CulpeperFest to lower prices; booth space still available

Our 30th year celebrating business and community at CulpeperFest will usher in a few changes. First we have reduced ticket prices to $15 while maintaining all of the fixins… the food this year will be catered by Kitchen Gourmet a long standing Chamber member. Our CulpeperFest Committee had a difficult time deciding which of our members would be the caterer this year, as we have excellent members to choose from. We changed the beverage format for adult tickets to allow for one adult beverage per ticket with proper ID, and with the option to purchase additional adult beverages. 

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Culpeper Star Exponent

Transportation will be easy this year. The Trolley will be available to take attendees from the parking area to the event. Gibson Rentals will be setting up the huge carnival style tents again. The large white tents are one of the trademarks of the event giving it an additional festive atmosphere that we have come to enjoy.

As you know CulpeperFest is also a “Business Expo” where our local businesses showcase who they are and what they offer. There is not a better venue to bring the “Buy Local” message home than at CulpeperFest. Speaking of buying… Chamber Members will be able to sell items at CulpeperFest to attendees for the first time. There are certain to be special deals everywhere. Come ready to take advantage of the deals as they present themselves. In fact if you have a smart phone, download MyChamberApp and go to Hot Deals to find deals at CulpeperFest and year round.

Our lineup of exhibits changes every year. I hear that we may have horse drawn carriage rides, antique tractors, and much more… If you would like to set up a booth and exhibit at Culpeper Fest, boot space is available. We offer electricity to a limited number of booths on a first come first served basis. Gain additional visibility with a sponsorship package. Keep an eye on the Chamber website for information about special opportunities for training in how to make the most of the CulpeperFest. We hope to have another Constant Contact training opportunity in late May for exhibitors.

For those who are ready to buy tickets for yourself, family members, and perhaps business associates from the region, tickets are available at the Depot in downtown Culpeper. You may also go online to CulpeperFest.com to place orders for tickets by credit card. We will send the tickets for you or hold them for you to pick up at the Depot.

We hope to see you on June 2nd at the Germanna’s Daniel Technology Center – gates open at 4:00 PM. We are praying for good weather!!! Regardless, the sun will come out at CulpeperFest … eventually… and the Culpeper Spirit will always shine…a great time with fun, food, friends, and family.

Jim Charapich, President/CEO

'What's on your Mind' a brilliant beginning

Published in the Culpeper Star Exponent
Monday, April 18, 2011



The Small Business Committee of the Chamber of Commerce met on Friday morning with a transformational focus. At the suggestion of Chris Pearson – the Chairman of the Chamber committee, we had an open round table for small business. I say open because we had no agenda other than “What’s on your Mind” as a small business.

There is always a temptation to say that we are going to have a subject matter expert come and talk about an area of apparent interest. However, our local business owners and representatives are “subject matter experts” about what is going on in business in Culpeper. Who would have predicted that the discussion would be “brilliant” on so many levels?

With a cup of (local) coffee, an open ear, and a commitment to myself to say as little as possible, I watched the discussion unfold. Caroline Gortler from Stellar One opened the forum by discussing the improved status of lending options for small business. Good news!! This sparked a discussion lead by Carl Sachs – Director of Economic Development for Culpeper County, about where our challenges / opportunities are for small business in Culpeper in a broader sense, commenting “What are the top 5 ways that we can improve the business environment for small business?”  Great Question!! Beverly Herdman of Wine Trail Homes followed with comments about our opportunities in Culpeper. “We hear it all the time, Culpeper is a great place.” So true!! So far so good….

At this point the meeting broke into new territory. The discussion followed along the lines of how social media and web presence has become the standard by which we are judged as business before we are ever contacted. This would lead one to believe that all of the answers are in social media and online. Not so fast… though it is true for many that an online strategy is essential, it cannot replace the value of something greater… What could that be? I will try to explain.

There is a random element about business and our ability to find solutions. What cannot be replaced by internet communication is something that we are naturally equipped to cultivate. We are in constant solution mode in business,  juggling a variety of issues at any given time. This is true in different stages for everyone.

Now for the obvious revelation…. the brain trust of one individual is not nearly as powerful as the brain trust of many. This is especially true when motivated business people meet to find solutions.  Trading emails and reading posts cannot tell the whole story and therefore cannot provide the same potential for solutions. For example, you may come to an open forum discussion with 9/10’s of the solution still trying to get the pieces to fall into to place. When there are motivated minds focused on the solution – the other 10th may simply fall into place.

Random cognitive solutions from open discussions – Yes! “What’s On Your Mind” – was a brilliant start – I am excited to see where it will lead. Join us!
Go to CulpeperChamber.com for more information. 

Jim Charapich, President/CEO fo the Culepper Chamber of Commerce

Learning about VA chambers

Published in the Culpeper Star Exponent
Monday, April 4, 2011

I invested time last week at the Virginia Chamber of Commerce Executives Conference in Charlottesville. This is an annual conference where we have access to other Chamber's Executives and staff. The conference, which we call “Institute”, is designed to facilitate learning of best practices among the Virginia Chambers.

The courses are taught by Chamber Execs and various subject matter experts related to Chambers of Commerce. It was pleasure to talk with other Chambers about their challenges and successes during the time that we had to network. We took an informal pole regarding the economy and found that most sensed an improvement. For many, the benchmark for this is that they are seeing an increase in membership numbers and or new members. For the most part attendance for events sponsored by the Chambers is up as well. I was encouraged as we are seeing similar metrics in the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce this year.

There were two items that were especially interesting to me. First we were able to hear Jody Kielbasa, Director of the Virginia Film Festival as the Keynote Luncheon Speaker. Mr. Kielbasa has an impressive track record of developing Film Industry opportunities. His work in Sarasota Florida culminated in attracting over 45,000 to the Sarasota Film Festival, having it recognized as one of the Top Twenty Film Festivals in North America by SCREEN INTERNATIONAL. He took over in May of 2009 as the Director of the Virginia Film Festival. His talent has been evident with record breaking attendance in 2010 for the Virginia Film Festival.

Considering that the Library of Congress, Media Preservation Center is in Culpeper, It seemed to make sense to ask if he had been working with the staff at the LOC Culpeper Facility. I was pleased that he has and is currently working with the LOC in Culpeper.He is also aware of the State Theatre progress in Culpeper. We are on the Film Industry Map….

In addition, The Culpeper Chamber was asked to offer a session at the “Institute”.  Being good corporate citizens we accepted the offer and our session was “How to use Social Media for Your Chamber”. I was again pleasantly surprised to see the interest in the subject. We have focused on Social Media a means of extending our services to members in new and different ways.  One observation was that that Chambers have been a network for business for a long time and adapting to new social media tools makes a lot of sense for Chambers and especially to businesses.  Find us on Facebook

Finally,  The new President of the Virginia Chamber attended several of the meetings designed as round table discussions on various subjects. I was impressed with his leadership. He shared a few ideas for 2012 that are very interesting. As I see it Virginia is a great place for business.

Jim Charapich, CEO/President