The Greater Centralia Chamber of Commerce

10/08/2026

October is kind of big deal in Centralia 🎃 We have two major events coming up on back-to-back Saturdays!

▪️ Sudsfest in happening October 10. 2-7pm. Enjoy a live band, activities, and, of course, a brew competition that will pull brewers from all over southern Illinois. This is a free event, though to taste the brews, a ticket must be purchased.

▪️ Monster Crawl is coming up on October 17! 6-10pm. This free family-friendly event will have food trucks, a DJ, vendors, and plenty of activities!

To stay up-to date on both of these events, follow their pages on Facebook! Centralia Sudsfest Monster Crawl

Both of these events will be happening in the street in Historic Downtown Centralia. See you there 🍻👻

10/06/2026

We had a great time chatting with the Little Egypt CEO this morning! We told them all about what we can do for our Chamber members, went over community events we organize, and shared our knowledge on marketing and fundraising. 💡

10/05/2026

We had our 2026 Balloon Fest wrap-up party yesterday! 🥳 Our marketing director got too caught up in the moment and didn’t take a single photo (it’s me, hi).

Thank you to The Broadway Tavern for hosting us AND pulling this pic from the security cam footage so we can forever remember the day ❤️

Thank you to Kala Lambert, our 2026 Chairperson, and all of the steering committee members for your hard work in making this year a success!

Cary Day will be leading us into Balloon Fest 2027 at Fairview Park as the Event Chairperson, with Jamie Arenz as 2nd Chair.

10/02/2026

Marcus and Jamie took the opportunity to be a part of Manufacturing Day, touring local industries with a group of local High Schoolers.

We started at Intermountain Electronics, Inc. and learned about the power centers they are creating and shipping all over the world.

Then we stopped into Conagra Brands and got to witness the famous Duncan Hines brownie mixes being made. We also got to eat some brownies and took home some boxes of brownie mix, thank you Conagra!!

Lastly, we got a full tour of EFI-Solutions, Inc.. Here, we all learned about the pump stations they build for municipalities worldwide.

I think we may have enjoyed the tours just as much as, if not more than, the students. Seeing how these industries function seamlessly on teamwork and push product out is amazing.

Thank you to participating businesses, Kaskaskia College, and ELWIA for making today possible.

A HUGE thank you to Taryn Chesnek at KC for orchestrating the entire day. This would not have been possible without her!

The most fun part about these industries is that all three are expanding and looking towards the future. They all partner with Kaskaskia College, helping create the workforce, offering internships, and offering tuition reimbursement.

Centralia High School
Odin Public School District #722
Salem Community High School
Sandoval CUSD #501

09/22/2026

First day of autumn! 🍂 🎵 Let's celebrate the cooler weather and all of the great events happening this fall! 🎃 👻

[📷: Downtown Centralia's Ginko trees' yellow leaves from last year.]

UPCOMING EVENTS:

September 26 @ 7:00pm - UP NEXT: The Rising Artist Series - Hayden Coffman, L'il Man J, Kat Luna

October 1 @ 7:00pm - Megan Woods at City Hope Church

October 2 @ 11:00am - Bounce Back 20th Anniversary at Liberty Village of Centralia

October 2 @ 6:30pm - Forever Bronze Handbell Ensemble at Centralia Area Historical Museum

October 4 @ 7:00pm - Philharmonic Orchestra at Centralia Cultural Society

October 10 @ 10:00am - Choral Society Concert at Centralia Cultural Society

October 10 @ 2:00pm - Centralia Sudsfest Oktoberfest with Colden Brewery

October 15, 16, 22, 23 @ 7:30pm - Centralia House of Spirits (Dinner & Show)

October 16 @ 6:30pm - Haunted Hayride at Colonial Golf Course

October 17 @ 6:00pm - Monster Crawl with Boiler Room Speakeasy and The Lobby 1924

October 22 @ 5:00pm - Centralia BPW Boss & Woman of the Year at Heritage Woods

October 24 @ 8:30am - Walk to End ALZ at Kaskaskia College

October 30 @ 4:00pm - Downtown Trick-or-Treat with Centralia Chamber

October 30 @ 6:00pm - Neighborhood Trick-or-Treat with City of Centralia,

October 31 @ 8:00am - Free Centralia Bicycle Ride American Legion post 446

October 31 @ 9:00am - Downtown Fall Festival Begins

October 31 @ 11:00am - Children's Parade through Downtown

October 31 @ 7:00pm - 99th Annual Centralia Halloween Parade!

09/21/2026

Inspire kindness. It is very easy to see who is kind and respectful. These are the leaders we build partnerships with, because the opportunity is open. Even if they do not completely agree, they will still be helpful.

Unfortunately, social media often rewards a different kind of response. A response that searches for problems, assumes the worst, or focuses more on proving someone wrong than finding a way forward. Even well-intentioned criticism can lose its value when it becomes personal or needlessly aggressive.

We are the Chamber of Commerce. Our members serve the community, employ its citizens, and actively invest in progress. We have a common goal and common values. We may disagree, but we treat each other with respect and kindness.

As we continue building new partnerships, our network is growing, and everyone can benefit from our combined efforts.

Thank you for supporting our goal to improve our quality of life and business climate, so we can have better resources accessible in our community.

“Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”  Our “inspire” campaign started as a call for community , progress , and connection . We know that if we collaborate, with a common goal, working in the same direction, that we can make a difference. For the Chamber of Commerce,

09/20/2026

Congratulations to 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑳𝑶𝑩𝑩𝒀 1924 on a beautiful remodel of one of Centralia's Historic Downtown buildings. This new event venue is absolutely stunning! 🖤

We have so many unique business all throughout our Greater Centralia Area. Thank you to ALL of our local businesses for continuing to invest local ✨

09/18/2026

We are celebrating a new business in our downtown with a Ribbon Cutting and Open House on Saturday, September 19! ✂️✨

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑳𝑶𝑩𝑩𝒀 1924 is revealing their phase 1 opening to the public 🖤

Join us in welcoming them to Historic Downtown Centralia!

📍200 East Broadway, Centralia, IL
📅 Saturday, September 19

⏰ 2:00pm - 4:00pm Open House
✂️ 4:00pm - Ribbon Cutting

09/17/2026

Kaskaskia College was awarded $6 million to construct a new KC Manufacturing Academy at their Main Campus in Centralia.

“This is a transformational moment for Kaskaskia College,” said Kaskaskia College President George Evans. “For the first time in our history, we will have a facility built specifically around the education and training needs of manufacturing and the skilled trades. The KC Manufacturing Academy will give our faculty the space, technology, and resources to take hands-on learning to an entirely new level while allowing us to adapt as industry and workforce needs continue to change. Most importantly, it will create new pathways for students to gain highly technical skills, earn valuable credentials, and move directly into careers with the employers who are driving our regional economy.”

The new academy will be a 37,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility dedicated to advanced manufacturing and industrial trades education and training. It's going to be located on the northwest side of the Main Campus.

09/16/2026

We had a great luncheon at Centralia House Restaurant ⚜️

September 16 is the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln being in Centralia and writing letters at the Centralia House, so of course we had to get the Lincoln hat out! Thanks to CHS Principle Reed Shipley for playing the part of Lincoln for a brief moment 🎩

Thank you to everyone who joined us today! It's great seeing our members again after the Balloon Fest season. Please don't hesitate to reach out to The Chamber with any questions about business marketing, fundraising, getting more involved in the community, or anything else business-related. We are ready to help! 😄