The Olympia Downtown Association organizes a Girls Night Out event each year in May. This year was the first time I attended, and it was a ton of fun.
Here's how it works. Participants reserve a pink shopping bag in advance at one of several predetermined locations. Bags can also be bought on the day of the event, but only a limited number of bags are available and the price jumps from $10.00 a bag to $15.00 if you don't reserve in advance.
The bag contains coupons, gift certificates and treats from participating vendors, along with a pink admittance bracelet for the bag holder. Participating businesses are identified by pink balloons out front and stay open until 8:00 p.m.
Armed with a map and coupons, the shoppers go on their merry way to visit the downtown stores. For every $10.00 they spend in a participating business, the shoppers receive one raffle ticket. Here is where the pink bracelet comes in handy, because it helps the cashiers to remember to give out the tickets. Between the bargains, the appetizers and attractions, it's really easy for the shoppers to forget about the raffle tickets.
Many shoppers come with their sisters, friends, or co-workers and schedule in a dinner break at a downtown restaurant.
The crowning event is a gala, which took place this year at the ballroom above the Urban Onion restaurant. The shoppers gather there at the end of the day to enjoy live music, drinks and appetizers, and to see if they won any of the fabulous raffle prizes donated by the participating downtown businesses.
Girls Night Out is a fun reason for women shoppers to come into downtown, and boosts downtown business sales by tens of thousand of dollars. What makes the event so special is that part of the proceeds benefit a local cause. This year the money went to the Olympia Graffiti Abatement Program.
It's a win-win situation for the happy shoppers, for downtown businesses and for the improvement of downtown Olympia. I only wish this event could be put on more often than once a year. Anyone interested in attending next year's event, get out your calendar and mark the date for Thursday, the 5th of May 2011.
See more photos of Olympia's 2010 Girls Night Out at http://www.olympiauncovered.com/events-and-people.html
Sandy Nelson
Olympia Realtor®, GRI, ASP, Built Green
360-789-7505
www.SandyNelsonRealEstate.com
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