“We understand the needs of these businesses — there are reasons to come down to Long Beach,” James Lynch, the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce’s financial secretary, said at Monday’s chamber meeting at the Allegria Hotel. “We are working together to try to bring these things full circle, and come down to enjoy the boardwalk and come down into the West End. This weekend is going to be a big weekend; we have a lot of pop-up shops … and things going on for the kids. We’re going to have for the first time in the West End ... what we’re calling the Electric Light Parade, a very family-friendly oriented event. We want to help support local businesses, light up Long Beach and let everyone know that we’re on our way back.”

With approximately 15 to 20 percent of Long Beach residents still displaced since Hurricane Sandy, many of them in the West End, Lynch said that supporting local businesses this winter is critical.

“None of these people ever expected to be out of their homes for this long,” Lynch added. “And it’s a big problem in the West End for the business owners. Now, you’re not only without the summer crowd, but the people that you counted on — your neighbors — to come down and support you in the winter. We encourage everybody to come down and shop in the West End.”

Holiday event schedule:

Saturday, Dec. 14

Boardwalk Lights: 5 to 9 p.m. from Long Beach to National boulevards; boardwalk musical performances: at National Boulevard entrance; LBHS instrumental: 5:30 p.m.; Christian Light Baptist Church Men’s Choir: 6 p.m.

West End Holiday Bazaar: 12 to 4 p.m. at various stores; Elf Crawl: starts 2 p.m. at Swingbellys; Surfing Santa: 12 to 5:30 p.m. at Swingbellys; Electric Light Parade: 5:30 p.m., from Nevada to New York avenues along West Beech Street, free parking at Long Beach Catholic Regional School; Santa Crawl: starts 7 p.m. at Shine’s

Saturday, Dec. 21

Boardwalk Lights: 5 to 9 p.m. from Long Beach to National boulevards; boardwalk musical performances: at National Boulevard entrance; Christian Light Baptist Church Men’s Choir: 6 p.m.; St. Ignatius Choir: 6:30 p.m.

West End Holiday Bazaar: 12 to 4 p.m. at various stores; Surfing Santa: 2 to 6 p.m. at the Inn; The Legendary Sweet Georgia Brown: 8 p.m. at the Long Beach Library.

Holiday shuttle schedule

Stopping At: Time (p.m.):

Central Station/LIRR 5:15 6:15 7:15 8:15 9:15

The Allegria Hotel 5:30 6:30 7:30 8:30 9:30

New York Ave. & Beech St. 5:45 6:45 7:45 8:45 9:45

Nevada Ave. & Beech St. east 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00

— Compiled by Alexandra Spychalsky and Anthony Rifilato