From hosting a successful street festival in Old Town to the most grand opening ceremonies in the organization’s history, the Leander Chamber of Commerce has already had a busy year, said Chamber President Bridget Brandt during an update to the City Council on Aug. 15.

However, the organization’s work is not yet finished, as more events are planned for the rest of 2024.

A closer look

In collaboration with the Historic Preservation Commission, the Chamber is hosting a new event called “Spirits of Bagdad,” a historic, spooky reenactment tour where participants can learn the stories of five people who lived in Leander. The event will take place on October 19 at Bagdad Cemetery.

“It’s not a haunted house tour. It’s a historical reenactment, but it’s going to be a little scary and it’s going to be really cool,” Brandt said. “A lot of cities do it, and we’ve always wanted to do it, forever, so now we’re finally making it happen.”

Preparations are also in full swing for the Old Town Christmas Festival on Dec. 7. This year’s theme is the Polar Express. Brandt said the first 50 spots have been secured out of 292 initial applicants, and 152 runners are already registered for the Rudolph Run 5K on Aug. 15.

Leadership Leander — a program designed to train skilled community development leaders — has 13 graduates who will graduate during the Chamber of Commerce’s annual gala on Sept. 21, which will be held in Old Town, Brandt said.

Another event the Leander community can look forward to is the Real Estate Summit on October 3, for which 50 people have already registered. Brandt said that this event is also expected to exceed the expected number of participants.

Another detail

Brandt said the chamber is currently preparing to develop another property that will serve as the organization’s temporary headquarters and hopes to announce more details soon.

The property will give the Chamber more space and allow it to bring a training room to Leander, which Brandt said is necessary to host larger conferences and events.

However, she said the chamber remains interested in finding a permanent home at Bryson Farmstead.

Review

According to Brandt, one of the biggest highlights of 2024 is the continued success of the Old Town Street Festival. Brandt said the June event attracted between 15,000 and 17,000 people and injected an estimated $1.2 million back into Leander’s economy.

“I don’t think we reached 20,000 visitors this year. It was just too hot during peak daytime,” said Brandt.

To help cool things down during next year’s festival, she said the chamber plans to introduce misting systems and provide designated areas where event-goers can cool off, hopefully encouraging them to stay longer.

“It’s not hard to get people to come there. Basically, you want to keep them there longer so they shop more,” Brandt said. “Most people only make it down one street, maybe two. Usually people shop all over the area, and that’s what we really want. So that’s what we’re working on.”

The chamber has also launched several professional development series this year and has held 34 grand openings so far, the highest number in the chamber’s history, Brandt said.

“A lot has happened – the first half of the year was crazy,” she said. “But what a wonderful problem. I would rather have that problem than the opposite, which is stagnant business and all the other things.”