The "Girls" Take Over This Weekend for Shopping, Dining in Sea Isle City

By Donald Wittkowski Sorry, guys, you’re staying home this weekend. The “girls” meanwhile, will be out enjoying a little getaway in Sea Isle City, sipping a cocktail or two while partying with the mayor in their pajamas. But don’t worry, fellas, this a good thing. In fact, for the business community in Sea Isle, it’s a great thing. Every November, Sea Isle welcomes women to town the week before Thanksgiving for a “Girls Weekend” getaway consisting of shopping, dining, dancing and more. Shopping discounts and drink and meal specials at more than 40 participating businesses provide an extra incentive for the women. Girls Weekend allows Sea Isle merchants to cater to women shoppers and generate extra business during a time of year when things usually slow down at the Jersey Shore. The popular event showcases the business community and has helped establish Sea Isle as a year-round shopping destination. For the women, there is also a big social component to Girls Weekend. After they are done visiting the stores, they often spend a relaxing evening together having drinks and dinner and hitting the dance floor. “Girls Weekend is all about having fun,” said Colleen Buch, the coordinator of the event and owner of the Groovy Girlz women’s boutique on Landis Avenue. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in your 20s, 50s or 60s, and no matter what your background is, the ladies all like to go out and do the same thing – we eat, drink, dance and shop.” “Sea Isle can provide all of that,” Buch continued. “Nobody puts on a better party than Sea Isle.” Shoppers browse through the racks of clothes at the Groovy Girlz boutique on Landis Avenue. Buch’s Groovy Girlz shop is teaming up with Mayor Leonard Desiderio for a new Girls Weekend event this year that will ratchet up the party vibe. On Saturday, from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., Buch and Desiderio are throwing a pajama party at the mayor’s Kix McNutley’s nightclub at 63 ^rd Street and Landis Avenue. “The mayor came up with this fabulous idea,” Buch said. “There will be breakfast, live acoustic music and drink specials for mimosas and Bloody Marys. Groovy Girlz will have a table there and we’ll offer early bird specials.” Buch noted that she and the mayor will join the pajama-clad partygoers in their own PJs. “Yes, we’ll both be wearing our pajamas,” she said with a laugh. Shannon Leigh, owner of a Landis Avenue beauty salon that bears her name, said women flood her shop during Girls Weekend to get their hair and nails done before they go out on the town. “So far, we’re very busy,” Leigh said. “We have a full house. We’ve actually had to turn people away for Girls Weekend.” Leigh said she will have a lot of customers down from Pennsylvania. On Friday, Claire Nolan, of Chalfont, Pa., and her friend, Vanessa Learnard, of Chestnut Hill, Pa., were having their hair styled in Leigh’s shop as part of their Girls Weekend trip. “We were here in October and we wanted to come back for Girls Weekend,” Nolan said. “Everyone is so friendly, everything is open and you’ll find all of the things on sale. This allows us to get an early start on our Christmas shopping.” From left, customers Claire Nolan and Vanessa Learnard and hair stylist Deserie Scarberry at the Shannon Leigh Salon on Landis Avenue prepare for a big Girls Weekend. Nolan and Learnard, who are both 46 and have been friends since the second grade, are experiencing their third Girls Weekend together. In addition to getting their hair done, they plan to do some shopping and partying this weekend. Some of the downtown shops are expected to be packed Saturday and Sunday, with bargain hunters lured by signs advertising steep discounts. Colorful flags inscribed with the words “Girls Weekend” are flying outside the local businesses participating in the event. A spring edition of Girls Weekend is also held every year during the last weekend in April. Now in its eighth year, the event has grown in popularity to become one of Sea Isle’s must-see attractions. “We started with 18 businesses in the first year,” Buch said. “Now, we have over 40 businesses that participate.” Kathleen Sinclair, Emily Drobile, Amanda Wojcik, Kate Martin and Kari Galie, all from Pennsylvania, had heard of Girls Weekend and decided to come down to Sea Isle on Friday to check it out themselves. “We were told this is a great event,” Martin said. “This is a good time to go to the shore. We all wanted a weekend getaway.” Colorful flags bearing the words "Girls Weekend" fly outside the local businesses participating in the event.