Dolly Wittman of the Kansas City Better Business Bureau addressed a large crowd at the Chamber's Monthly Luncheon held in August. The luncheon was sponsored by Excelsior Publishing Company.

Hundreds of people filled the streets in historic downtown Excelsior Springs during the recent BBQ on the River and Fly-in. The event raised money to supply playground equipment for a new city park. (Photo by Kevin Morgan) Upcoming Events • Aug. 26 – PRIDE After Hours will be held at the Elms Resort & Spa, 6 to 8 p.m. The reception will be catered by the Culinary Arts class at the Excelsior Springs Job Corps Center. Those who attend PRIDE After Hours will get a sneak preview of the first of four special PRIDE editions that will be enclosed in the Town & Country Leader, Aug. 27, Sept. 3, Sept. 10 and Sept. 17. Local residents will be recognized by the Kiwanis Club for their contributions to the community. Numerous businesses have signed on to be sponsors of PRIDE, an annual celebration of Excelsior Springs' uniqueness. Visit Excelsior Springs Standard Online for more details. • Aug. 29-30 – Excelsior Springs Community Theatre presents "Cookin' With Gus." All performances are at Community of Christ Church, Plummer Rd., 7:30 p.m. For more information see events calendar or visit ESCT website. • Sept. 5 – Annual Bob Nance Golf Tournament at the Hidden Valley Golf Course in Lawson. • Sept. 6 – Nace Brothers will be performing at the Excelsior Springs Ice House Blues Garden behind Wabash BBQ, 646 S. Kansas City Ave. For more details, click here. • Sept. 9 – Comedy Night at The Elms Resort & Spa. $10 admission or $119 with room and dinner. • Sept. 12 – Art Crawl, various galleries and shops downtown, 5-8 p.m. • Sept. 12-14, 16 and 18-21 – 38th Jesse James Festival will be held at the Jesse James Festival Grounds, located just north of Kearney on Hwy. 33. The festival kicks-off with a teen dance from 8 to 11 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12. Cost is $5 per person. Other events throughout the festival include a carnival, a rodeo, historic re-enactments, craft exhibits, a BBQ cook-off, demolition derbys and much more. For more information on events, go to www.jessejamesfestival.com. • Sept. 19 – 18th Annual Chamber Golf Tournament at the Excelsior Springs Golf Course. Registration and Lunch begins at noon with 1 p.m. tee off. Click here for online golf entry. • Sept. 27 – Good Samaritan Annual "Big Top" Auction to be held at the Wal-Mart parking lot. Call the Auction Hot-Line at 637-2175 to make a donation. For more information contact the Center at 630-2718 or visit the website. Click here for complete event calendar information.

NEXT CHAMBER EVENTS • September 17 – Monthly Luncheon at the Clay/Ray Vets. Doors open at 11:30; out by 1 p.m. Sponsored by Representative Bob Nance. Click here for additional Chamber events. 2009 Waterfest • June 26, 27, 28, 2009. Mark your calendar! Click here to download .pdf application. New Demographics Current demographics and projected demographics to 2010 now available. Other new demographic reports will be available soon as .pdf downloads. Click here. Career Opportunities Career change in your future? Check out the local job market. Click here. Volunteer Opportunities The Excelsior Springs Chamber is looking for volunteers to work in the Chamber office; if interested contact the Chamber office at 816-630-6161. Please take our Visitor Survey If you have recently been a visitor to our community, we want to hear from you! Click here. Chamber Member Testimonials Read what some of our members have to say about being a part of the Chamber. Click here.