By Kyra Price
Promoting Ladies' Night Out: Money spent downtown stays local, photo taken by Kyra Price
Many Menomonie businesses were returning to the for Ladies’ Night Out lineup, but new businesses were debuting too. Patina Vintage Company and 6th Avenue Cidery are newer to downtown and participating in the event for the first time on Thursday, April 21.
Executive Director of Downtown Menomonie, Dustyn Dubuque said, “The turnout for Ladies’ Night Out was good. In past years, we have had more but this year was extremely consistent and store owners were pleased.”
Downtown Menomonie helps community members celebrate spring with friends and family by providing fun shopping experiences in our town’s small local businesses. Dubuque said more than 25 businesses help organize and participate in this event.
The owners of 6th Avenue Cidery, Tanya Husby and Penny Burstad opened their doors on January 26th of this year. They said they enjoyed introducing new patrons to 6th Avenue Cidery. “We live in a fabulous community and enjoy supporting as many events as possible,” Husby said.
Veteran business participates also reentered the scene to celebrate spring and encourage local shopping.
Owner of Bookends on Main, Susan Thurin said she has participated in every Ladies’ Night Out event since 2009. She said she plans on continuing this tradition.
Many local shoppers took advantage of the discounts. “They enjoyed registering for the gift baskets donated by downtown businesses and the edibles each business provided,” Thurin said.
Bookends on Main also highlighted local author and University of Wisconsin-Stout professor, Daniel Ruefman, and his memoir What the Fuzz?
All the local shopping ultimately supports the community. “Attendees spend money downtown which will stay local. The downtown is the heart of the city, we want it to be vibrant and an economic epicenter for the city,” Dubuque said. “We like Ladies’ Night Out to draw new attendees to Menomonie, new and old, to go to businesses they love and businesses they have never been in.”
Setting up: Business participants get ready for the shoppers, photo taken by Kyra Price