7th annual Girls Night Out returns to downtown Gig Harbor

A highly anticipated annual event, the 7th annual Girls Night Out returns Nov. 10 to the Gig Harbor downtown waterfront.

The award-winning event connects local businesses to offer shopping, dining and events from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with complimentary transportation around downtown from the Pierce Transit Trolley.

The event brings retail traffic to downtown businesses, with more than $120,000 retail sales at last year’s event, said Mike Henery, owner of Tickled Pink.

“It’s one of those events that’s really consumer centric,” Henery said. “It’s something that brings a lot of community excitement downtown.”

Hosted by the Downtown Waterfront Alliance — where Henery is vice president — the preview for Girls Night Out began Oct. 27 with the sale of the Girls Night out goodie bags, sponsored by Tickled Pink for the third year.

The bags went on sale at 7 a.m. at several downtown merchants and all 1,500 bags sold out within two hours, Henery said.

Tickled Pink celebrated the event with pajamas and mimosas for those customers up earlier enough — and quick enough — to snag one of the coveted bags.

“Everybody had a good time coming in and buying their bags,” Henery said.

Looking toward next week’s event, downtown businesses are gearing up with live music, food and activities to entertain and attract business from the shoppers enjoying the annual event.

“It’s really the kickoff to our Christmas season,” Henery said. “It’s going to be a really fun time.”

With Christmas trees and a giving tree arranged in Tickled Pink, other activities for shoppers include a raffle, live music and a prize wheel.

The event marks a significant partnership between downtown businesses, the city and the Downtown Waterfront Alliance, Henery said. It draws representatives from other cities who see how successful the event is so they may try to recreate it.

“It’s really an entire community event,” he said. “It’s a pretty exciting time. I think we’re all looking forward to it.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 10:00 AM with the headline "7th annual Girls Night Out returns to downtown Gig Harbor."