WILLIAMSBURG — The Spring 2023 edition of Strictly Business, the free networking event hosted by WYDaily, Tide Radio, and 30 Off Local, in partnership with CultureFix, saw a huge turnout at the Williamsburg Jamestown Airport.
Nearly 1,000 local newsmakers, leaders, business owners and consumers attended the April 19 gathering, according to organizers. That makes it the largest to date.
“So this has been the third strictly business since our little COVID break, and we somehow keep growing, and it keeps getting bigger and better than the previous event,” said Elisa Campana, Marketing and Events Director for Local Daily Media, the parent company of WYDaily, Tide Radio, and 30 Off Local. “It’s nice to see that we have people coming from all over the place wanting to support local business, promote their local business, and connect with those in the community.”
Attendees on the tarmac had the opportunity to sample food and beverages from area businesses — including the specially-brewed Strictly Business Pale Ale from the Virginia Beer Company — win prizes, grab swag, pop into a photo booth, take part in speed networking, check out a display of vehicles from CMA’s Williamsburg Ford and play cornhole.
Sunny skies and moderate temperatures combined to make a beautiful spring evening, with the backdrop of small aircraft taking off and landing at the area’s popular privately-owned airport.
“I was very excited about the location of this event. I think Strictly Business does different things for different locations, and there are still so many people that don’t know that we have the Williamsburg Jamestown Airport,” Campana said. “It’s such a gem of this area. And so it was a great opportunity for people to see a beautiful, unique location in Williamsburg.”
Music was hosted by Tide Radio’s Andy Harris, and guests also had the chance to meet with the editorial staff of WYDaily. There was also a surprise guest: The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.
“It was pretty spectacular that the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile happened to be in the area the same day and asked if they could come on property. Why not?” Campana said.
The Fall 2023 edition of Strictly Business will be held on Oct. 4 at the Resort at Kingsmill.
“The last time we hosted an event there was 2019. That was a really popular location. I’m really, really excited to be going back to Kingsmill. They have so much to offer on property,” Campana said. “We are going to be doing a room block for individuals that want to stay and enjoy and not have to worry about driving home that evening. There’ll be some cool new perks to this October event that we haven’t had in the past, so stay tuned for some more cool updates on that, but Kingsmill is going to be a really awesome October location.”
The organizers say the goal of Strictly Business is part of their commitment to bring people together, making their virtual online and on-air community a literal one.
“This event has a lot involved, and this is something that we could not have done without the support of our community. CultureFix, Williamsburg Event Rentals and Steve Rose are huge supporters of the event and we could not do it without them. We have 12 major corporate sponsors,” Campana explained. “We also have a variety of supporting sponsors, our food and beverage vendors… we also had some really incredible prices this year — anything from Williamsburg Live tickets to Brill Fest tickets to an electric bike from Pedego Bikes.”
“We’re so appreciative of the community rallying together to help us put on an incredible event for not just Williamsburg, but for the Peninsula,” Campana added.
