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Networking Foodfest in Norwalk
The Fairfield and Westport chambers invaded Norwalk for a stupendous Nov. 13 Business After Hours, where food was the main attraction and the networking was set in an electronics lover's dream.
With over 100 people attending and fantastic food from our restaurant participants — Osianna, Bobby Q's Barbeque and Grill, Blue Lemon, Da Pietro's Restaurant / Zest Cafe, and desserts by Angela Mia — our latest networking event exceeded all expectations.
The Chamber staff is particularly nostalgic about the chocolate mousse cheesecake, but all of the desserts were memorable. (Patricia had to confess that she's not a big fan of Italian pastries, but Angela Mia raised them to whole new level.) There was no way anyone could possibly go home hungry after this one.
Perhaps the only disappointment of the evening was the cancellation of the planned riot and looting spree in downtown Norwalk. Maybe next year.
Our hosts at Aitoro Appliances opened their five (five!) working kitchens to the restauranteurs and let our networkers roam the full gazillion square feet of electronics and appliances. A bar and comfy chairs drew people to the HDTVs, but as you can see from Regina Madwed's latest slideshow, that didn't stop them from networking wherever the mood hit them.
On top of everything else, the event was raising money for the Mid-Fairfield County chapter of the American Red Cross, and Development Manager Laura Campbell was on hand with two of her colleagues. Great food, a worthy cause, dual-chamber networking, and having fun on the Norwalk Chamber's home turf (ha!) … it couldn't get any better.
Next up is the Holiday Membership Reception Dec. 10 at People's United Bank on Black Rock Turnpike. Banks always do good on the food, so get moving and sign up already!
And There Was That October One, Too
Someone just reminded the ChamberWorks news staff that there was another bank-related networking event just last month. And yes, the food was great.
Our memories of the Business After Hours at Fairfield County Bank will always be tinged with regret, as for many it was the last time they saw branch manager Sue Romano before her untimely passing on Nov. 12.
But that doesn't obscure the fact that Sue and her people did a great job hosting the event, or that The Pantry's hors d'oeuvres and desserts were off the scale as usual.
We had a good turnout, which was to be expected — as we like to remind everyone, nobody does a BAH like a bank.
Fairfield Invaded by Pint-Sized Hordes
Once again the center of town was crawling with costumed tykes and their parents for Trick or Treat on Safety Street. It was a fun Friday afternoon for everybody, as the Chamber and businesses along the Post Road got into the spirit (wooo, wooooooo) of Halloween.
Oct. 31 was a comfortable enough day for it, if a bit chilly in the shade. And because it's a daytime event with no deep, dark shadows for monsters to hide in, as usual we relied on the politicians on Sherman Green to provide the sense of mortal terror. ("Ahhhhhhhh! It's not Election Day yet! Stay away!")
That might explain why the adults smelled faintly of garlic.
As far as the kids were concerned, the politicos were just another bunch of suckers waiting to be fleeced — turnaround is fair play, and all that — but they may have had the last "Bwahahahaha!" as they slapped campaign stickers on anything that moved, including BMWs, squirrels and a woman dressed up as Sarah Palin … or maybe it was Tina Fey. Or Sarah Palin dressing up as Tina Fey. Who can tell anymore?
[We suspect this "Sarah Palin" was a hallucination brought on by an election-year YouTube overdose, but we'll give our writer the benefit of the doubt. For now. — Ed.]
Fairfield's businesspeople held their own in the treats department as roving bands of masked children shook them down for every last bit of sugar they had. Most of them are veterans of the annual mob scene, and no kidnappings were reported this year (although one unidentified shop clerk was dragged down by greedy little hands). We applaud them all for taking some time out of their day — and for exposing themselves to the hordes.
With Regina Madwed busy shooting portraits on the green (taking a moment to catch the Chamber staff and volunteer Andrea Barron of Patriot National Bank in their costumes), Greg Beno made a cameo appearance as event photographer and chronicled it all with a dotPhoto slideshow, just like the old days.
Patricia wouldn't let us eat our Halloween candy until Monday. What a meanie.
Lineup for Wine Event 2009 Taking Shape
Five restaurants will be showcasing their Italian cuisine at "An Evening in Tuscany," our 2009 wine-and-food event. Avellino's Restaurant, Bella Serra Ristorante, Biagio's Osteria, Cafe Tavolini's and Viale Restaurante are all on the menu for Feb. 26.
The Turnpike Spirit Shop & Wine Emporium will once again be serving the vino after their greatly acclaimed appearance last time around. (To refresh your memories, this is no wimpy wine tasting, folks … come prepared to drink up.)
Committee chair Brooke Aymar of Private Parties has been doing such a great job bringing everything together that Patricia can actually sleep at night. We think this may be a first.
So with the food and beverages accounted for, that leaves our sponsors.
Already we have Blum Shapiro, GE, Patriot National Bank, People's United Bank, R.D. Scinto and Southern Connecticut Gas on board, but we're looking for more.
A few of our sponsors share our fondness for "Spaghetti & Meatballs" and "Wine in a Box," but we do have some who're thinking a little more upscale than that. It's a fundraiser, y'know — one of our biggest events of the year. So don't be shy.
I'm Seeing Double
No, it's not my eyes deceiving me: Two chambers of commerce and one table-top business expo equals twice the fun. And at $10, it was a cheap date too.
This year's Fairfield/Westport Double-Chamber Expo was a change of pace and a change of place: the Wakeman Boys & Girls Club let us spread out in their cavernous gym and have all of the exhibitors on one floor. No more trudging up and down stairs to hobnob and toss business cards at one another.
This was also our first year with The Executive Chef as caterer, and they did a bang-up job. The presentation was superb, and the general consensus is that this was the best food ever for a Double-Chamber Expo. We even had the Fairfield Chamber's own Anna Accetta tending bar.
So the afternoon was all about food, doing business, food, networking, and food. Networking, ah yes … the show ended with a special Business After Hours (did we mention the food?), included in the price of admission. Pile on dozens of vendors manning the expo tables and you have a first-rate event.
Special thanks to Brooks Newspapers for helping us publicize the event, and to all the vendors who made the expo possible.
We're not sure if there'll be a repeat next year. But rest assured that if we do it again, it'll be even bigger and better than ever.
(Expect a write-up on the October Business After Hours after our webmaster comes down from his Halloween-induced sugar high.)