It's not often I get out of the house without one of three things attached to me: my dog, my boyfriend or my computer AKA mobile Patch office.
So to be able to hit the town on a Tuesday night with just a girl friend and high spirits for the annual was a pretty sweet treat.
OK — not 100 percent sweet as I did still have election coverage to attend to that evening, and so I wasn't 100 percent free of my mobile office. But, the dog and the boyfriend were left at home.
The other thing that was outside of the norm on this Tuesday night?
Port Washington was swarming with women. About 1,150 of them, in fact, according to event organizer Maria Kiesow of . The event is in its fourth year, and organizers decided to experiment with a 4 p.m. (instead of 5 p.m.) start.
"I heard wonderful comments and have received many e-mails thanking us for a great evening," Kiesow said in an e-mail. "I think starting earlier was a great idea. We did not have the mad rush at 5 p.m. We still had hundreds lined up at 3:30, but they continued at a manageable pace at registration till 6 p.m. Also, as a business owner, it was great to have a steady stream of women instead of lines waiting to get in. At 8 p.m. our restaurant was packed, so women stayed out.
"The town was buzzing (Tuesday) night, and I think fun was had by all," Kiesow said.
The event is also co-sponsored by the Port Washington Main Street Program, and Executive Director Sara Grover concurred with Kiesow's assessment of the night, adding "a great job (was done by) volunteers ... to keep things on an even keel the whole time. Businesses were in a very good mood afterward and visitors were saying it was best ever because of service of the businesses."
I attended the event with Fox Point-Bayside Patch Editor Sarah Worthman, and we greatly enjoyed the giveaways at the different businesses — oftentimes cheese, wine and dessert samples — as well as random photobooth opportunities both inside as well as provided by Forever Young Photography. (Here's the photo of Sarah and I showing off over-sized sunglasses and tiaras — you'll have to be signed in to Facebook to see — priceless.)
We hit a lot of other businesses, including , (for a free cherry cheesecake shot!), and more — and, though I had to miss the annual fashion show to instead find out the results of the Port mayoral and school board primary election, it was a good time all around.
If you've never had a first kiss, I suggest you indulge in the ladies night next year — the event is always held on Fat Tuesday — and if you're already on your second kiss or more ... I'll see you next year.
