The Cochrane and District Chamber of Commerce has made the difficult decision to postpone some upcoming events in response to COVID-19.

The Mayor's State of the Town breakfast, which is held in partnership with the Town of Cochrane was set to go on April 8 but it has been postponed.

The trade show which was scheduled for the weekend of May 2 & 3 has been postponed. 

Cochrane and District Chamber of Commerce Director, Kelly Sinclair says they are very disappointed to be putting the trade show on hold. 

"This is obviously a massive impact for both the business members of the trade show who use that as a primary promotional opportunity as well as for our Chamber because it is one of our biggest fund drivers for the year that allows us to do programming." 

Sinclair says they are hopeful that it can be rescheduled but the best venue to hold the event is at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre and they require ice surfaces in the fall in the spaces where the trade show is held so that makes it a challenge to find another time that will work.

"We can cross our fingers and be hopeful that the situation may change but in the meantime the responsible thing to do is to postpone."

Sinclair says the Chamber continues to be committed to supporting local businesses during these unprecedented times and they have come up with a few ideas on how you can help.

"Many businesses do remain open. We are seeing reduced hours and potentially reduced offerings but some of the ideas that we are sharing for the public include supporting local restaurants, ordering take out, remembering to tip generously, purchasing gift cards that can be used at a later date and looking at online shopping options through our local retailers."

The Chamber of Commerce AGM, which is set to go on March 31 will still go ahead but will be held via video conference. 

Chamber members will be given instructions so they can join in on the meeting.