Minding Your Business Dec. 21 -The Cape Cod Chambers of Brewster, Chatham, Harwich and Orleans

Brewster: 2198 Main St. 508-896-3500 -- brewster-capecod.com

Chatham: 2377 Main St. 508-945-5199 -- chathaminfo.com

Harwich: 1 Schoolhouse Rd. 508-430-1165 -- harwichcc.com

Orleans: 44 Main St. 508-255-7203 -- orleanscapecod.org

The Chambers of Commerce in the Lower Cape towns that the Cape Cod Chronicle covers made shopping locally easier and more engaging than ever this year! Each really pulled out all the stops this holiday season; each in their own way. The special events began on Thanksgiving weekend and continued through mid-December giving shoppers and revelers experiences filled with both old and new traditions.

“Brewster for the Holidays” included a week-long scavenger hunt called the Great Snowman Search. This exploring event was organized by the Brewster Chamber of Commerce and executive director Kyle Hinkle, and the winner of a new bike and helmet was announced at the “Family Party” on December 3rd. Before that party though, the weekend was packed with a holiday concert, a breakfast with Santa, shopping events with music, refreshments and more at the local shops and a tree lighting ceremony that included lighting the windmill in Drummer Boy Park.

Chatham’s “Christmas by the Sea Stroll” organized by the Chatham Chamber of Commerce and Merchants Association was a huge success this year; Fri. December 8 was a clear, mild night and Main Street was filled with happy shoppers. Chatham Chamber of Commerce executive director Mary Cavanaugh would have been proud. (Cavanaugh passed away unexpectedly this fall, and a Holiday Gala was held on December 16 as a benefit for the foundation in her name.) The 2023 stroll, oversaw by the chamber’s operations manager, Danita Scribner, marked the return of the tree lighting ceremony in the “triangle” at Seaview Street, yet kept all the other traditions of Santa visiting with children in his “workshop,” breakfast with the big guy on Saturday, and horse and carriage rides up and down Main Street.

Harwich did something new this month but still held the traditional stroll in Harwich Port on Dec. 1 with the town band playing, shops welcoming all, the horse and carriage rides and Santa at the information center. But then on December 2 they hosted a “Dickens of a Christmas: A Christmas Carol in Harwich.” Conceived by the Harwich Chamber of Commerce’s executive director Cyndi Williams, Christopher Schultz and Tristan DiVincenzo, the interactive event based on Charles Dickens’ story “played” throughout the Harwiches in different locations. There was a tree lighting ceremony with Santa, and a holiday market and food trucks, plus fireworks on December 2nd at the Wequassett resort too.

The “Orleans Seaside Christmas” kept people busy this year also, with something to do nearly every Saturday during the season. The stroll kicked off with Santa’s arrival and a breakfast on November 25th, and continued all day with horse and carriage rides, music, and a tree lighting ceremony. On December 2nd they held their annual Santa Stampede, a 5K race in East Orleans with prizes for best costumes, a DJ, food and drink. And new this year they added an evening stroll on December 15th filled with music, food and drink, and specials for shoppers. Judy Lindahl, the newly hired Orleans Chamber of Commerce’s executive director, was very pleased with the success of all the events.

If you missed out on any or all of these events this year, mark your 2024 calendar to make sure you’re here next year, or just keep reading the Cape Cod Chronicle, for all the coverage of these events (before and after) and more. We are actively out and about in your favorite town! And we applaud all four towns for their over-the-top hard work this season. Thank you.