October brings tricks and treats

October 2019 News Break

Portage Area Chamber of Commerce

Visit portagewi.com

The spirit of Halloween is alive and well at the Mercantile in downtown at 117 West Cook Street. See the new Halloween village display in the front window, then venture inside to find great gifts.

Last Call to advertise in the 2020 Portage Visitors & Community Guide

The Portage Chamber is pleased to offer an opportunity to promote your business in the 2020 Portage Area Chamber of Commerce Visitor & Community Guide. Reach visitors and residents of the Portage area in this enhanced publication, featuring:

• 20,000 printed copies of Guide

• online digital version of Guide where one click links readers to your website

• comprehensive community information and highlights

• complete membership listing

Free design services are offered for the preparation of your display ad. We look forward to promoting your business! The ad reservation deadline is October 4. Don't wait! For more information or to reserve ad space, please contact Jacklyn Ewerdt at 920.291.5005 or jacklynewerdt@gmail.com .

Thank you to these Chamber Businesses that have already signed on and are investing with us to be featured in this guide.

Welcome New Chamber Members

Revita Dance Studio

N6522 US Highway 51 Portage, WI 53901

Carolina Bucker at 608-432-2512

Dance studio and martial arts classes for ages 3 and over. Teaching ballet, jazz, hi hop and more.

Adults can learn yoga, tai-chi and piyo. Plus piano lessons are also available.

Facade loan program available

The Portage facade loan program is available to help Chamber member Portage businesses upgrade exteriors. For more information about the loan program guidelines, click here . For the application, click here .

Portage Lions Club Cookie Dough available

The Portage Lions Club is holding their Annual Scholarship Cookie Dough Fundraiser. Orders are due by October 9 with delivery in mid-November. Choose from an assortment of delicious flavors including peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, chunky chocolate chip and more! Pre-portioned package and scoop and bake tub sizes are available.

Call Kristi at 608-697-6648 to place your order.

The Lion King Bus Tour

There are still some tickets available for Disney’s The Lion King, making its triumphant return to Milwaukee at the Marcus Center!

Sign up for the Bus Tour Lunch & Show, with a 10am departure from Portage Center for the Arts (PCA). The cost is $130. For more info, contact the PCA at 608-742-5655.

Coat Drive Collection begins

It's Salvation Army Coat Drive Collection Time! Drop off new or gently used clean jackets, coats, snow pants, hats, mittens and boots to the Portage Police Department, Portage Cleaners, Portage Children's Library or Local Portage Churches. They are accepting gently used and clean winter coats, infant to adult, and snow boots of all sizes. There is a special need for kid's sizes (workable buttons, zippers and snaps please).

The distribution of the items will happen on October 25 from 2pm to 6pm and October 26 from 9am to 2pm at Veteran's Memorial Field, Building #8, 300 Superior St. Please bring your children to try on the items. For more information, contact Nancy Schaper at 608-742-7242

Vintage Shop Hop at The Mercantile

The Vintage Shop Hop is a self-guided day of vintage & boutique shopping involving 500+ vintage shops and antique store owners, along with women's boutiques & home decor shops. Gather your friends and head to The Mercantile on October 4 and 5 from 10am to 5pm.

You will find a variety of wines, cheeses, jewelry, clothing, children's toys, chocolates and more! The Mercantile is located at 117 W. Cook St., 608-745-5768.

Portage Fall Clean Up

The City of Portage will be collecting residential refuse consisting of large/bulky items on Saturday, October 5 from 8am to 4pm at the Municipal Garage at 616 Washington St. Fees apply. Elderly individuals and individuals having a disability may call for an early pick-up. Call (608) 742-2176 for more information.

Upon arrival at the gate, residents shall provide proof of residency. An attendant will be present to assist with unloading. All items are to be placed in the dumpster provided for that purpose. Call 608-742-2176 for more information or click here .

Saturday in the Cemetery

Come enjoy this tour where actors bring to life some of the interesting people buried at Silver Lake Cemetery on Saturday, October 5 from 11am to 2pm.

Listen to their stories as you visit their gravesites on a guided tour.

Silver Lake Cemetery is located on Cemetery Road (Hwy O), just west off Hwy 16. For more information, contact Doug Klapper at 608-742-7503 or click here .

