Fishermen's Festival is around the corner, and with that retail merchants all over the Boothbay Harbor region have been busy gearing up for another action-packed season. In an attempt to connect with local businesses, the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce staff, volunteers and a few Chamber board members will board a local YMCA shuttle bus and plan on delivering hundreds of glossy 2014 Visitor Region guides and smiles all over the peninsula this Friday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

“Our goal is to reach out and distribute our guides to as many members and non-members as possible and help get the peninsula ready for our visitors,” Executive Director Catherine Wygant Fossett said. "Our thanks go out to the Boothbay Region YMCA for partnering with us on this endeavor and sponsoring the chamber Cheer Bus!"

The staff plan on reaching out to as many as local businesses starting at the tip of the peninsula at Cod Cove Inn on Route 27 all the way into the Harbor and over the bridge into Southport. 

The glossy 148-page Boothbay Harbor Region Visitor & Resource Guide designed once again by Atomic Studios is chock-full of expanded editorial, a staggering 237 “Things to Do” in our Boothbay Harbor region, 293 regional business listings and over 100 advertisements, reflecting an expanding and thriving economic region.

Don’t worry about losing your way on the peninsula either — the visitor’s guide contains three area maps that entail the entire Boothbay region, a detailed two-page Recreations & Activities map including sectional legends, and for all those art lovers out there: an Art Trail map. 

Local artist and Down East Gallery owner Brad Betts, who is featured on the front and back cover of this year's glossy guide said, “I’m excited about the potential of the 2014 season knowing that over 100,000 of these pocket-size guides will be distributed to visitors from all over the globe, viewed on the chamber’s website, and hopefully helping many of them find their way to my new gallery space in East Boothbay and the several art galleries in our region.”

According to the chamber, an average of 40-60 guides are mailed out every day in peak season, not to mention the influx of visitors that come in each day and walk out with the guide in-hand. 

In 2013, guides were distributed to over 11 AAA offices in many different states; the AAA Boston Travel Show; Chambers statewide; local Chamber members as a visitor resource guide and the downtown information center; the Maine Tourism Association, visitor centers; train stations; airports; Maine Turnpike and several other public locations statewide and beyond. 

“If we can't come to you this Friday, please come and visit us at chamber office on 192 Townsend Avenue or give us a call at 207-633-5234.  We’ll help you load up your car with guides,” Fossett said.

Starting Memorial Day weekend, both the chamber's visitor center on Townsend Avenue and the Downtown Information Center located at 1416 Commercial Street in Boothbay Harbor will be open seven days a week. 

The Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce is a first-rate, multi-service membership organization that currently serves over 390 members. The chamber’s next big event will be the Annual Awards Dinner, scheduled for Friday, May 30, 2014 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. with the theme of “Let’s Go Green Together!”