SACO — The community is invited to see what the area has to offer at the Biddeford + Saco Chamber of Commerce + Industry Community Awareness expo on Wednesday at XL Sports World, 400 North St.

More than 50 area businesses and organizations are expected to have information booths set up at the event. 

The expo will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. with the first hour reserved for business-to-business networking. This hour will kick off with a presentation by Department of Labor Commissioner John Butera.

Between 3 to 7 p.m., the expo is open to the public. 

This is the 13th year the chamber has held an annual expo, and Executive Director Craig Pendleton said the expo has gone through some changes over the years based on feedback from those attending and changes in the economic climate, and is now running into the evening to accommodate potential attendees who work during the day.

This year, instead of holding a job fair on the same day as the business expo, a job fair was held in the spring, based on the number of vacancies local employers needed to fill for summer seasonal positions.

Pendleton said the chamber has done well with connecting members to one another and has recently increased its focus on connecting chamber members with consumers.

The expo this year has shifted and has a more hands on approach to appeal to community members, with samples and demonstrations.

In addition to business displays, there will be a fire safety demo, visits from Crusher from the Red Claws and Slugger from the Portland Seadogs as well as free samples of local craft beer, coffee and food.

For more information on the expo, contact James Jasper at [email protected] or 282-1567, ext. 203.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].