The 2020 Open at Portage CrossFit Cooperative

& Breast Cancer Fundraiser

Join in each Friday for 5 weeks beginning Friday, October 11 for The 2020 Open workouts at Portage CrossFit Cooperative (PCC)! Doors will open at 4:30pm and Workout of the Day will begin at 5:00pm.

New and experienced CrossFitters can sign up to participate and receive a free t-shirt. PCC will be donating $10 per registration to Divine Savior Healthcare Breast Cancer Education & Screening!

Not interested in doing the workouts, but want to help support breast cancer education and screening in our area? You can order men's and women's 2020 PCC Open t-shirts. $10 per t-shirt will be donated to Divine Savior Education & Screening.

All spectators are welcome and encouraged to stay, cheer, and get to know our community! Watch their PCC Facebook Page for themes each week! PCC will be accepting donations to raise funds for Divine Savior Breast Cancer Education and Screening through November 8. For more information, click here .

Fundraiser for the FFA at Our House

Our House Senior Living invites you to stop over for lunch and help raise funds for the Portage FFA on October 11. Lunch will be $5 a plate and includes Sloppy Joe sandwiches, chips, cookies and water.

For more information, contact Our House Senior Living, 215 Northridge Dr., at 608-745-0331.

History of Columbia County Curling

Come to the Museum at the Portage on Wednesday, October 9 at 6pm to hear Mark Curtis present on the History of Curling in Columbia County.

For more information, call the Museum, 804 MacFarlane Rd., at

608-742-6682

Be a Flu Buster!

Discover how you can naturally prevent colds and flu bugs this winter, no needles needed. Learn how to to beat the bad bugs, what supplements can help boost immune function and how to combine the two to stay healthy over the winter.

Attend 'Boost Your Immunity-Be a Flu Buster' on Monday, October 7 at 5:30pm at Blau Family Chiropractic and Integrated Wellness, 641 Latton Lane, Suite A. There is no fee, but you must pre-register by calling 608-742-1300.

Trivia Night at St. Mary's

Grab some friends and enter St. Mary's Trivia Night on Friday, November 8! Teams of up to 8 people work together to answer 100 trivia questions across topics and genres - all in hopes of winning one of the cash prizes awarded to the top 3 teams! This is a great date night for couples, girls-night-out, or chance to hang with the guys! Friendly competition is encouraged and part of the fun!

This event is put on by, and supports, the St. Mary Home & School Committee. Members of St. Mary Parish and the entire Portage and local community are welcomed and encouraged to attend this community wide and fun event!

Reserve a table (accommodates up to 8 people) for just $80. Sign up with family, friends, and co-workers. Doors open at 6pm for concessions and camaraderie, with trivia starting at 7pm. Click here to register.

Chili'n at the Cabin at FWSQ

Experience this Chili Cook-Off at Fort Winnebago Surgeons Quarters beginning at Noon on Saturday, October 12. This is a season closing event held with the Historic Indian Agency House. There will be food, music, a bonfire and flag ceremony. Money raised will be used for restoration projects at Fort Winnebago Surgeons Quarters.

For more information, contact Fort Winnebago Surgeons Quarters, 1824 Hwy 33, at 608-742-2949.

Henhouse Prowlers, Sou-Pare Plus play the PCA

The Portage Center for the Arts is a busy place this October, with its event calendar highlighted by two musical acts. The Henhouse Prowlers, founded over 13 years ago with the simple desire to play original bluegrass, is set to play on Saturday, October 5 at 7:30pm.

Sou-Pare Plus, a variety band featuring south central Wisconsin's Laurent Soucie, Shelly Pare and Kevin Weber, delivers a diverse list of tunes from country and pop, to jazz and old time favorites on Saturday, October 26 at 7:30pm.

For more information about tickets and other happenings at the PCA, call 608-742-5655.

Friends of the Portage Library Annual Meeting

The Friends of the Portage Library will hold their Annual Meeting on Wednesday, October 16 at 6:30pm in the Children's Program Room of the Portage Public Library, 253 W. Edgewater St.

