Discovering the Valley, One Connection at a Time

There are moments when you get to see community happen right in front of you. Tour D’ Farm was one of those moments. Twenty farms and agribusinesses across the Walla Walla Valley opened their gates, their businesses and, in many ways, their lives to hundreds of people who came ready to explore. They met growers and producers, learned where their food comes from, discovered businesses they had never visited before and spent money directly with the people who make agriculture such an important part of our Valley’s economy and identity.

For the Chamber, that may have been the most rewarding part of the weekend. We heard from participating farms that visitors purchased more than anticipated. Some made new customers. Others gained volunteers, new relationships and even a new board member. And perhaps the comment we heard most often from participants was a simple one: “I’ll be back next year.” That is exactly what we hoped Tour D’ Farm could become.

And this fall, its sibling event, Taste of the Walla Walla Valley, carries that same idea into another important part of our local economy: food service.

Just as Tour D’ Farm invites people to travel throughout the Valley and experience farms and agribusinesses where they actually operate, Taste invites participants to walk or drive from business to business and experience our restaurants, cafés, bakeries, food producers and other food-service businesses in their own environments. Each stop offers a taste, but the experience is about much more than the food. It is an opportunity to walk through the door, meet the owner, talk with the chef, connect with servers and staff, and experience the personality of a business in the place where that business comes to life every day.

That is what makes Taste different. Rather than bringing every business into one room for a traditional tasting event, we send people out into the community to discover them.

You may find a restaurant you have driven past for years but never entered. Meet the person behind a favorite dish. Discover a small business you did not know existed. Or simply experience a familiar place in an entirely new way. And, just as we saw with Tour D’ Farm, those introductions can become future customers, repeat visits and stronger connections between locally owned businesses and the people who live here and our visitors.

Tour D’ Farm and Taste of the Walla Walla Valley are siblings by design. One takes us through the farms, fields and agribusinesses that help feed and define our Valley. The other takes us

through the kitchens, counters and dining rooms where food, hospitality and community come together.

Different businesses. Different experiences. The same invitation: go out, meet the people behind them and discover more of the place we call home; and we have several more opportunities this fall to keep making those connections.

On October 21, another part of our regional economy gathers for the annual Reel Impact Summit, a cornerstone of the Chamber’s Film WWV and our growing film and media production work. At the Walla Walla Community College Film & Media Center Theatre, students, filmmakers, production professionals, community partners and Washington Filmworks will come together again for an afternoon of connection and discovery. Returning speakers will join a terrific keynote, we’ll see new trailers and student film work, announce the next Student Film Festival, and continue building the relationships, talent pipeline and production ecosystem that are helping position the Walla Walla Valley as a place where film and media production can happen — and grow.

On October 8, Walla Walla Valley Young Professionals and Women in Business come together for Speed Networking. This is networking without the awkwardness — short conversations, lots of introductions and an opportunity to meet people outside your usual circle. Whether you are building a career, a business, a professional network or simply looking to know more people in the Valley, the goal is the same: create connections that might not otherwise happen.

Then, on November 17, we shift from connecting with one another to thinking together about where our community is going.

Our second annual Community Charrette — “2026 and Beyond: WWV — The Place of Our Future” will bring residents, business leaders, students, elected officials and community partners together at the Port of Walla Walla Conference Center for a highly interactive conversation about the future of the Walla Walla Valley.

Last year, we asked people to imagine the Valley of 2050. This year, we have something even more valuable: a starting point. We can build on what we heard, identify where ideas are becoming action, explore where challenges remain and continue a conversation that belongs to the entire community. A charrette works because no single organization, government or individual owns the answers. The value comes from putting people with different experiences and perspectives around the same table.

And in November, we will also welcome another group that is increasingly important to the Valley — our newest residents.

Our Fall Newcomers Meet-Up is an informal opportunity for people who are new to the area to meet one another, discover community resources and begin making the connections that turn a place you moved to into a place that feels like home.

These events may look very different from one another. A farm tour. A food-service adventure. Speed networking. A community planning conversation. A newcomers gathering.

But underneath them is the same idea. Strong communities are built when people have opportunities to meet one another, understand one another, discover local businesses and organizations, exchange ideas and find a place where they can participate.

Tour D’ Farm gave us a beautiful reminder of just how willing people are to do that. To our 20 participating farms and agribusinesses, our partners, volunteers, sponsors and every person who climbed into a car, picked up a passport and spent the weekend exploring the Valley: thank you.

You did much more than attend an event. You supported local agriculture. You strengthened local businesses. You made new connections. And you helped demonstrate, once again, what is possible when our Valley shows up for one another.

Now we carry that spirit into the rest of the fall. There are more tables to gather around, more doors to walk through, more people to meet and more of our community still to discover.