Uncategorized – Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce

Fall Beer Garden

Our Fall Beer Garden on Reading Town Common has quickly become a favorite community event, drawing hundreds of local residents and their friends to downtown Reading. The event showcases local food and beverage businesses, brings new visitors to downtown, and supports a vibrant Reading business community.

We love highlighting local and regional businesses and introducing residents to new favorites. By attending and sponsoring the Fall Beer Garden, you support local jobs, promote downtown Reading, and help create a tradition our community looks forward to every year.

Recent food and beverage vendors have included:

Breweries & Beverages

Hopothecary Ales (North Reading)
Small Change Brewing (Cambridge)
Wandering Soul (Beverly)
Marble Ridge Winery (North Andover)
Empower (Reading & Woburn)

Food

Cupcake City (Reading)
Del Sur (Reading)
Pizza World (Reading)
Swiss Bakers (Reading)

For participating vendors and sponsors, the Fall Beer Garden offers a fun, relaxed way to gain visibility, connect with new customers, and build partnerships with other local businesses. Sponsor and booth registration for this event will open in late summer. The date for 2026 has not yet been set; please check back or join our email list for updates.

Whether you come for the craft beer, local food, or music and community atmosphere, we invite you to join us on the Common this fall.

North Reading Town Day

North Reading Town Day is one of the signature events hosted by the Chamber. Town Day has become one of the most successful annual events in North Reading with an estimated 3-4,000 attendees. We are excited to bring this event back in 2026. The date is Sunday, September 20 from 11am-3pm.

Thanks to the support from the local community and the businesses who sponsor Town Day, we exceeded our capacity in 2025. We had over 90 vendor booths, 12 food vendors, and lots of entertainment options that brought families from throughout the area to Ipswich River Park in North Reading.

For 2026, we will be limiting registration to the first 80 vendors who register and pay their booth fee.
We will be limiting our Food Vendors to 10 trucks and booths.
The fees will remain unchanged.

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE

Booth exhibitors get to meet face to face with new potential customers. Sponsors get wide ranging exposure throughout the region and elevate your business as a valuable member of the community. Several sponsorship levels include the cost of your booth.

Winterfest

Winterfest is the annual outdoor celebration of downtown Reading. Established in 2022, it was created by the Chamber to bring the community together in a family-friendly environment as the coldest days of winter start to fade. This is a free event, with activities paid for by local sponsors.

This year there will be fire tables and s’mores, music, local food and beer vendors, lit ice sculptures, and more. Stroll the downtown, pop into stores and restaurants, and make memories.

Our next Winterfest is scheduled for March 5, 2026 from 5-8pm on Reading Town Common.

Get Seen by Your Local Customers

Sponsoring at Winterfest demonstrates your commitment to the local community. Some sponsorships include the opportunity to have your own booth to share information and speak directly to new and potential customers. You can learn more about participating either with a booth and/or sponsorship by visiting our event page.

Tree Lighting Celebrations

The Tree Lighting Celebrations hosted by the Chamber happen when the holiday lights on the Town Commons in Reading and North Reading are first lit for the season. These two events happen simultaneously on the first Sunday after Thanksgiving and have become treasured traditions that bring out thousands of local residents.

Typical activities provided by the Chamber include (activities differ by location):

Local Food vendors like Del Sur Empanadas and Cupcake City
Hayrides on closed local streets
Trolley rides
Pictures with Santa at Reading Cooperative Bank
Stilt walkers, balloon animals, jugglers, face painters, carolers, and more.
Youth performances by local Dance and Martial Arts Studios
Performances by high school marching bands and chorus groups
The big moment when Santa arrives by firetruck at the Common where an excited crowd chants a countdown before Santa turns on the lights for the season.

These events are free to attend, with all costs for activities paid for through sponsorships from local businesses, Chamber memberships, and occasional grants when available.

In addition, local churches and groups provide additional activities, like:

Tours of historic buildings provided by the North Reading Historical and Antiquarian Society
Manger scene and a petting zoo provided by local North Reading churches
Kraft and music events at local reading churches

Our next Tree Lighting Celebration events are scheduled for Sunday, November 29, 2026. Be sure to follow our events by subscribing to our newsletter.

Lunch & Learn at Fusion Cafe 3/24/16

What’s New In Reading?

Join us (a week early) for our quarterly lunch and learn event. These events take place quarterly at a local restaurant. We enjoy lunch, informal networking and a short presentation.

Our upcoming Lunch & Learn will take place on Thursday March 24, 2016 from 12 – 1:15 PM at Fusion Cafe.

What’s new in Reading?

Our speakers will be Jean Delios, Assistant Town Manger and Bob LeLacheur, Town Manager who will offer a State of the Town & MAPC Economic Development Overview.