Light refreshments will be available with a 45-minute performance by First Impressions, Jessica Michna as Laura Ingalls Wilder followed by a brief business meeting and end of the year report. The meeting is open to all Friends members. For more information, call 608-742-4959.

Check out the Chamber's YouTube Channel HERE

River Haven Fall Festival

Join us for a luncheon, scarecrow stuffing, pumpkin & face painting and a caramel apple stand during the River Haven Homeless Shelter! Take a tour of both shelters. The event will be held at the River Haven Homeless Shelter, 108 E. Pleasant St. on Saturday, October 12 from 10am to 2pm.

For more information, contact Raquel or Pete at 608-742-7687.

Culver's Donation Night for the Library

Donate while you dine and support the Portage Library Programming during Culver's Donation Night for the Library on Monday, October 21 from 5pm to 8pm. A portion of the proceeds will go to the library. Kids can color a library bookmark and the Friends of the Library will be giving out used kids book. Culver's is located at 2733 New Pinery Road.

News from Adams-Columbia Electric

There is a lot going on at Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative. First, a list of former members with unclaimed patronage capital has been posted here . Please take a look and help them track down these individuals.

Bring the family and enjoy the mazes, zip line, straw bale pyramid and so much more on Saturday, October 5 at Leatherberry Acres in Baraboo. Celebrate October being co-op month! Games and prizes will be available from 10am-2pm but members are welcome to attend anytime on Saturday. Children 2 and under are free to attend and additional wristbands may be purchased for the discounted price of $10.

Know of an individual or organization that is looking for financial support? Apply for Operation Round-Up! The next deadline October 15. Click here to learn more.

Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative offers educational safety presentations for all age groups (schools, first responders, fire departments, etc.) From classroom presentations to their hotline demonstration, they can easily customize safety information for your group. And the best part? They travel to you and it’s free! If you know of an organization that would benefit from a presentation, call 800-831-8629 or email acec@acecwi.com .

Job postings on portagewi.com

Check out these job postings on our Chamber site from our member businesses. You are welcome to post job openings your business may have at any time. Call the Chamber office at 608-742-6242 for more information.

Text PACC to 51660

to receive information about upcoming Chamber events

Looking for a Hot Deal? See our list?

Check out our Hot Deals webpage for deals our Chamber members are

offering. Have a Hot Deal of your own you want others to know about? Post

your deals on our webpage and join the Hot Deal brigade! There is no charge

for posting a Hot Deal, so post away!

If you have questions, call the Chamber office at 608-742-6242 to get started. Click here to see the specials that are currently running!

Ribbon Cuttings

A ribbon cutting was held to welcome Carquest, 2666 New Pinery Road, to the Portage business community.

“We are proud to be part of this community and our knowledgeable staff look forward to serving you with any of your parts supply needs,” says Jeremy Pfister, General Manager (with scissors).

The Portage Carquest store is a sister store to the Carquest in Wisconsin Dells. Both stores independently owned by Lawrence Meade, Jr.

Their high quality parts help specialize in caring for commercial account parts needs with quick delivery. Carquest offers a broad selection of brand name, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and private label automotive replacement parts, accessories, batteries and maintenance items for domestic and imported cars, vans, sport utility vehicles and light and heavy duty trucks.

Carquest corporate merged with Advance Auto Parts a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider. Advance operates 4,912 stores and 150 Worldpac branches in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company also serves 1,250 independently owned Carquest branded stores across these locations in addition to Mexico, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and British Virgin Islands. For more information, call 608-745-9336.

Text PORTAGE to 51660

to receive information about upcoming Portage events

October Chamber Meetings & Events

1 Business Luncheon at Madison College - Portage at 11:30am

2 Ambassador meeting at Community Bank at 8am

Join a Service Club

Rotary - Meets Mondays at Noon at Dino’s Restaurant, 2900 New Pinery Rd.

Lions Club - Meets the 2 ^nd and 4 ^th Wednesdays at 5:30pm at Dino’s Restaurant, 2900 New Pinery Rd., summer month meetings change locations

Kiwanis - Meets on Wednesdays at Noon at Pizza Ranch, 2905 New Pinery Rd.

Optimists - Meets on Tuesdays at 7am at Dino’s Restaurant, 2900 New Pinery Rd.

