Ribbon Cutting - Napa Chamber of Commerce

The Napa Chamber of Commerce conducts Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies as a complimentary service to Chamber members. Ceremonies can be performed by themselves or as a part of an open house or grand opening. We bring the camera, official scissors, our enthusiastic ambassadors and, of course, the ribbon!

To qualify, you must meet at least one of the following criteria:

A member of the Napa Chamber of Commerce
Within your first year of opening your business
Within one year of purchasing an existing business
An existing business in a new business location or remodel

Chamber Responsibilities:

Send out a broadcast email to Ambassadors, Chamber Board Members, and dignitaries to notify them of your opening
Promote the event beforehand on NapaChamber.com, on our Event Calendar, Member News blog, and social media
Provide the giant scissors and ribbon
Attend the event and take pictures
Share the event with a photo in the website and social media

Chamber Ambassadors and a Chamber staff member attend ribbon cutting ceremonies on behalf of the Chamber Members. The Mayor, City Council, Chamber Board and President are also invited, as their schedules allows.

Member’s Responsibilities:

Coordinate a date and time with the Director of Operations well in advance to avoid conflicts. The best date and time to schedule a Ribbon Cutting is right after end of business day, Monday–Thursday. We have found that weekends are difficult to attend for most people and therefore, we do not encourage Ribbon Cuttings on weekends.
Invite neighboring businesses and community.
Provide refreshments for those in attendance — this is entirely up to you. Great creative! We are happy to brainstorm with you.
Prepare an agenda and anything you might like to say (see below).
Provide background information on your company ahead of time to those who are speaking so they can prepare remarks.

How it Works:

Your agenda could be something like this…

Welcome guests.
Introduction of Chamber Representatives in attendance, dignitaries, and Chamber staff.
Introduction of the owner, president, manager, company rep.
Brief congratulatory remarks by dignitaries or Chamber CEO (1-3 minutes).
Cut the ribbon, usually done by dignitaries and head company rep. Some choose to have all employees do the cutting.
Thank you for attending – by a company rep.
Intro on the company – done by a company rep. Explain what you do if a new business, or if a second location or a move, explain your hours. Introduce your staff.
Offer everyone to come take a look at your facility or tour if appropriate.

Things to keep in mind:

The further ahead you contact us, the more publicity we can provide.
Weekend grand openings (including Friday after 5:00pm) are harder for the Chamber to draw attendance to than weekday events. We strongly discourage them.
Keep in touch with the Chamber as your plans progress.
If you’ve asked for RSVPs, people will typically wait until the last minute, or show up without RSVPing.
If parking is an issue, please let us know where you would like guests to park so we can inform them in advance.