Girlfriend's Weekend-Downtown Holland
Take over downtown Holland with a bunch of other fabulous women? Sign a girl up.
My pal Abby and I could not have been more excited to partner with Downtown Holland to cover Girlfriend’s Weekend this year. I remember hearing about it in past years and seeing the billboards, but had no idea that it’s consistently a sold out, ticketed event that draws women from all over the state and beyond.
I loved the structure of the weekend because it can be molded no matter what your group is looking for. If you wanted, you could be engaged in activities and classes from start to finish. If it’s more your style to take it slow, you can wander through at your own pace. We struck a balance right down the middle and had a fantastic time. Here’s a sneak peek of what we did along with a few tips if you’re thinking about joining in on the fun next year!
FRIDAY
We headed downtown on Friday afternoon to check-in. The party started at The Courtyard Marriott where we picked up our bags, name tags, and (because they get us), mimosas. We posted up in the lovely lobby and took in the contagious energy of women stopping in to kick off their weekend of happy. Brochure, coupon book, and the most delicious caramel corn in hand, we formulated our plan for the next couple days. After our planning session, we took it fairly easy. We had a lot of ground to cover on Saturday…
Friday Highlight: Discovering the lobby at Courtyard. It’s a mini Starbucks and would make a great spot to cozy up and work for an afternoon (officially added to the mental checklist).
Friday Tip: Grab your group and get your plan together after checking in. Girlfriend’s Weekend is packed to the brim with activities so mapping out your route/timeline/roster of classes makes for a more enjoyable experience and ensures you won’t miss something on your wish list.
SATURDAY
Saturday is easily the fullest day in terms of scheduled activities and we didn’t want to miss a minute. The morning started at the recently remodeled Civic Center Place with a fashion show featuring local Holland establishments. While we waited for the show to start, Abby and I got to share breakfast with a lovely group of women who had left their husbands behind for some quality girl time. We traded hair care tips, chatted about fashion, and discussed the evening’s activities.
DJ JWILL4REAL l was in the house with a fun mix of music from every decade. Local models strut their stuff and handed out fun freebies to the crowd. The major hit was the “Cakabakery boys” donned in chef hats/handing out cookies. They know how to win the hearts of a room full a’ gals…
After the fashion show, we set our sights on 8th Street for something we do a little too well…shopping. We hit all of our favorites as well as a few that we don’t always visit after seeing them walk in the show. After shopping until we dropped (you know you’re done for when you have to make multiple trips back to the car) we head over to CitySen Lounge in City Flats Hotel to take advantage of their Girlfriend’s Weekend special: $3 mimosas. We found a cozy corner booth in the sunshine and enjoyed some shareables with our champagne.
Break over, we decided to venture along the stretch of 8th Street we hadn’t explored yet complete with a few moments in our favorite bookstore, Readers World. After some wandering, we decided to check out Poquito which opened in November. We shared bacon wrapped dates and a goat cheese dip before heading out for our red carpet dance party. I like all of those words.
‘Rock the Red Carpet’ took place back at the Civic Center Place. We walked in and were greeted with some more DJ JWILL4REAL. The decorations were amazing; everything from celeb dreamboat cut outs to a photobooth stocked with red carpet props. Some of the ladies dressed up for the theme which was fantastic. My award went to a group of gals who came as the press because “they wanted to be comfortable.” It was amazing. We danced (and endless selfie’d with Will Smith) the night away.
Saturday Highlight: Walking the streets of Holland with one of my best pals in the sunshine and seeing all different groupings of women together: moms with their daughters, old friends, sisters enjoying kiddo-free shopping…it was beautiful.
Saturday Tip: The fashion show and the dance party are both optional when you register. However, DO THEM…they’re perfect bookends to your day.
SUNDAY
The last day of the weekend is pretty relaxed. They end with brunch at Alpenrose. The options were endless including everything from breakfast staples to make your own fruit parfaits. It was such a nice exclamation point to the weekend. We chatted about our adventures the day before and what we had going on the rest of the weekend.
Sunday Highlight: Finally getting to chat with Kara from Downtown Holland who was our contact for this collaboration. She’s a gem.
Sunday Tip: They serve brunch in shifts and our time was 8:30 am. It was really quiet downtown at this time so we took full advantage and snapped some photos together. If you’re looking for the perfect time to get a group photo, this would be it!
Gather your group and mark your calendars for Girlfriend’s Weekend next year. We had an absolute blast. Thank you again to the team at Downtown Holland for all of the work you put into this event and including us in the fun.
Sincerely,
Ashley
*I partnered with Downtown Holland for this post but all thoughts and content are my own.