Girls Night Out planned for Thursday

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Main Street Siloam Springs' June Girls Night Out will feature an ice cream social, a VW Bus photo booth and a parklet.

The event will include extended shopping hours for the 18 participating businesses, door prizes and free refreshments. It is scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 14, in downtown Siloam Springs.

"Girls night out is an excuse to get together with family and friends downtown," said Kelsey Howard, Main Street director. "It's a time for community, it's a time to explore and get to know downtown business owners, but also to explore the new updates downtown. ... Everything from the new potted plants to the landscaping, to the bump-outs to see how much safer the crosswalks are now, to maybe hunt for all the different murals that are downtown."

Main Street hosts three Girls Night Out events every year, according to Abby Trinidad, events and marketing coordinator for Main Street. The first was in March and the final event of the season will be Sept. 13, she said.

On Thursday, Pure Joy Ice Cream will be providing the opening reception and ice cream social in front of Phat Tire Bike Shop. Participants can sign up for gift card giveaways and pick up a map of participating businesses at the reception.

Howard said that Pure Joy Ice Cream is very popular and those who would like some should come early before it runs out.

Another highlight of the evening will be a parklet at the corner of Main Street and Broadway Street, provided by the Siloam Springs Regional Hospital, the headlining sponsor of the event. Howard said a parklet is a miniature park that pops up in a parking space or along a sidewalk. They make a great space to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee or visit with friends, she said.

"Parklets are something that have popped up all over the country and its just a way of creating more green and comfortable public and community spaces in urban areas and downtowns," Howard said. "I'm really excited about that experiment and I hope that we get a lot of positive feedback and I hope that it leads to more experiments with parklets and maybe even permanent, seasonal, parklets in the future."

A VW Bus photo booth, provided by event sponsor Centennial Bank, will be located in City Park next to the gazebo. The first 150 people to stop will have access to the photo booth inside the bus, Howard said. The bus will also be available to anyone who walks by and wants to use the exterior as a backdrop for selfies, she said.

For more information about Girls Night Out, visit mainstreetsiloam.org/event/girls-night-out-7/ or Main Street Siloam Springs social media sites.

General News on 06/10/2018