PORT ROYAL, S.C. (WSAV) As Super Bowl Sunday kicked off, many women across the country dove straight into game-day preparations.
But in the town of Port Royal, things took a different turn. Several women in the Lowcountry started their morning surrounded by their closest friends, indulging in good food, and practicing a little self-love.
Cool, coastal, and far from ordinary – that’s the town's logo, which was fully embraced. Female business owners lining Paris Avenue decided to host a Galentine’s event on the biggest sports day of the year.
“If these women are not sports fans, they're spending the first part of their day with their best friends and doing what they love,” said Kelly Chelten with Nuances Boutique.
Sarah Christofek, co-owner of Gigi’s Restaurant and Bar added on by saying, “The women have this, the men have the Super Bowl. Everybody has a good time. And it's a total win at the end of the day for everybody.”
The event drew women from all over the Lowcountry to the main street, where they strolled side by side – shopping bags in one hand, and bowls of shrimp and grits or charcuterie cups in the other.
Melanie Frank, a Bluffton resident who traveled a good distance for the event, said, “Oh, well I love it. This is my favorite spot to go and get away.”
This is the second year the event has been hosted. Kelly Chelten with Nuances Boutique said the origin of the event started from the creation of a local social media page.
“A couple of years ago during COVID, I started a Facebook group called Ladies of the Lowcountry to kind of bring the women together when the world seemed to shut down and no one had a way to meet each other. So, we started doing ladies luncheons. You know, we even went up to Charleston to do the Van Gogh exhibit. Just little fun gatherings like that,” said Chelten.
As the page grew to almost 7,000 local women in the past couple years, Chelten realized there was another way to bring ladies together.
“When I started working here at Nuance's, I realized that there are so many businesses here in downtown Port Royal that are female owned. And what better way than to bring the ladies of the Lowcountry Group together, those members, along with these female business owners, and create these, you know, unique Sunday events.”
Several women shared that the Galentine's event offered a refreshing start to their day. Some even questioned if they wanted to leave, as they’d eventually have to head home to plan snacks for the game. But one small business made that task a little easier, offering up some ideas for what to lay down on the table.
“One of the reasons we created Sandy Bottom Boards is to help all of the hostesses take one less thing off their plate, like one less thing for them to have to do,” said Melanie Allen, co-owner of Sandy Bottom Boards Charcuterie. “So, you know, we decided, let’s make some little cups and have them have a little sample of it. So, it's nice to be able to let them relax for a change.”
Shop owners said this was the busiest day they've seen in a while. They're thrilled with the turnout, as women both in and outside of Port Royal came out to support. They’re already looking forward to planning the next event.