was donated to Operation Hope, with other folks taking home as much as they could carry. And there are tales told of Patricia driving home in the rain with a giant chrysanthemum in the passenger seat, wondering if she would make it home alive.
But that's a story for another day.
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Wide-open Spaces for an 'OctoBAH Fest'
Like a New York baseball team's end-of-season collapse, the Chamber's winning streak of super-fabulous Business After Hours events is taking on mythical proportions.
As if a Harvest Happening wasn't happening enough for one week, 80 people or more gathered at Fairfield University's spacious Aloysius P Kelly, SJ Center for a bit of networking Oct. 17.
Wandering around this high-tech and eco-friendly office environment, they enjoyed some wonderful hors d'oeuvres created by the university's food service, chatted each other up and had a general good time mixing business with pleasure. Lots of folks commented on the location and the food and just how great the evening was.
Next month brings a combined Business Expo and Business After Hours event at the Westport Inn Nov. 15. See y'all there!
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Two Apartments for Rent
The good folks at Troy Art & Framing asked us to pass word that they have not one, but two apartments available for rent:
FAIRFIELD
Excellent in-town location. Desirable Neighborhood.
Walk to train, town and bike to beaches!
Easy access to I-95, 2 blocks from Post Road
Updated, Pristine & Sunny
1ST FLOOR APARTMENT
2 bedrooms, Living Room, EIK with Dishwasher, Microwave
W/D, Central A/C,
Large Private Deck & Fenced Yard.
Non-Smoker. $1785 + Utilities
2-3 Bedroom: Exceptional Space with 2 Floors!
Large 2/3 bedroom, Living Room, Dining Room, EIK W/D, Fenced Yard.
Non-Smoker. $1740 + Utilities
Call Denise DiGrigoli Amuso at 203-367-5511 for more information.
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Wear Your Membership With Pride
By popular demand,
the Chamber has created two new logos that our members can slap on their web sites, newspaper ads, letterhead, first-born children and anything else they can think of. Put your membership to work for you -- let the whole world know that you support the Fairfield business community.
Contact our office (255-1011) for web-ready logos and high-resolution artwork. And it's all a free service of your Chamber. Imagine that.
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Another Month, Another Knockout BAH
Continuing a long string of wildly successful Business After Hours networking events, the September BAH hosted by Sequence Financial Group/Mass Mutual Financial brought together nearly 100 people for a casual "doing business" kind of evening with plentiful food and drink (woo woo!).
Trung Trang joked that people still don't remember which is his first name and which is his last name (I hope I have it right -- that's what our database says, and computers never lie, right?). But he had quite a bit more to say than the typical BAH host, with a life story that ran from riches to rags and back to riches. He was a small boy with nothing but the shirt on his back when South Vietnam fell, a passenger on the infamous last helicopter from Saigon. Looking around the beautifully appointed offices of Sequence Financial, it's hard to imagine.
The Beach Cafe provided the edibles, and they assure us we'll be getting their member application any day now. Nudge, nudge.
As with all of our most successful Business After Hours events, people lingered well past closing time. And Greg Beno was on the scene, taking pictures for his latest Oscar-worthy slideshow.
Hope to see you again Oct. 17 at Fairfield University, and don't forget the Harvest Happening on the 19th!
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