MOSES LAKE — Women of all ages enjoyed a night of shopping and socializing at the Downtown Moses Lake Association’s inaugural Ladies Night Out on Feb. 12. 

“It was so much fun,” said Downtown Moses Lake Association Director Mallory Miller. “It was a really great turnout. (It was great) to see the amount of support and so many new faces who were really, really excited.” 

Ladies Night Out wasn’t a ticketed event; the only purpose was to bring shoppers into the downtown businesses. And it certainly did that; Miller estimated as many as 600 women came down to the event. Well, mostly women. 

“We did have a couple of men show up,” she said. “(One couple) I saw, they said it was their date night. So instead of going out to dinner, they went around to the locations, and she was like, ‘This worked great for me because he can hold all my bags.’” 

There were 30 businesses open for Ladies Night Out, plus popups sharing their space, meaning there were upwards of 60 businesses participating, Miller said. Moore Brewing hosted two popups, Butterflies and Bumblebees and Sassy Grit, said owner Lorie Moore. 

“I set up a table for free crafts,” Moore said. “I put out a bunch of rocks and some paints, and I gave the gals something to do while they hung out and had a bite to eat and a drink.” 

The first 20 customers at Moore Brewing were given a bucket with their beverage, which they could keep and take with them, Moore said. 

“We were pleasantly surprised that a lot of the gals who started at our place came back and finished their night, and they were all very on fire about all the shops they had visited and the things they purchased and what they’d experienced,” Moore said. 

The event started at the DMLA office, where attendees were given a pink tote bag that read “Stay Local. Shop Small.” In the bag were various swag items, a map of participating locations, and a coupon book with special deals at a dozen of those businesses.  

For every $20 spent at a participating business, a shopper could be entered into a drawing for three very large raffle baskets containing everything from gift certificates to candles to jewelry. 

Participating locations in the three-block-by-three-block area from Favored Farmhouse at Fifth and Alder to Moore Brewing Company at Broadway and Beech. The distance didn’t seem to faze attendees, Miller said. 

“We had one person come in at the end of the night to give us her raffle tickets, and she was like ‘I think I had 7,600 steps,’” Miller said. “And I was like ‘Holy moly, we should have done a contest.’” 

Miller wasn’t sure when the next Ladies Night Out would be, but it will probably happen more often than once a year, she said. 

“I think it was successful in the fact that a lot of ladies showed up,” Moore said. “But more than anything, I think the energy of the night was super fun. The ladies loved having something to do, and they loved that all the businesses did something a little bit unique and special for them.” 

    Tote bags that read “Stay local. Shop small” were part of the fun at Ladies Night Out in downtown Moses Lake.
  

    For every $20 a shopper spent at a participating business at Ladies Night Out, they received an entry to a drawing for one of three raffle baskets.