• Photo of River in Van Buren
  • Committee Members

  • Marketing Opportunities Guide

  • Marketing Opportunities Guide

  • Put your business front and center by sponsoring a Chamber event, annual program, or digital media.

    New network building events in 2022 include the Battle of the Business Bowling Tournament and the Local Lunch for restaurants.  BE PRO BE PROUD and Connecting Educators in Industry are focused on building the workforce pipeline for our community.  Also new this year are two annual program sponsorships, the Governmental Affairs Committee, and the Chamber Ambassadors, both focused on advocacy for a strong, business friendly climate in our community, county, and state. 

    Or promote your business utilizing the Chamber website, which received more than 145,000 visits in 2021. And don't forget the long running favorites; the Annual Meeting & Business Expo, the Golf Classic, Business After Hours, and the Arkansas Scholars Award Ceremony.

     

     

     

  • Learning and Development

    All about seed starting! Come discover a variety of ways to start seeds with this hands-on workshop. Participants will practice making soil blocks and sow seeds for their gardens. They will make “seed bombs” which can be used to start pollinator habitats and learn about companion planting. Participants will leave with seed bombs and a tray of seeded soil blocks! $50. Thursday, March 23rd, 6-8 pm.

    Student Outcomes: • Understand how to work on circuits safely • Understand the relationship of Voltage, Resistance, and Current • How to use a meter to test for voltage, amperage, and resistance • Clarity Goals

    Student Outcomes: • Understand how to work on circuits safely • Understand the relationship of Voltage, Resistance, and Current. • How to use a meter to test for voltage, amperage, and resistance • Clarity Goals

    The classes will introduce the potter to the three basic techniques of hand building – Pinch, Coil, and Slab construction. In each class, we're making something different. Mar. 6 (free-style lidded boxes), Mar. 13 (textured ingredient bowls), Mar. 20 (garden gnomes), and Mar. 27 (spoon rests with fused glass). The class fee covers instruction, clay, tools, glaze and firing. Fee $27. For ages 13 and up.

    critical thinking, reliable internet searching

    Getting started with Excel; creating workbooks, getting help in Excel 365, working with rows and columns, sorting and filtering data, basic formulas, formatting text, formatting cells, aligning cell content, search for and replace data, spell check, basic

    This cooking class will showcase the versatility of old favorites like kale and collards, and introduce new greens into your diet like sorrell and dandelion greens. These leafy delights are powerhouses of nutrition and extremely delicious when fresh from the farm. Enjoy a three-course meal that will be paired with local, farm pasture-raised meats or vegetarian options as available.

    This course helps all novice computer users get up to speed with Excel quickly.

    create useful tables in Microsoft Word

    Workplace Leadership Behavior Styles and Communication, Performance Management, Workplace Compliance, Coaching

    Strategic Planning, Goal Setting - Smart Goals, Project Management, and Time & Deadline Management.

    Build a terrarium filled with a mini wonderland of plants in this hands-on workshop! Students will learn the necessary ingredients of a healthy, succulent terrarium and leave with their creation. All materials are provided. Students are welcome to bring their own small rocks, gemstones, or figurines to incorporate into their terrarium.

    Have you ever wondered if there is a difference between a tart and a torte? Chef Mike Merle will walk you through his famous tart and torte recipes so you can wow everyone at your next event.

    using Microsoft OneNote

    Paint a piece of pottery and pick it up after we fire it. The class fee covers instruction, clay, tools, glaze and firing. Fee $27. For ages 8 and up. Registration required.

    Join Michael and Madalyn Farquhar, owners of Pleasant Acres Garden, for this meal planning and cooking class held in the Arts On Main Culinary Kitchen. Whether foraged or farmed, there's countless ways to incorporate mushrooms into your meals. Using a combination of foraged and locally farmed mushrooms, students will explore woody, earthy flavor palettes. This meal will include beetroot, chard, celery, bacon, mushrooms, and pasta with a parmesan cream sauce, served with miso oyster mushroom risotto.

    Enjoy a guided tour through P. Allen Smith’s three-story Greek Revival-style garden home and Arkansas’ beautiful countryside overlooking the Arkansas River while touring the Terrace Garden, Hidden Rose Garden, Hydrangea Allée, and the one-acre vegetable garden. You'll connect to the land as you sit for a farm-to-table lunch featuring a seasonal recipe and a slice of Allen’s famous buttermilk pecan pie from P. Allen Smith’s book, Seasonal Recipes from the Garden

    Join clay artist Barbara Satterfield for demonstrations of her construction techniques, a peek at favorite tools and visual references, and tips about artistic influences. An informal exchange, In the Studio will reveal some secrets and address ongoing fascinations of the artist. March 12 from 6 - 8 pm. Fee $15. For ages 13 and up. Registration required.

    Let clay artist Barbara Satterfield guide your elementary student through the process of creating one or more press molds to decorate a tile, slab-built vase, or small box with air-dry clay. Press mold sprigs will be applied to the selected form that will be taken home to dry before the student finishes the pieces with pencils, markers, and/or watercolor or acrylic paints. Fee $40. For ages 13 and up.

    Join Michael and Madalyn Farquhar, owners of Pleasant Acres Garden, for this meal planning and cooking class held in the Arts On Main Culinary Kitchen. ?Every country has a beloved green sauce. We're making four different kinds taking your tastebuds around the world: pesto, chimichurri, gremolata, and zhug! We promise you will never go back to just ketchup, mayo, and mustard. Take home a small jar of each type of green sauce and a full belly.

    Longhua Xu of Hot Springs is a native of China who came to Arkansas in 1990, becoming a leading member of the state’s artistic and cultural community. We'll visit Xu's studio located on the second floor of what was once the Central Hotel, boasts more than 3,000 square feet with high ceilings, large windows and natural light. Works by the polymath Xu, ranging from wood and stone carvings to bronze sculptures and paintings in oil and acrylic.

    When you take a Richard Stephens workshop you will be exposed to three main things: Informative technical information sprinkled with humor and antidotes, entertaining and educational painting demonstrations, and lots of one-on-one time with Richard as he helps you through your individual painting process.

    Excited to try your hand at pottery but not sure if you're going to be good at it? Our one-time pottery wheel session is perfect for beginners. Learn the basics of throwing your own ceramic pieces and take your creations home with you. The class fee covers instruction, clay, tools, glaze and firing.

    Bring your friends and enjoy social dancing and great music. Join TK Rakoski each Tuesday night at Arts On Main and enjoy social dancing and music. TK can help you with your dance steps or learn something new like Salsa, Merengue, Cha Cha, Tango, Ballroom, Two-step, and more. Each Tuesday night, 6:30-8:00 pm. $15 person. Registration required. Dancing is held in the pottery studio building locate