Fall in the Valley: Showing Up, Building Up and Investing in What Comes Next

There are times of year when the work of a Chamber is particularly visible and fall in the Walla Walla Valley is certainly one of them.

Over the next several months, the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce will move from farms and agribusinesses to film and workforce development, from young professionals and women in business to community conversations, newcomers, local food and beverage businesses, and finally recognition of some of the people and organizations doing extraordinary work throughout our Valley.

It is a full calendar, but there is a common thread running through it: creating opportunities for people, businesses and organizations to connect, grow and participate in the economic life of our community. First up is Tour D’ Farm, September 19 and 20, returning for its second year and expanding from 14 participating locations in 2025 to 20 farms and agribusiness destinations throughout the Valley.

Last year’s inaugural event demonstrated just how much interest there is in seeing another side of the Walla Walla Valley — meeting growers and producers, visiting farms and learning more about where our food comes from. And this year, your Tour D’ Farm adventure can do a little extra good. The Chamber is partnering with Blue Mountain Action Council (BMAC) to help kick off its annual food drive. Bring a nonperishable food item to help fill the BMAC barrels at the Chamber, and we’ll exchange your donation for an additional entry in our Tour D’ Farm Gift Bag drawings. It’s one more chance to win—and an easy way to help put food on the tables of neighbors throughout our community.

For those starting early Saturday, Wild Thyme food truck will be at the Chamber beginning at 8 a.m. with grab-and-go options before participants head out for the day. The simplest way to support this program is also the most enjoyable one: buy a ticket and go. Tickets are available now through the Chamber website at wwvchamber.com/events.

October takes us into a very different part of our work.

On October 8, Women in Business and Walla Walla Valley Young Professionals will come together again for Speed Networking, bringing back a format participants have asked us to repeat.

Then, on October 21, Film Walla Walla Valley’s Reel Impact returns, this year at the Theatre Arts Center at Walla Walla Community College.

The program will again bring together industry, education, government, students and community partners, with the student film festival playing an important role in connecting emerging talent to a growing rural film and media production economy.

From there, the calendar moves quickly. Taste of the Walla Walla Valley returns November 6 and 7. Our Fall Newcomers Meet-Up follows on November 14.

The second annual Community Charrette returns to the Port of Walla Walla Conference Center on November 17, again creating space for direct conversation between community members and governmental representatives.

And on December 16, we will close the year with our Community Excellence Awards, returning again to the historic Baker Boyer Building and recognizing businesses, nonprofits, organizations and individuals whose work helps move this community forward.

Several of these programs are already benefiting from sponsor commitments, with a limited number of additional opportunities still available. Those partnerships help us keep participation accessible, engage students and emerging professionals, and continue producing strong community programming while keeping costs carefully managed.

But building business and community does not only happen through events. Sometimes it happens one office at a time.

For decades, part of the Chamber’s commitment to small businesses, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs and nonprofit organizations has included offering professional office space at rates well below traditional commercial market rents.

One of our longtime tenants recently moved after approximately nine years with us. When he first came to the Chamber, he was building a young CPA practice and needed affordable professional space in which to grow. Nine years later, that business has grown to the point that he has purchased his own building. That is exactly what this model is meant to accomplish.

Affordable space can be much more than inexpensive real estate. It can provide the runway a small business or nonprofit needs to establish itself, build clients, grow capacity and eventually move into something larger. And when that happens, it creates room for the next one.

With multiple offices now available, the Chamber is continuing that long-standing commitment while also expanding the ways those spaces can be used. Beginning September 1, fractional-use office space is also available. Not every consultant, solopreneur, start-up or nonprofit needs a full-time office. Some need a professional place to work a day or two each week. Some need privacy for client meetings. Others need a business address, reliable Wi-Fi, mail delivery, meeting space or simply an alternative to conducting every conversation from a coffee shop or kitchen table.

Depending on the arrangement, Chamber office tenants can also have access to parking, building security, Wi-Fi, 24/7 access, limited copier use, storage opportunities and meeting space when available.

Terms are designed to be flexible because the goal is not simply to fill offices. The goal is to help businesses and organizations grow. There are also friendly neighboring tenants — and one approximately 12-pound Chief Greeting Officer who considers welcoming visitors part of his job description. In many ways, that office-space story reflects the same philosophy behind the Chamber’s broader fall calendar.

A ticket to Tour D’ Farm supports local agriculture. A sponsorship helps expand community programming. An event creates relationships. A professional office can give a small business or nonprofit room to grow.

Different activities, but the same larger purpose: connecting people, ideas and opportunity while helping build a stronger Walla Walla Valley. To learn more about fall events, tickets, sponsorship opportunities or available Chamber office and fractional-use space, visit wwvchamber.com or contact the Chamber. staff@wwvchamber.com

There is a great deal happening this fall. More importantly, there are a great many ways to be part of it.