Girl's Night Out

I'm all about donating to charity and supporting worthy causes, but to date I've never really been to a charity event.  I always thought that charity events were for old ladies in stuffy clothes, not for women in their mid twenties.  That was until I went to my very first charity event last Thursday night called Girl's Night Out in Princeton, NJ.  I'm not so sure all charity events are like the event I attended, but I had a really great time!

So what made this event budget friendly?  The fact that it only cost $10 for a ticket to the VIP lounge and food tent.  Along with entrance into the lounge and food tent, the $10 also bought you the rights to free adult beverages, and a goodie bag filled with goods which definitely cost over $10.  Oh yeah, did I mention that the parking was free with your $10 ticket.  Anyone who has parked in downtown Princeton recently knows the true value of free parking...priceless!

After taking full advantage of our free parking pass, my mom, my sister and I headed over to Palmer Square to register and see what free food they had to offer in the square.  We quickly signed in, grabbed our wrist bands, raffle tickets, and list of discounts and headed over to the main food tent.  When I think free food I usually don't think of Shrimp with farro salad, gourmet chicken salad, or field greens with a mustard vinaigrette, do you?  Well that is the type of food we were greeted with when we entered the tent.  It was all delicious and tasted fresh, even though the event started at 4:30 and we didn't make it there til after 6.  The shrimp were still warm and delicious, the bread for the chicken salad  was not at all soggy, and the field greens were still crisp.  Overall a pretty good appetizer!

While we were eating we perused the massive, not your average 8.5" by 11", list of shops offering discounts and little goodies to the "Girls" participating in the event.  The discount for the gourmet olive oil store Carter and Cavero immediately caught our eye.  If you purchased 3 bottles of Olive Oil you got one free!  This was incredibly convenient since my mom needed a bridal shower gift and really who wouldn't like receive gourmet olive oil as a gift?  After walking around and sampling the oils and vinegars the store had to offer like kids who had just been told they could sample candy for free, (can you imagine our excitement) we chose a set with 3 olive oils.  Best part of that set...the fact we got a free bottle of our very own thanks to the Girl's Night Out event.

We made our way through a number of the other stores,  taking advantage of the discounts and free goodies that they had to offer until we found the VIP lounge.  This was by far my favorite part of the whole night!  There were a host of free appetizers from Mediterra like meatballs, felafel and an assortment of bruchetta, all of which were amazing like all food from Mediterra usually is.  There was also free wine samplings from the Corkscrew Wine Shop which paired perfectly with the appetizers.  When you were finished satisfying your "gourmet food tooth" you had the chance to have your hair styled for free by a local salon and you got a coupon for 20% off your next service.  My mom took full advantage of this service and I don't think I have ever seen her hair straighter!

At the end of the evening we rolled our way out of the VIP lounge, but not before getting our goodie bags filled with things any girl would love.  Blue Mercury eye cream, stationary, little bottles of olive oil or balsamic vinegar, and chocolate.  Who wouldn't love all those gifts!? 

So for $10 I got free parking, a ton of food, and awesome parting gifts, and a portion of my ticket went to a local charity, Dress for Success: Mercer County.  Overall I would say I had a pretty successful night.  Can't wait for my next charity event on a budget!!