Dear Editor,

On behalf of the board of directors and the staff of the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce we would like to thank the Oakdale community for supporting the 18th Annual Oakdale Chocolate Festival. The event drew over 70,000 attendees this year with perfect weather. It would not be possible to put on a festival of this size without the 200+ volunteers. A HUGE thank you to them. They all worked very hard the entire weekend to make it a friendly, family event. The Fun Run drew a record number of runners and walkers, the car show attracted 150+ classic cars and the local entertainment was awesome. A ton of canned foods were collected at each gate for Oakdale Community Sharing. We feel the first year of being dog friendly was a success and are already working on ways to expand the comfort of the dogs for 2011.

In these lean times the Oakdale Chocolate Festival provides a unique opportunity for local organizations to earn money. The Chamber pays the groups to help us with this premier event. The Oakdale Chamber also offers space to Oakdale based non-profit groups at no charge, so that they may bring awareness to their clubs and or raise money for it. On top of what we do for local organizations, the patrons coming to town are staying in the hotels, eating at local restaurants, fueling their cars and shopping at local merchants. All of these items do bring more sales tax to Oakdale and more money to the City of Oakdale’s General Fund. If your organization is interested in more information for our 19th Annual Oakdale Chocolate Festival call or email the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce.

Again, thank you!

Mary Guardiola, CEO

Oakdale Chamber of Commerce