Thursday May 5 marked Cazenovia’s second annual spring Ladies Night Out.
Stores along Albany Street stayed open until 8:30 p.m. to accommodate the 150 women, shopping and tasting.
Sponsored by the Greater Cazenovia Area Chamber of Commerce and the Historic Cazenovia Business District, the evening-long event featured locally produced goods from Nelson Farms in 16 of the village’s shops.
At 8:30 the women congregated at the Lincklaen House Stone’s Throw for hors d’oeuvres, raffles and the “Outrageous Hat Contest.” Event organizers and local business owners Laurie Hunt and Amanda Bury were happy the weather turned out for the evening’s festivities, along with representatives from Nelson Farms and Cazenovia women.
“This is just such a fun event, it’s great to see all these familiar faces out and about” said Hunt. “We are thrilled with the turnout; we owe a lot to the local businesses and Nelson Farms.”
“Nelson Farms is fantastic,” added Bury. “All the tastings in each of the shops are all supplied by them. They feature Central New York products and help to promote small local businesses,” she said. “It’s a really cool thing.”
Located just down Route 20 in Cazenovia, Nelson Farms is an advanced processing facility for small scale food processors, farmers and producers. Working closely with Morrisville State College, the organization helps to provide agri-business opportunities to entrepreneurial specialty producers. Nelson Farms assists clients in product development, processing and co-packing, distribution, sales and marketing.
“We are so excited to be a part of Ladies Night Out; it was an honor to be asked,” said Marketing Associate Becky Burmaster. “I know this is the second year they’ve done the spring event, and it’s great. It increases awareness of local businesses and boosts community involvement.”
Once all of the participating Cazenovia women gathered at the Stone’s Throw, local attorney and event emcee Jen Basic conducted the evening’s proceedings. Ladies were given the chance to purchase raffle tickets while they sampled appetizers and area wines and waited for the Outrageous Hat Contest. Raffle prizes included gift baskets and certificates from local businesses, as well as $180 for the 50-50 raffle winner.
The grand attraction of the evening was the Outrageous Hat Contest, to which the winner received a $100 Caz Bucks gift certificate. Nancy Stevens took top honors, sporting her bright orange top hat. The event concluded around 10 p.m. as women slowly filed back onto Albany Street with their spoils and large smiles. The evening was considered such a success, Hunt and Bury have already begun to conceptualize next year’s event.
For more information on upcoming GCACC sponsored events visit cazenovia.com, call 655-9243 or stop by their location at 51 Albany St. To learn more about Nelson Farms access their website at NelsonFarms.org, call 655-3301 or visit their shop at 3261 Route 20.
