If you’re in the mood for a refresher, you can go big or you can make small incremental changes each year. One of the biggest ways to change the feel of your event without actually changing it is through implementing a theme or changing up the atmosphere.

But why stop there?

You can add fun activities, switch up the entertainment, change the food or time of day, and so much more. If you’re ready to make some changes, we have a few ideas.
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1. Red Carpet Entrance – Treat attendees like VIPs with a red carpet, photographers, and interviews.

2. Futuristic Chamber – Theme the event around “The Future of Business” with holograms, AI-generated art, and VR experiences.

3. Great Gatsby Night – A roaring ’20s theme with jazz music, flapper dancers, and vintage cocktails. Gold star for creating your own Chamber speakeasy with a play about how being a member gets you into amazing places (or unlocks valuable doors).

4. Carnival of Commerce – A playful theme with games, prizes, popcorn, and cotton candy machines.

5. Escape Room Business Challenge – A mini escape room activity where teams solve chamber-related puzzles.
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6. Live Business Pitch Contest – Chamber members pitch their ideas Shark Tank-style to a panel of business leaders. Pick a winner and give them a sponsored award.

7. “Hot Seat” Q&A – Put local officials or business leaders on the spot with rapid-fire audience questions. Similarly, if you select the carnival theme above, and you have business leaders who are good sports, they could always do a little time in the dunk tank.

8. Reverse Panel – Instead of experts speaking, let business owners pose challenges/scenarios, and the panel provides solutions.

9. Idea Wall – Attendees write down business challenges or opportunities and stick them on a giant wall for discussion.

10. Speed Networking Roulette – A spinning wheel or digital generator pairs people up for quick convos.

11. Live Polling & Voting – Use apps like Slido to get real-time feedback on chamber priorities.
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Sure, advertising your entertainment is one way to sell tickets but so is offering “surprise entertainment such as:

12. Flash Mob of Business Leaders – Coordinate a surprise choreographed dance with board members.

13. Live Sketch Artist – Have an artist draw caricatures of attendees or you could pair up a comedian and a graphic designer to create a fun ad, logo, or slogan for participating businesses).

14. Surprise Celebrity Video Messages – Secure a fun business-related celebrity to record a special message.

15. Comedic Chamber Roast – A lighthearted roast of the past year’s events and key figures.

16. Live Music or DJ Battle – Feature a local band or even a business leader DJ contest.

17. Illusionist or Mentalist Show – A business-themed magic act that incorporates audience members.

18. Themed Costumes for Leadership – Have chamber leaders dress in fun costumes related to the theme.
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No one wants to attend another “rubber chicken” dinner. Show your creative side with your food and drink too with these ideas:

19. Signature Chamber Cocktail – Create a custom drink named after the chamber or board members. Have attendees vote on their favorite. Or invite several nonprofits to create a drink for purchase. You can either give them all a share of their drink proceeds or give an award for the one that sells the most beverages/is chosen as the favorite.

20. Local Restaurant Tasting Stations – Feature small bites from popular local eateries.

21. DIY Food Bars – Ice cream sundae bar, build-your-own taco station, gourmet popcorn stand—everyone gets it “their” way.

22. Hidden Menu Items – Give VIP guests or raffle winners access to a secret menu.

23. Cocktail & Connections Happy Hour – Business networking with signature drinks.
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Awards receptions needn’t always be the same. Switch yours up with these ideas:

24. Business Superlatives – Fun awards like “Most Likely to Take Over the World” or “Best Office Coffee.”

25. Oscar-Style Awards Show – Full glitz and glamor with envelopes, speeches, and music.

26. Surprise Award – A “Hidden Hero” award for someone who’s gone unnoticed.

27. Gamified Leaderboard – Track engagement (social media posts, check-ins, etc.) and award points/prizes.

28. Golden Ticket Giveaway – Hide “golden tickets” under random chairs for exclusive prizes.
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Give them something to remember with these ideas. Plus, they make great sponsorship ideas.

