Dress for no stress

Olympia Downtown Association's first annual Sip, Savor & Stroll

By Jullysa Fox on September 7, 2017

Given all the stereotypes Olympia has been given over the years, the city does have a capability to dress up every now and again. Yes, Olympians love pajama pants and dreadlocks, but its for the soul reason that they pull it off better than any one group of people I know. However, they do own dresses and formal attire that does make an appearance every so often.   

For example, every year the Olympia Downtown Association had what they called the Fall Ball. It was a fundraiser for the ODA and a really great idea. It was normally held at the Olympia Center, which if you have never been there is not the most stunning of venues, but they dressed it up pretty well. The evening consisted of a gourmet dinner, signature cocktails and of course, live music and dancing. As lively as it was, it wasn't very well attended. The price alone lost the interest of many. After much deliberation, the ODA decided to shift gears. They still wanted a fundraiser and a "date night" theme, but wanted to find a way to get more community involvement.

Saturday night, the ODA is launching their first annual Sip, Savor & Stroll. How it works is there are 13 participating stops/businesses on the tour. Each business will be allowed to talk to a group of 35-40 people and be able to sample a little of what they have to offer. "This gives us an opportunity to talk to people about who we are and what we believe in as a company, which is a chance that we are not given in the middle of the day," said Cheyenne Protsman, manager at Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Company, who is excited for the opportunity to show the community how great Olympia is. Batdorf & Bronson is the only coffee shop on the tour, but they are joined by three sweets shops, four restaurants, one gift and wine shop, two breweries and two bars including the new to Olympia, Tipsy Piano Bar. The tour is from 6-9 p.m. and is followed by an after-party at the Capitol Theater. We asked Cheyenne what was going to be happening there, and she said it was "on the down low." After the after-party is the after-hours party at the Oly Underground, which has been an Olympia staple for decades. The other great thing about this event is instead of dressing to impress, you are able to dress for no stress.

Sip, Savor & Stroll, 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, Downtown Olympia, $95 per person, downtownolympia.com