NOTE: The Chamber's Camden office at 2 Public Landing will be open this Saturday, December 3rd from 9 AM to 2 PM. Stop in to purchase a Christmas by the Sea ornament and pick up a schedule of the weekend's events, including the Chamber-sponsored Storefront Treasure Hunt.

The Third Annual Christmas by the Sea Storefront Treasure Hunt is underway! You can download the official entry form and instructions here.

Hard copies of the form can also be picked up at the Camden Chamber Office (inside and in the box to the right of the front door). You have 10 days to complete the mission. Prize winners will be drawn from all correct entries received by December 11 at 5 PM. Happy Hunting for the Twelve Elves of Christmas!

Chamber members are invited to add a free listing on our third annual 'Keep The Cheer Here" webpage, where viewers can find details about your holiday shopping hours, your special events, links to your online shopping page, and more!

"Keep the Cheer Here" is a centralized hub for local retailers and event planners to share their holiday tidings, which the Chamber will promote via local media and social media, encouraging people to shop local and celebrate local during this holiday season.

To post your free listing and see all the great listings already posted, click here:

The Camden Area Business Group presents Christmas by the Sea, December 1-4 in Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville. For complete event brochure, click here. FMI, visit their Facebook page.

The Town of Thomaston presents a Downtown Christmas Festival on Saturday, December 3 from 2 to 4 pm. Click here for details.

The Town of Rockport will be hosting Holiday on the Harbor, First Night Rockport on New Year's Eve, including fireworks and dance party. More details forthcoming at Town of Rockport, Maine Facebook page.

In addition to our weekly dining grid found in the left column of this newsletter, we are now compiling a list of member restaurants and other establishments in our region that will be offering Christmas and New Year's Eve meals, from sit-down dining to a la carte curbside, and more.

Please email your offerings to Amy@CamdenRockland.com.

The list will be posted starting next week, and we'll continue to add your offerings as we receive them.

Scheduled for Friday, February 10, 2023 at the Samoset Resort, the evening will celebrate and recognize those who have made extraordinary contributions to our community this past year.

Nominations are now open for our 2022 Annual Awards, including the prestigious Community Person Of The Year award, milestone anniversaries, and a variety of other award categories to honor outstanding businesses, organizations, and individuals. Nomination deadline is December 23. To view the award categories and to submit a nomination, click here:

Each week, the Chamber features one of our members here in our Friday Report e-newsletter (distributed to 2,000 emails) and on our Facebook page (5,000 followers). Featured Member posts link directly to your Chamber business profile webpage and to your Facebook page.

Simply click below to complete the two easy steps. Featured Members will be chosen as submissions are received (limit of one featured listing per member, per calendar year). We invite you to take advantage of this great Chamber member benefit to promote your business.

We are a Mid-Coast based High End Full Service Painting Company. Specializing in Residential Repaints and Restoration of Mains Older Homes. Offering Wallpaper Removal, Plaster Skim Coating, Fine Interior Painting & Complete Exterior Restoration.

To learn more about becoming a Featured Member, click here.

Submit your news releases to Amy@CamdenRockland.com.

For the fourth time in three years, the mysterious and stealthy Otto the Cat has come forward with a challenge to benefit Camden Area Christian Food Pantry (CACFP). For every $1.00 raised by Camden Area Christian Food Pantry between now and December 16, the generous and anonymous benefactor will match it with $2.00, up to $6,700. CACFP’s goal is to raise $3,350 for a grand total of $10,050. More...

The Camden Public library welcomes Bob Trapani Jr. for a solo photography exhibit titled “Wonderment of the Maine Coast” at the library’s Picker Room Gallery during the month of December. Trapani has spent years working on the Maine coast and has even been called “Mr. Lighthouse” by Down East Magazine. Trapani is also a photographer and writer, and through his craft strives to inspire a more profound appreciation of coastal Maine with its many layers of underlying beauty. More...

The Maine Women’s Network – Midcoast Chapter is pleased to have resumed in-person events for the 2022-2023 season! Please join us at our next event at 7:30am on Wednesday, December 7th at Oliver’s Bistro at Cedar Crest in Camden where we will have breakfast, networking time, and a presentation by April Shaw-Beaudoin, titled “10 Steps to a More Effective Business.” This will be a presentation full of great tips: April and her husband own Ominitzing, a marketing and branding agency building big brands for small businesses. More...

Ruckus Donuts is pleased to announce that the @popememorialhumanesociety Angel Tree is up!!! For the 2nd year, Ruckus is beyond proud to offer this holiday tradition for their favorite local charitable cause. The Deal: Take an Angel (or three) and fulfill each Angel’s wish on the tag. Take the items from the fulfilled Wish (along with the tag) to Pope Memorial Humane Society. They will sign your tag, after which you can redeem it with Ruckus for a free donut & drip coffee, plus your tag will be entered into a drawing for all kinds of cool Ruckus donuts, coffee & bling! More...

Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery, of Union, is hosting their eleventh annual Holiday Open House Saturday and Sunday, December 10th and 11th, 11 am to 5 pm. Shop from local food producers with delicious holiday selections for your table and gift giving. More...

The Rockport Public Library announces a new “Songwriting and Song-Sharing Group” for tweens and teens. The group will meet on December 14 and January 4, from 4:30 pm to 6:00 p.m., and will be facilitated by board-certified music therapist Dan Wenger. More...

Maine Cancer Foundation has funded a one-year project to improve the health and behavioral care provided to Maine’s LGBTQ+ youth. In partnership with the Maine chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), OUT Maine will expand the network of informed healthcare and mental health providers serving LGBTQ+ youth in Maine. The resources and training will provide pediatric oncology providers, pediatricians, family physicians, and other child healthcare professionals who address cancer prevention with the resources and tools needed to provide affirming health care. More...

Rockland Community Members are invited to take part in a new winter festival, The Big Rockland Chill, which will be hosted by the Strand Theatre in January 2023! If your business or organization would like to host an activity or run a special promotion or sale as part of the event, please consider joining in on the celebration! The Strand Theatre will include your information on the marketing materials and map in hopes of generating more traffic on Main Street post-holidays, and encouraging the community to get outside and enjoy winter together. More...

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine (BBBSMM) is looking for adult volunteers to serve as coordinators at eight of its school-based mentoring programs. Coordinators are adults (18 years or older) from the community who can dedicate 1½ hours, one day each week from October through May (except school vacation weeks) to supervise Big/Little match meetings of high school mentors and elementary school Littles. More...

Allen Insurance and Financial is pleased to announce that Alison McDonald of Union has joined the company as a receptionist. McDonald is a graduate of Camden Hills Regional High School and has attended the University of Southern Maine. More...

The holiday season is right around the corner! Do you have a holiday party coming up for your company or family? Give Sterling Elite a call to reserve your group’s holiday transportation. Let us be your designated driver. Call us at 207-785-3100 or check out our website at www.sterlingelite.net to see all of our transportation options.

Members are invited to email Amy@CamdenRockland.com with details of goods, programs, products, or services they would like to offer to their fellow members. Please limit your offer to headline + 75 words and include an end date not to exceed 1 month.

Our online calendar is your guide to live & virtual events in the Camden-Rockland Region. Click here to view.

Have an event to share? Members are invited to share events on the Chamber Calendar. Login to your Chamber Profile Page to get started.