Starting next week, small businesses will celebrated throughout every Canadian community as part of Small Business Week organized by the Business Development Bank of Canada.

Locally, Ridge Meadows Chamber of Commerce executive director Kristi Maier said that this week-long event is vital to the cities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.

“Small Business Week is so important to the chamber,” said Maier. “We’re looking forward to celebrating all of the small businesses of our community.”

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As far as special events go, Maier said that the chamber will be concentrating their efforts on the Celebrating Women in Business event, which she explained is the perfect fit for Small Business Week.

“We chose to do the Women in Business event during Small Business Week for a reason,” said Maier. “It’s not just about celebrating women. It’s about celebrating everyone and getting together for food and drinks and listening to a great keynote speaker.”

The aforementioned speaker is award-winning entrepreneur Darci Lang, who will be headlining the chamber event on Oct. 19 at The ACT.

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Maier explained that while Small Business Week is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate local businesses, there is an ongoing problem surrounding awareness of it.

“A lot of small businesses don’t even know about Small Business Week,” she said. “It’s the chamber’s job to really promote it and get the word out.”

Small Business Week takes place across Canada from Oct. 15 to 21.