29. Swag Bag Upgrade – High-quality, unique gifts like engraved notebooks or custom local goods.

30. Customized Business Tarot Cards or Fortune Cookies – Fun “fortune-telling” business predictions for attendees.

31. Photo Booth with Fun Props – Branded backdrops and shareable social moments.

32. Live Painting of the Event – An artist creates a painting of the night in real time.
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It’s time to go Back to the Future…if you have the budget or sponsor.

33. Hologram Welcome Message – A futuristic greeting from the chamber president.

34. AI-Powered Name Tags – Badges that light up when networking matches are nearby.

35. Augmented Reality Chamber Timeline – A virtual timeline of chamber milestones people can scan with phones.

36. Drone Delivery of Awards – Have awards or prizes delivered via drone for extra spectacle.
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Create a “cool kids club” where everyone is included but it feels very exclusive.

37. Secret Afterparty – Announce at the beginning of the event that there’s a “secret after party” and only a few people received invites. But the invitees are allowed to invite others that they meet throughout the night. This is a fun way to encourage networking and conversations.

38. VIP Experience Lottery – Randomly upgrade some attendees to a VIP section.

39. Murder Mystery Business Theme – Solve a chamber-related “crime” throughout the evening.

40. “Golden Hour” Deals for Members – Exclusive, limited-time business perks announced live.
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How Sweet It Is

Traci LaFoy, Mexia Area Chamber of Commerce shared that at a past Annual Meeting they, “Welcomed everyone, had a DJ play while everyone ate. We had a theme of ‘How Sweet Is Business in Mexia.’…Huge dessert bar, cotton candy, etc. We did awards, door prizes, silent auction, and raffle. I gave a ‘State of the Chamber address,’ and we had a video slide show highlighting the past year and upcoming things while everyone ate also. SO well received, SO many positive comments such as, ‘have never had so much fun at a Chamber banquet,’ ‘breath of fresh air,’ ‘great atmosphere’…Lots of color!! Adults were like kids ‘in a candy store!’”


Breakfast for the Win

Both the North Tampa Bay Chamber and Shoreline Chamber host their Annual Meetings over breakfast. Hope Kennedy, of the North Tampa Bay Chamber shared that they’re aware of the timing. “Current Chair goes over the past year, passes the gavel to incoming chair, they both speak about 7-10 minutes. New board is sworn in, and we recognize outgoing board. In and out by 9 am.”

Dee Jacob at the Shoreline Chamber said, “We do a breakfast. Give out eight awards and have a keynote.” One of their past speakers was Cindi Bigelow, CEO Bigelow Tea. The whole event takes about an hour and a half.


Ditching the Dinner

Some chambers, including The Bonsall Chamber of Commerce, are ditching dinner at the Annual Meeting. One year they had “…a Mardi Gras Soirée, no sit-down dinner but passed and displayed NOLA food. Photo booth, silent auction, games, and fun. It was held at the ‘Tori Spelling’ house in our town that is now a development center for challenged adults.” They cooked the food and served it.



Traditional Annual Meeting

The Morristown Chamber hosted networking with a cash bar and heavy hors d'oeuvres, background music, and a PowerPoint of the year's activities followed by a brief business meeting, recap of the year, and remarks by outgoing and incoming board chairs, presentation of two awards, and a wrap up with a 30-minute musical performance.

Screven County has a similar affair on a Friday evening from 6-8:30pm. They have a networking hour and a silent auction. Their 2023 event featured a live painter and violinist as the entertainment. They welcomed everyone, the presenting sponsor gave their remarks, had an Invocation, served dinner, and had a keynote speaker. They had a Presentation of Event Sponsors, Presentation of Chamber Champions, the 2023 Annual Report / 2024 Outlook, and recognized outgoing and incoming board members. Then they had their awards presentation followed by the Silent Auction / Raffle winner announcements and giveaways. They wrapped up with closing remarks.

With all these great ideas are you ready to change things up? Then you won’t want to miss next week’s post about how to survive changing your long-standing annual events.
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