EDWARDSBURG — Next Thursday, more than a dozen businesses in the greater Edwardsburg area will gather to show off and network with community members.

The annual Edwardsburg Discovery Expo will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. next Thursday, Sept. 27, at the Edwardsburg Fire Station.

“It’s important for our chamber members to be able to come together with others in a setting where the general public can come and see what our business have to offer,” said Roy Smothermon, the Edwardsburg Chamber of Commerce administrator. “It also gives our businesses an opportunity to see what everyone in the area is doing as far as business. It’s networking, as well as exposing the general public to businesses in the area.”

Smothermon said that every year there are a few businesses that people are surprised to see exist in the area. For instance, this year one of the chamber board members will be at the expo showcasing a local improv class.

“Every year, there are two or three businesses that pop up,” Smothermon said. “It also gives the general public an opportunity to come in. The Uptown Improvement committee is going to be there and they can ask questions and see what they’re doing. It just gives them a chance to get a feel of the community and what’s going on as far as the businesses, because there’s a lot of these that they never go to during the course of the year.”

He also said that the majority of businesses that attend the expo give away a few items through drawings or raffles.

“The main thing that I would really like to stress is that it’s open to the public and it’s free,” Smothermon said. “We want to make sure everyone out there knows that anyone can come to the expo, and it doesn’t cost you anything to get in.”

He said that community members are welcome to attend at any time throughout the event’s four-hour time frame.

Businesses that have signed up can begin setting up for the expo from noon to 2:30 p.m. Registration for the expo is open through tomorrow. To register, business owners can go to EdwardsburgChamber.org. Click on the “Events” tab and scroll down to “2018 Discovery Expo.”

This year, there will be a number of businesses serving food at the expo, including Sam’s Club, LaPlace for Latte, Captain’s Pizzeria, Pauly Macs, Brothers Baking Company, Maple Cafe and more. Smothermon said he also hopes that Just Pie will attend.

Keenan’s with a Kick is a Cajun-style food truck that will be selling food outside of the expo.

“There will be lots of goodies for people to eat and stuff for them to look at,” Smothermon said.

Overall, he said that this is an event that will benefit community members and business owners.

“It’s really important for them to come in and actually see what businesses are in the community,” he said. “Every year, it just kind of surprises me some of the things that are out there that you don’t realize are even there. Then you’ll see the regular businesses like the gas stations and the restaurants and the banks and stuff like that.”