Girls’ day out

Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate one’s romantic love, a time meant for cherishing your partner. But what about the others in your life that you love? Enter Galentine’s Day, an unofficial holiday where women celebrate the other women in their life.

Galentine’s Day was first introduced to the world in 2010 by fictional character Leslie Knope in the TV show “Parks and Recreation.” Celebrated Feb. 13, Galentine’s Day has become a worldwide phenomenon, with former First Lady Michelle Obama posting about it in 2020.

This year, Creston will have its own Galentine’s celebration on Saturday, Feb. 17, thanks to area businesses and The Latest Edition Bookstore owner Elizabeth Fioretto. The idea first came around after a conversation Fioretto had with Nicole Determan.

“We were talking about how there was a lot of new things in the uptown that would make for a really fun day and what would we do to fill our whole day,” Fioretto said. “We would start with brunch, maybe do some yoga. Then go shopping, have some event at the bookstore if I had someone else to run it for me and then end the day at Hot Air next door and have drinks with your girlfriends. We were just kind of laughing about how you could fill your whole day with your girls.”

Along with this, Fioretto said she’s seen a similar event in Charles City called ChickFest. Held in April, ChickFest is an annual ladies day out in which a number of local retailers participate.

“All the businesses on their main street kind of all get together and they all do something fun that day to bring you in their door,” Fioretto said. “They make sure not to take up the whole day. It’s like a whole community day for the girls.”

Creston’s Galentine’s event will start Saturday with brunch at Adam’s Street Cafe. Radiant Wellness Solutions will host two separate dessert yoga sessions. The 10:30 a.m. session is full, but as of print, the 12:45 session has a few spots open. Yoga requires preregistration. At noon, The Latest Edition Bookstore will host Karen Walters, who will be signing copies of her cookbook “Nature’s Recipes.” Preregistration is also required for the book signing.

All these locations will have Galentine’s passports available to pick up. Attendees can take these passports to each event to get a stamp. Five categories of stamps can be collected: one from each of the previous events, a stamp from any Creston retailer and a final stamp at Hot Air Brewery.

The brewery is the last stop of the day, with chick-flick trivia starting at 2 p.m., emceed by Fioretto. Passports can be dropped off at the brewery. Those with three stamps or more will be entered into a raffle for a Galentine’s basket, featuring merchandise from each participating location.

“It’s going to be really casual this year. We hope everyone has fun,” Fioretto said. “If they have ideas for next year, just let us know if this is something that they want us to do each year.”