The weather may have been chilly, but the reception from vendors, shop owners and shoppers was warm.
Hundreds of excited shoppers flocked to Festus Main Street on Saturday, Feb. 7, for the first Gals on Main: A Galentine’s Day Out event.
The event took place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and included special sales and promotions at participating shops, both indoor and outdoor vendors, food trucks, a DJ and a craft fair inside Frederick’s Banquet and Catering, 201 E. Main St. The event was sponsored by the Festus Main Street Association.
Those who opted for the $25 VIP Experience received a swag bag valued at more than $100 and free additional activities such as henna tattoos, chair massages, tarot card readings and cookie decorating.
A great opportunity for vendors
Some vendors said they were unsure of how well attended the event would be due to the chilly weather and Gals on Main being a new event. However, many were pleasantly surprised by the attendance.
One happy vendor, Alicia Vazquez, 42, of Festus, was operating a booth for the Sandy Valley Honey Company, which sells honey products and beekeeping resources. Vazquez said she is part of the Festus Main Street Association and is always excited to sell during vendors’ markets.
“It’s awesome for this time of year when business is slow,” said Vazquez. “Hopefully it’s great for both the vendors and for the shop owners.”
Wanda Sasenger, 53, of Pevely, owner of Winking Owl Creations, a sweet shop selling freeze-dried items, chocolates, ice cream and other sweet treats, was at the event with her daughters Breanna Nipper, 31, of De Soto and Chelsey Litzau, 28, of De Soto.
Sasenger said she created more than 120 chocolate bars by hand in preparation for the Gals on Main event. She also sold Dubai strawberry cups, which contain melted milk chocolate, strawberries, pistachio butter and phyllo dough.
“My arms are sore from drizzling,” Sasenger joked.
Nipper had her own booth next to Winking Owl for Novelyn Boutique LLC where she was selling handmade bracelets and taking orders for custom orders.
“I haven’t been to Festus for an event before. Usually, my main places are Hillsboro and De Soto, so this was a new opportunity for my business,” Nipper said. “Everybody’s a sucker for jewelry around Valentine’s Day so it worked out pretty good.”
Cousins Jami Lucy, 50, of Bonne Terre, and Tracy Hankins, 54, of Bonne Terre, are the owners of Wildflowers and Denim mobile boutique, which has been in business for about seven months.
Lucy said it was important to the cousins to offer affordable items in their boutique.
“Our goal from the beginning was to have a boutique that wasn’t super expensive and everything was really cozy and soft,” Lucy said.
She said Saturday’s shoppers were in the mood to purchase the boutique’s warmer wares with the chilly weather. “We have a lot of sweaters and cozy things. That’s the name of our game. We like cozy clothes.”
New business for existing shop owners
Dan Luck of Four Brothers Mead, located at 124 E. Main St. in Festus, said he enjoys the special events that happen on Main Street, such as Gals on Main.
“I appreciate the support that the city has for these events on Main Street. I know shutting down Main Street can be problematic sometimes, but it does bring a lot of people into town and a lot of new faces into our business. I’m sure it does the same for other businesses,” Luck said. “It’s cool to see a lot of the foot traffic and see new people checking us out, seeing what mead is, and it gives people an opportunity to try something new they wouldn’t normally.”
Luck said Four Brothers Mead offered “Dudes Daycare” during the Gals on Main event as an option for women to drop off partners who were reluctant to shop until they dropped. He said Four Brothers offered drink specials and mug giveaways during that time.
Luck said Four Brothers Mead also offered a hot mead drink, similar to mulled wine, to help shoppers warm up from the chilly day.
Melody Mollet of Decades Antique Mall, located at 207 E. Main St. in Festus, said she was enjoying the Gals on Main event and all the extra foot traffic it was bringing to her Main Street shop.
Decades Antique Mall opened just a few months ago during the Twin City Days festival in September. Mollet said the Main Street events were a good opportunity for new customers to find and try out her shop.
A fun time for shoppers
Two customers who found Decades Antique Mall were sisters Emmie, 26, and Lily Schropshire, 23. The sisters recently moved to Festus and were excited to attend the Gals on Main event together to learn more about their new home.
“We’re trying to figure out what’s going on in Festus Main Street. I heard there were a lot of events,” Lily said. “Our favorite weekends are in Kimmswick when they have all of the shops open. It’s so nice to just walk around and grab a cup of coffee and go into all the shops. I really didn’t realize that all of these boutiques were here until now. It’s really nice.”
Emmie agreed that the event had made her realize how many shopping options Festus Main Street had to offer.
“When you’re driving past, you completely miss it. I was just in Decades Antique shop, and I bought a whole box of things,” said Emmie. “It’s really nice if you’re new to the town, which I am, to know where there are good places to shop.”
The sisters said they had purchased books, jewelry and candles in addition to antiques.
“These are our favorite days, just walking around socializing,” Lily said.
Friends Nikki Masiulis, 39, of Arnold and Kelsey McKnight, 34, of Barnhart said they saw the Gals on Main event on social media and decided they wanted to come and shop together.
Masiulis said she was excited to look at unique finds from small businesses.
“My mom owns a resale shop in Otto, Central Perk. We love to go thrift shopping, small store shopping and antique store shopping. That’s what brings us out today,” Masiulis said. She added that one thing in particular kept catching her eye throughout the day.
“All the gemstones and rocks keep drawing me in,” Masiulis said.
McKnight said she had purchased succulent plants and was looking for presents for her daughter’s upcoming birthday. McKnight said she would consider bringing her daughter with her if another Gals on Main event is held next year.
“She loves shopping,” said McKnight.
Friends Cyndi Buchheit-Courtway, 49, of Festus, Wendy Good, 53, of Cedar Hill and daughter Aliana Good, 23, of Cedar Hill said they attended the Gals on Main event to enjoy spending time together without worrying about work or family.
“We never get to do anything just as women. We always have our husbands with us, which is not a bad thing to have our husbands with us, but that means we go watch football or basketball or baseball. It’s never anything fun like this,” Buchheit-Courtway said.
The Goods said they had been shopping for candles and wax melts, and found the perfect one at Farmhouse Style Boutique.
“It smells like a place we went on vacation, so it’s perfect,” said Aliana.
More photos from Gals on Main here:
