Once in a century event next month! 

Consider this your personal invitation for a once in a century event! The Carlsbad Chamber Centennial Gala will be held on the evening of Friday October 13th. All year long our Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce has been celebrating its 100th year as an organization and it all culminates with this affair.

Given the founding year of our organization, 1923, the theme will be Roaring Twenties! All proceeds from this event will go directly to our 501c3 Carlsbad Chamber Charitable Foundation! As you know, the Carlsbad Chamber is known for putting on fun, engaging, and lively events; and this one is sure to follow suit. We have lined up some tremendous auction items including hard to come by experiences. As well as many other opportunities to help support the tremendous causes that the Carlsbad Chamber Community Foundation sustains.

We will also be honoring several pillars of our Carlsbad community who over our rich history have provided business leadership, philanthropic guidance, public service, and overall commitment to our community. For those that may be unfamiliar with the impact that the Carlsbad Chamber has had on our Carlsbad community, here are a few brief highlights: Founded in 1923, the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce served as the de facto government for the Carlsbad community as the liaison to the San Diego County. It held this role for almost 30 years until in 1952 Oceanside attempted to annex part of the coastline where the Encino Power Plant was to be built.

Upon the failed annexation, the Carlsbad Chamber led the charge to help the City of Carlsbad officially incorporate. At the time, the city of Carlsbad was 7.5 square miles and had less than 7,000 residents. Today Carlsbad encompasses nearly 40 square miles and is home to almost 115,000 residents. Later in the 1950’s the Carlsbad Chamber, in concert with Oceanside and Vista created the Tri-City Hospital District to ensure that healthcare could be provided to this growing area and population.

In the 1970’s the Carlsbad Street Faire was founded and today is still the largest single day street fair in the country. The Carlsbad Chamber is proud to continue to hold this event that brings 100,000 people to our city two times per year. In the 1990’s the Carlsbad Chamber organized a delegation of city, civic, and business leaders to travel to Denmark to encourage LEGO to open their first North American theme park here in Carlsbad, and we have all benefitted from the fruits of that labor.

Also in the 1990’s, the Carlsbad Chamber created what is now known as the Carlsbad Chamber Charitable Foundation to better serve our community with programs that encourage workforce development, educational excellence, disaster preparedness, and corporate kindness. In 2014, the Carlsbad Chamber led the charge to bring the famous Carlsbad sign back above Carlsbad Boulevard.

To this day that is one of the most photographed features in our city. These are just a few of the tremendous highlights of the impact that the Carlsbad Chamber has had on our city and region. We continue to strive to be the economic catalyst, leadership convener, and community champion that you have come to expect.

This is why we are celebrating our 100 years and we thank the community of Carlsbad for its support and partnership! See you on October 13th!