Ladies Night Out in Downtown Shakopee

Toting matching pink plastic bags filled with goodies, women from Shakopee and beyond embarked on the Ladies Night Out event in downtown Shakopee on Tuesday night.

Around 150 women showed up for the event, which featured special shopping deals at dozens of stores, as well as appetizers, a fashion show at and a special guest appearance from Christopher Straub, a contestant on Project Runway season 6.

Local Shakopee women dashed from store to store to gather door prizes and cookies, check out new deals, do a bit a shopping and of course, get their official Ladies Night Out tickets stamped (each stamp entitled them to win gifts at the fashion show).

One of the patrons called it “trick or treating for adults."

Twenty-nine businesses opened their doors for the women, along with a few unofficial stores that enticed groups to come visit with chocolate and other sweets.

Diane Sullivan from said she’s been participating in the event for three or four years and loves inviting local women into her shop to dine on cookies and “step into yesteryear” with her antique collection.

“It’s very fun,” she said. “I spent two weeks getting the shop polished up.”

Tyanne Breimhorst was visiting Ladi Di Antiques during her annual Ladies Night Out trip. Though she said she enjoys visiting all the shops in Shakopee, her favorite part of the night are the events at Turtle’s 1890 Social Centre.

“The best part of the fashion show are the firefighters who escort the models,” she joked.

The evening commenced with a local fashion show hosted by Christopher Straub, a contestant on Project Runway’s season 6. Straub, who is from Shakopee, easily stole the show with his humor and eccentricity. He showed off some of his own creations, which are sold at the Shakopee store Karizma.

“I could do this every night," Straub said. "This is like the funnest thing.”

When asked why he decided to host the show, he said, “These are my people. It was a no-brainer.”