There are times when the busy women of Snohomish County are ready to ditch the dishes, bag the business meeting and have the people in their lives cook their own dinner, just for one night.
What they’re hankering is girlfriend time, a chance to grab a couple of friends and head to a place where spa services, fashion shows and shopping are all under one roof. They want to relax and sign up for a cherry foot treatment or a soothing massage. Oh, and they want to wear pajamas.
Someone pass me the phone. We’re going to a Crave party.
The busy woman’s answer to the ultimate girl’s night out, Crave parties are the brainchild of Melody Biringer, 43, of Biringer Farms in Marysville.
“I am the farmer’s daughter,” Biringer said.
Biringer was helping run a successful business in 2002 when she hosted the first Crave party at The Ruins in Seattle. The private membership club is more of a high-heels and black-tie location. Biringer invited everyone to wear pajamas.
“I sold the party out in a couple of weeks,” she said.
Biringer had been working lots of hours, but missing out on the things she liked to do with her friends. She wanted one-stop fun and knew from her own personal craving experience that she could pull together fun companies for entertainment, jeweled handbags and clothing, not to mention the spa services.
One thing led to another, and Biringer began having Crave parties every other month. Almost three years later, she organizes six Craves in the Seattle area each year, and hosts others in five cities including San Francisco, Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C. The next stop for Biringer is to license Crave parties worldwide.
Snohomish was the venue for the first Crave block party held earlier this month. There were more people than Biringer imagined.
“I stopped counting after 250,” she said.
It was closer to 300, according to Allison Olsen, owner of Inside Out, one of the local businesses that hosted the Crave block party.
Olsen, 34, was thrilled when one day she got a random call saying that someone was working on a book about where to shop in the Seattle area. Inside Out, an eclectic mix of decor for the home and garden, was one of the listings.
“It was the Crave Seattle guide,” Olsen said.
Olsen wasted no time in calling Biringer. She wanted a copy sent out to her.
“I said, ‘If you’re the same Biringer from Biringer Farms, you know Snohomish,’” Olsen said.
Olsen also knew that Biringer had run a furniture store in Snohomish years before. During that time, Biringer had fallen for the Cabbage Patch’s raspberry cream cheese pie.
“Allison said, ‘I will get you that pie if you just come up here,’” Biringer said. “She lured me with the pie.”
Soon the idea of the Crave block party got under way. Local businesses that wanted to be a part of it got involved and women began to sign up to pay $35 for a fun night out.
Unlike the Crave parties, the block party meant that services and events were not held under one roof but spread out from the Cabbage Patch, Inside Out and other stores along Snohomish’s main drag.
Non-Cravers stared from the balcony of the Cabbage Patch as throngs of women jostled to have their photo taken with firefighters who were peddling their 2006 calendars for the Burn Foundation.
“We hugged the firemen,” said Jean Leighton, 48 of Lake Stevens. Leighton was attending her first Crave event in Snohomish. She and her daughter-in-law heard about it from a friend.
Armed with Crave coupons for samples and discounts, and after sipping on a Cravetini, women set off to join the many others sashaying through the stores of Snohomish.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Tanya Rinehart of Marysville. “It’s worth our $35.”
The women enjoyed a salmon dinner, fashion show, a goody bag with coupons and a slew of other benefits and discounts.
The Crave block party brought thousands of dollars to Snohomish, Olsen said, adding, “Everyone pitched in.”
Inside the Cabbage Patch, there was waxing and massage. Outside, people were eating the salmon dinner and Biringer Farms strawberry shortcake.
The events are typically good for local businesses involved in Crave parties, but Olsen also felt a tremendous happiness in the community.
“People were discovering new stores,” she said. “People were asking, ‘How long have you been here?’ That’s after two years.”
Olsen saw Crave bags carried in and out of her store during the week after the event, proving that Snohomish is not just the antique capital of the world.
“We’re unique and boutique,” Olsen said.
Christina Harper is a Marysville freelance writer.
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