Ladies Night Hits Downtown Brighton

Ladies of all ages are invited to downtown Brighton tonight from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to enjoy and get into the holiday spirit with some shopping and dining.

Ladies Night Out is an annual winter event held by participating downtown retailers and restaurants, which offer special promotions for the night.

Ladies Night Out is the brainchild of Gail Sherman, owner of . About seven years ago she had the idea to invite women and their sisters, moms and friends to her store right before Christmas for some holiday shopping. The event just spread from there.

This year, Lisa Nelson, owner of , is organizing the event and said this year's theme is 'Making Wishes Come True.'

"The thing about being small businesses is that we're all about personal service," Nelson said. "Many of us on the street already have wish lists in our stores for our customers. They come in and fill out a wish list, then people buy stuff from it. So we're just highlighting that fact."

Many of the stores will offer refreshments to their customers during Ladies Night. The White Dress -- which will hold its grand opening on today -- will be giving tours of the boutique and offering champagne.

Studio West, which just opened to the public Nov. 18, will feature free chair massages as well as the opportunity to try your hand at making homemade gifts such as bath salts, ornaments, candles and picture frames.

For the last four years or so, downtown Brighton has held a Men's Shopping Night following Ladies Night Out. Men's Night this year will be held Dec. 15.

"We just thought we should follow up after Ladies Night Out with a Men's Shopping Night," Nelson said. "It's been working out great.'

Sherman said the idea just came naturally because she knows most men wait until the last minute to shop for their wives and families.

Nelson said the stores provide goodies for the men, just like they do for the ladies.

"It's like mission hunting," she said. "They come in, we look up the customer. We'll give them choice A, B or C, then we wrap it while they drink beer."