Welcome!
The Town of Riga and the Village of Churchville are located in Upstate New York in an area dotted with small industries, rich farmland and historic residential neighborhoods. The Churchville-Riga Chamber of Commerce invites you to pay us a visit – you may just want to stay !
Benefits of Joining the Chamber:
- Link for your business on the Chamber website, and inclusion in event and advertising materials
- Advertising credit up to $50.00 to advertise in Westside News
- Event and scholarship sponsorship opportunities
- Locally supported Chamber of Commerce events, such as the Annual Golf Tournament, Churchville Walk About, American Legion Veterans Day Tribute Luncheon, and more!
- Access to local network of members, meetings, and advertising kiosk
The Chamber welcomes your involvement and ideas to help our community connect and support local businesses.
The Greater Churchville Riga Chamber of Commerce would like to Congratulate Bergen Water Gardens for being our July 2025 Member of the Month.
This is a must see in our little village of Churchville. Stop by and see Larry and Lili and all their beautiful Lotus on site.
Bergen Water Gardens started its journey in May 2000 with one greenhouse. We focused on pond supplies, plants and fish. Over the next several years, 2 more greenhouses were added. Gradually, the property came alive.
Serving as Executive Director of the International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society (IWGS), Larry orchestrated the first IWGS Symposium in Qingdao China. That event would open the doors to Botanical Gardens, water plant hybridizers throughout China and to Larry’s future wife Lili. Together they imported lotus tubers from China and offered them on Bergen’s website. The number of lotus offered soared from a few dozen to over 400 in a few years. Lotus tubers were sent throughout the USA, Europe, Asia and even to South America. Unique lotus like the first variegated leaf lotus, the black lotus and true micro lotus were all introduced to the world, from China, by Bergen Water Gardens.
Today Bergen is home to the first IWGS Certified Nelumbo (lotus) Collection of Excellence. With 120 display ponds, hundreds of potted lotus and our natural growing areas, Bergen Water Gardens has become a destination for plant enthusiasts from the area, throughout the USA and numerous international guests. Bergen in recent years has established itself as a premier source for carnivorous plants and orchids, attracting even more visitors.
We are honored to be selected as Churchville Chamber July 2025 Member of the Month. We are proud to have grown so much and become a exotic plant lover’s destination here in Churchville, New York. Lili and Larry would like to invite you to attend our LotusFest 2025 celebration this July 25 to the 27. Our lotus will be in bloom; we will have live traditional Chinese music and assorted lotus foods to sample. Additional details may be found on our website: https://bergenwatergardens.com/event/lotusfest-2025/
