Celebrating Friendship and Shopping Local as Hundreds Flock to Holly Ladies Night
(Lara Mossa, May 21, 2019)
HOLLY – More than 1,000 women visited downtown Holly on May 10 for the annual Ladies Night Out. One of them was Lisa Sutter of Holly.
“It’s fantastic,” she said of the promotional event that is held twice a year. “So many local vendors are there, plenty of shopping, plenty of coupons. It just brings everybody into the city. It’s just a really good vibe.”
Sutter, who went with her work partner, Kim Rocho, also of Holly, bought some clothes at Hippie Love Lifestyle and some treats at Cupcakes and Kisses.
“I thought everything was great,” she added. “Everybody had great coupons.”
Sutter saw deals for half off and 20 percent off among the promotions held in the downtown fair.
With this year’s theme “Step into Spring,” Ladies Night Out lasted from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and was organized by the village’s Downtown Development Authority. The event included vendors in the street, live music, a DJ and tons of discounts, raffles and giveaways among the local shops. The village gave away free bags to the first 600 ladies to register and were out in less than 45 minutes, said Katy Golden, the village DDA Director and Assistant Village Manager. The bags were stuffed with coupons and branded merchandise as well as gift certificates, jewelry, gift cards, T-shirts, samples of coffee, and other items.
“It was a huge success – well attended, lots of great feedback from the ladies who were present,” Golden said. “There were lots of purchases made, and the shops seemed to be very pleased with the event. The ladies who attended the event seemed like they really had fun.”
The DDA offered four raffle baskets with items donated from the sponsors and vendors. Partnering with Blessings in a Backpack, a nonprofit organization that provides food for low-income families, each woman received a raffle ticket for bringing a box of macaroni and cheese. The village collected 380 boxes along with canned goods and $40 for the cause.
Beth Domanik, owner of Vintage Industrial Uniques, has participated at least seven times. The business, which sells home décor, lighting and furniture, has been open for four years.
“The store was packed the whole evening,” Domanik said. “I think it went awesome. I think it grew from last year. It had significantly grown since the spring of 2018.”
Domanik gave away VIP bags filled with coupons, sunglasses, soap samples, a compact mirror and other goodies to the first 90 customers. Those were gone within a couple of hours, she estimated.
“It provides a sense of community – coming together working with our downtown development, bringing people from other communities,” she said. “It helps our community tremendously. You end up capturing a crowd that may have not been to Holly before or haven’t been there in years.”
Vintage Farm House on Broad Street and Blue Willow Exchange on Saginaw had between 200 and 300 customers between the two stores, said owner Melanie Pruiett, who has participated for three years. Selling vintage, repurposed, collected, rescued and some new merchandise, Vintage Farm House opened in 2016 and Blue Willow Exchange debuted two weeks ago. The stores had raffles and themed baskets as we as a dessert and coffee bar.
“I just love that the village does the event,” Pruiett said. “I think people look forward to it. That’s one thing I love about the village. I love how many events they have. It’s a town that’s always promoting family events. There are festivals and a car show. It’s kind of like a destination.”
The next Ladies Night Out is already planned for 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. November 8.
More info:
Downtown Holly
Holly Area Chamber of Commerce
Oakland County Times Event Page