CRESWELL – During Monday night’s Creswell City Council meeting, Mandy Hoggard, Creswell Chamber secretary, and Kelly Makinson, Chamber president, shared the Creswell Chamber’s annual report that included statistics about last year’s big events, like the Fourth of July and the Winter Lights Festival, and how they hope to expand on those events and more this year.
The Creswell Chamber of Commerce works in conjunction and harmony with the City of Creswell to create and present multiple events throughout the course of the year, which tend to bring in a majority of the town’s tourism. The Chamber also celebrated the growth of two new businesses through grand openings.
Hoggard shared the number of views to the Chamber’s website, which she said is often the way that people find out about programs, and shared that the Fourth of July Celebration received over 9,600 views, the Winter Lights Festival had around 2,900, and the city-wide garage sale got 120.
“Overall, our website is getting some good activity and good visits, but we’re working on bolstering that and making it more robust, more informative, and having a lot more information available to those who are looking for it,” Hoggard said.
“We’re looking at revamping it so we update fresh with new pictures constantly rolling through so we can see other things going on and not just the same old stuff,” Makinson added.
The Chamber board is also getting an update with new members.
“We will be revitalizing a robust Chamber of Commerce board of directors and executive board. It was falling on three people before, and now we have a really nice board,” Makinson said. “We work together very cohesively, with all of us taking on some of these roles, so it doesn’t fall on just a few people. That’s why we’re able to enhance what we’re doing now.”
Last year’s city-wide garage sale was an expansion of the previous year’s events with the inclusion of the high school’s Bulldog Market and the Clubhouse Car Wash. Hoggard said there were over 80 garage sales in the community. This year, a farm-to-table event will also be included.
The Fourth of July Celebration also expanded; in fact, it has grown every year for the past five years. Last year’s parade route had over 115 parade entries. Because of construction at the high school this year, staging for the parade will look a little different and hopefully create a new platform going forward, Hoggard said.
“We’re not going to be limiting the number of participants for the parade,” she said. “We’re looking at opportunities to stage them differently so that we can utilize our appropriate spaces better.”
Due to fire safety concerns, the usual firework show at dusk will be at the old mill this year instead of the water treatment plant, and a local company will be utilized that is more fire-safe, according to Makinson. The company will use safer fireworks that have less spark fallout.
The Winter Lights Festival included live music and vendors throughout downtown, as well as a parade with around 15 floats.
“We got many, many comments that said this was our best one yet, which is really exciting to see,” Hoggard said.
The Chamber also welcomed new businesses like McDonald’s and Humble Bumble Nutritionals with a ribbon-cutting ceremony last year.
The primary revenue sources that the Chamber receives are through membership fees, transient tax from the city for tourism, and event profits. Primary expenses include advertising, staffing, and putting on events.
“We’re sitting really comfortably with our overall operating income in 2025 at just over $83,000 and then our overall expenses at $77,000,” Hoggard said.