Elks - Meets 2nd & 4th Tuesday at 7pm; 4th Tuesday only during July and August

Women's Civic League - Meets 2nd Wednesdays of the month at Dino’s Restaurant, 2900 New Pinery Rd.

Wauona Trail Women's Club - Meets 3rd Monday of the month at 11:30am at Dino's Restaurant, 2900 New Pinery Rd.(Sept-May)

October Community Events

1-20 Salvation Army Coat Drive Collection

1 Poetry in Portage at Suzy's Steak & Seafood House

1 Free Neck and Pain Workshops at New Life Physical Therapy

2 Free Pumpkins at Kari Tracey Agency and Century 21 Affiliated

4-5 Vintage Shop Hop at The Mercantile

4 Teen Video Game Night at Portage Library

4 Images of Kenya: A Photographer's Journey - Dennis Trecek Opening Reception at Portage Center for the Arts (exhibit runs through Oct. 26)

5 City of Portage Fall Clean Up

5 Saturday in the Cemetery - Living History Tour

5 The Henhouse Prowlers at Portage Center for the Arts

5 Pumpkin Blowout at Festival Foods

7 Boost Your Immunity - Be a Flu Buster at Blau Family Chiropractic

9 Program at Museum at the Portage

10 'Smart' Cookie Sale at Divine Savior Healthcare

10 Glass Mosaic Ornament Class at The Mercantile

11 Fundraiser for the FFA at Our House Senior Living

11 The 2020 Open & Local Breast Cancer Fundraiser at Portage CrossFit Cooperative

11 Spirit of the Agency House Evening Tour

12 Chili'n at the Cabin at Fort Winnebago Surgeons Quarters

12 River Haven Fall Festival

12 Fall Festival at Durward's Glen

12 Animal Farm Band at Portage Center for the Arts

12 St. Mary's Alumni Event

13 Portage Area Distinguished Family Awards Ceremony at Portage Center for the Arts

15 Historic Indian Agency House Closes for Season

15 Healthy Cooking Classes at Seventh-Day Adventist Church

16 Friends of the Portage Library Annual Meeting

17 Meet the Artist at Tivoli - Larry Holak Photography

18 The 2020 Open & Local Breast Cancer Fundraiser at Portage CrossFit Cooperative

18 REAL Spirit of the Agency House Evening Tour

18 Engelbert Humperdinck at Ho-Chunk Gaming

19 First Weber Realtors presents Trivia Night at VFW

20 TRIAD Senior Safe Night Out

21 Culver's Donation Night for the Portage Library

21 Columbia County CASA Celebrates

22 Healthy Cooking Classes at Seventh-Day Adventist Church

24 Portage Center for the Arts Brown Bag Lunch Series

24 Grief Support at Our House Senior Living

24 Drama After Dark at Neil's Wine House

24 Hand-built Pottery Class at the Mercantile

25 Teen Anime Night at Portage Library

25 The 2020 Open & Local Breast Cancer Fundraiser at Portage CrossFit Cooperative

26 Halloween at Portage Theatres

26 Sou-Pare Plus at Portage Center for the Arts

26 Mini Kiss at Ho-Chunk Gaming

27 Pumpkins in the Park with Portage Park and Recreation

28 Portage Sharing Supper at Wayne Bartels Middle School

29 Healthy Cooking Classes at Seventh-Day Adventist Church

29 Tarot Reading with Jessica Sutter at The Mercantile

30 Pop-Up Food Pantry at Portage United Methodist Church

30 Endeavor Sharing Supper

30 Mayor Rick Dodd Listening Session at City Hall

31 Jack's Tap - Halloween Bash!

31 Citywide Trick or Treating

Weekly Recurring Events

Farmer's Market at Market Square, Thursdays from Noon to 5pm with lunch at the Portage Elks Lodge during the market.

Beer Bucket Bingo at Jack's Tap every Monday at 6:30pm

Open Pharmacy Forum at Wilz Hometown Pharmacy, every Wednesday, 6pm-7pm

For details on these events and more, click here.

Portage Area Chamber of Commerce | 608-742-6242 | pacc@portagewi.com | www.portagewi.com