The 2018 spring unWINE Downtown drew a crowd of diverse shoppers to Main Street businesses last Thursday night to participate in after-hours discount shopping and wine tasting.
Greater Starkville Development Partnership Special Events Coordinator Paige Watson said the spring unWINE Downtown sold about 200 tickets, which is about average compared to past events.
Watson said she saw many new faces at the event, and it allows shoppers to get in the door of businesses they may not typically shop in.
“We were pleased that this unWINE was consistent with ticket sales we’ve seen in the past, and we definitely noticed a brand new, diverse group of attendees,”
Director of Tourism Jennifer Prather said. “We hope every time we have this event, we’re able to market it to a different crowd which brings attention to our shopping and retail corridors.”
Watson said unWINE Downtown drew shoppers of all ages, many of whom had never participated in the event before.
“We asked people when they came in the door if they had done unWINE before and about 85 percent of the people said no,” Prather said.
Watson said along with the diverse group of shoppers, she noticed many men taking part in the event, as well.
“This event was originally branded as a ladies night, but we’ve moved away from that because we have seen groups of male friends or with spouses and on dates, which we like to see because this shopping is very diverse and not just for women,” Prather said.
Nine-Twentynine Coffee, Aspen Bay, Occasions, L.A. Green, J.C. Graphics, George-Mary’s, Vitality Skin and Spa, Book Mart and Cafe, R. Tabb and Co., Swanky B, The Pop Porium and Reed’s participated in the event.
The spring unWINE Downtown event is a part of Savor Our South, an annual series of events every spring geared toward Starkville’s food and beverage scene. Along with unWINE Downtown, the SOUPer Bowl on Jan. 20, and the upcoming Starkville Restaurant Week beginning April 22 and the King Cotton Crawfish Boil on May 11 are also part of Savor Our South.