Spirit of sisterhood, friendship, and ladies celebrating ladies evident at Rockton Galentine’s Day party

MARIANNE MUELLER PHOTO The Herald Jenele and Keira Kuettner had fun searching by flashlight for gift cards in Frosted Farmhouse.
Three hours of fun were spent celebrating the spirit of sisterhood, friendship, and ladies celebrating ladies was found at a Galentine’s Day party in downtown Rockton on Thursday, Feb. 13 where up to 16 places opened doors to fun.
The first Galentine’s Day party was held in February of 2018 and was organized by Jodi May, former owner of Sugar Britches. This celebration has remained popular for the past eight years.
The concept of the event originated from an episode of the television show, Parks and Recreation.
Inside of Healing Touch Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine “Jena Biermann Channeling” was fully booked with healing and Akashic record reading sessions. The Akashic records is defined as a realm where the history of your soul exists and its path.
Through this process Biermann tapped into spiritual, emotional or physical aspects of someone’s life.
Kathy O’Diereno led in mini astrology sessions. Free Tao Heart Chakra Healing cards proved to be a fun extra bonus.
Lynch performed auricular acupuncture. Zodiak cards represent an individual’s sign.
Flan, (a sweet Mexican dessert) samples made by Lynch’s husband Leo Arce were made in different flavors and were a huge hit.
Inkwell Books and Threads opened their doors to another opportunity of having Astrology, or Tao readings done.
Frosted Farmhouse proved to be a popular spot where visitors warmed up as they hunted for various gift cards during a scavenger hunt, complete with the aid of a flashlight. Only secondary lighting guides participants.
“We had such a great time and evening in the shop, Frosted Farmhouse owner Whitney Frost said.”We had over 100 customers who enjoyed looking for gift cards that were hidden throughout the store. The value of each ranged from $5 to $50 each,”
In Taylor and Max all visitors received Jellycat stickers from Jellycat. Kiss Glass uniquely featured a “Seven Days of Love Valentine’s sets.
Truly Treasured Gift n Thrift was the place to find novel gifts for Valentine’s Day.
After the Vine is hosted a free wine tasting with their Marketplace vendor. Favorite wines were discounted.
Ric-Rac Embellishments lovingly welcomed ladies to the store. Twenty sparkly free gifts were given out.
Rockton Garden Works, Pick-A-Dilly and Ric-Rac had discounts,and refreshments.
Dairyhaus made a red velvet cheesecake ice cream in honor of the occasion.
Galentine’s themed drinks were found at Salli’s Slots.
Snarky chocolate dipped boozy strawberry marshmallows were discovered at Sugar Britches.
Rockton Inn Pub & Grub gave options of a half price burger and a $5 glass of wine.
Dawn Heavilin who has been to four of the Galentine’s Day parties in Rockton shares, “My favorite part of Galentine’s Day is meeting with friends I haven’t visited in a long time. We usually do some shopping in downtown Rockton and end our evening with a meal at the Rockton Inn Pub & Grub.”
DeeDee’s Main Street Coffee and Decor welcomed ladies in to try coffee flights, and partnered with Buckets and Blooms who led in the creation of mini flowers and make n take Valentines.
DeeDee’s owner Diana Weiser said, “Groups of gals were dressed up and looking to have fun at this year’s Galentine’s Day event. We had around 30 ladies who stopped in.”
Jill Rae Finally Art allowed imaginations to soar with make n take Poppy Pens, or by creating ceramic hearts. A perfectly artistic Valentine’s themed backdrop was the perfect spot for friends to capture memories.
Katie Wagoner has been to three of the Rockton Galentine’s parties. “I absolutely love that Rockton does this every year. It is such a great way for people to get together and to spread the love! My friend Kristen and I loved having coffee a DeeDee’s and hunting for goodies at Frosted Farmhouse.
We also stopped at Rookie’s to have dinner beforehand. This is such a fun way to support the local businesses,” Wagoner said.
Janel Kuettner, of Rockford, reflected on the evening. “My daughter and I just enjoyed spending time together while doing different activities, we especially loved the crafts,” Kuettner said.
“We started at Healing Touch Acupuncture. Rachel had delicious Flan to taste as we made stone bracelets. We used gorgeous card stock to decorate. We loved listening to the tarot readings behind us.
“We then headed down to Frosted Farmhouse where my daughter’s hyper focus found us a gift card during the flashlight scavenger hunt. The adorable spread of pink and red sweets made the hunt even more fun. The store is delightful with an eclectic blend. I found a few little treasures while we were were hunting.
“At the last minute we ended up sliding into Jill Rae Finally Art. The ladies there were so nice and stayed over so that we could make poppy pens together. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed doing this. They also had frosted Galentine’s cookies that were too pretty to eat. We finished with a photo in their Galentine’s booth.
“This is our second time driving up to Rockton for the Galentine’s party and we are planning to come again next year. I love to support my friend Rachel Lynch at her business, along with other small business. This is such a fun event to celebrate the love ladies have with the other special ladies in their life! “