Lunch buffet at Fusion Café 607 Main Street, Reading, MA

$20 members, $30 non-members

Advance registration requested. Register in advance to be entered into a raffle for a free admission to a future event.

State of Reading Luncheon

New sick leave law in effect July 1, 2015

2016 Annual Meeting

Annual Meeting (Breakfast)
Thursday Jan 28 7:30 – 9 AM
Teresa’s Prime

20 Elm Street, North Reading MA
Speaker: Dennis Clarke, President and CEO of Cummings Properties

The Chamber’s 2016 Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday January 28th at 7:30 – 9:00 am at Teresa’s Prime, 20 Elm Street in North Reading. A buffet breakfast will be served at 7:30, with our speaker and presentation beginning at 8 am. Come learn about the exciting events the Chamber has planned for 2016.

Speaker: Dennis Clarke, President and CEO of Cummings Properties

Chamber Member Price: $20

Non-Chamber Member Price: $30

Lisa Egan is new Chamber executive director

Lisa Egan is new Chamber executive director

Reading, MA, November 21, 2014 –

Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce President Lisa DeLeo is pleased to announce that Lisa Egan of Reading has been chosen as its new executive director.

“The Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce is a vital organization in both communities and it is a pleasure to come on board at such an exciting time. I am honored for the opportunity to be a part of the Chamber and its future success,” said Egan. “I look forward to its possibilities and growth potential and I believe there is much work that can be done to increase Chamber value and awareness and provide continuity to its image.”

Lisa has owned her own freelance editing and instructional design business for the past 2 ½ years and has worked at a major textbook publishing firm in Boston where she managed a large team of employees and consultants and picked up her juggling skills when working on time-sensitive projects.

No stranger to Reading fund-raising, Egan served on the Joshua Eaton Playground Committee, where she and her committee raised $50,000 and the Sturges Park Master Planning Committee to improve and update the park, playground and wetlands.

“Lisa’s background is the perfect combination of event planning and project management, while giving back to the local communities,” said DeLeo. “We are looking forward to working with Lisa, who comes highly recommended and we are anxious to get her on board.”

Not to worry, Lisa has jumped in feet first and is already working on the Holiday Lighting Festivals in both Reading and North Reading that take place on November 30. She is also preparing promotional material for a Name the Elf contest featured in local businesses where children can take a chance to name the Chamber elf by dropping their entries into an entry box. And, she is working with the Auction Committee on the Chamber’s 12 Days of Christmas online auction, raising funds to offset the cost of the lighting festivals enjoyed in both towns throughout the holidays.

“Not bad for her first week’s agenda!” said DeLeo.

Lisa earned a bachelor of arts from Providence College and she has years of experience in communications, advertising, event planning, fund-raising and management.

President Lisa DeLeo plans a welcoming reception for the full Chamber membership after the holidays.

“Congratulations to the Search Committee for conducting the interview process,” said DeLeo. “The competition was stiff, but we are confident Lisa will prove to be a valuable asset to the Chamber’s mission of local businesses partnering with the community, public officials and each other to improve the economy and quality of life in Reading and North Reading.

Lisa has been a resident of Reading for 13 years.

Download Press Release

Bruins Alumni Game

Watch members of the RNR Chamber play Bruins Alumni

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Burbank Ice Arena
Reading, MA
7:30 pm

Tickets $10 each

To purchase tickets or sponsor this event please contact Julie Higgins at rnrchambercom@aol.com

Vote for Your Favorite Window Display

Local Chamber of Commerce businesses have been working hard to create beautiful and interesting window displays and now it is time for you to get out and vote for your favorites.

Participating businesses in North Reading are:

Horseshoe Grille,
The Jewelry Vault,
Brissonté Gifts & Home Décor,
Ryer’s Country Store,
The Savings Bank.

Participating businesses In Reading:

Goodhearts Children’s Shop in conjunction with Center Staged Interiors,
Olde Redding Butcher Shop,
The Chocolate Truffle,
Everything But the Dog,
The Hitching Post Gift Shop,
The Hot Spot,
People’s United Bank.

The Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce and Brissonté Gifts & Home Décor located in North Reading, are partnering with local businesses in the 2^nd annual holiday display contest to benefit local charities. The contest is open now and runs through Christmas Eve. Business members have decorated their windows and are collecting dollars to compete against each other for bragging rights and to win a donation to their favorite charity from Brissonté, who generously agreed to donate $500 to the winners. The contest is being held in both Reading and North Reading.

Visit participating businesses to learn more and cast your vote for your favorite holiday display. Votes cost $1 each and you can vote as often as you’d like! All money raised is donated to a local charity.