View full sizeEvin Wallus models a cardigan with ribbon and zipper detail and shorts by Staccato. The legwear is by MeMoi, while the jewelry by Erica Weiner. This outfit is part of a new fall line that will be showcased at Cakes Boutique Oct. 7.KALAMAZOO — A vast array of unique, locally owned boutiques and restaurants in downtown Kalamazoo are working together for a greater cause.
During the evening of Thursday, Oct. 7, in honor of breast cancer awareness month, the Downtown Kalamazoo Restaurant and Retailers Association will be giving back to the community while supporting breast cancer awareness and research through the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
The first Kalamazoo Style Stroll will begin at 7 p.m. and feature pink-themed drinks, the latest fall fashions from several downtown boutiques and endless opportunities for attendees to get involved with finding a cure for breast cancer.
“We wanted to come up with a fun event that fit in with the month of October and breast cancer awareness while creating awareness for all the great downtown businesses,” said Katie Hallin director of marketing for Venture Foods and a member of the association board.
Season specials for good
The Style Stroll, a cross between a bar hop and a fashion show, will take place at seven downtown restaurants, which will each host a boutique that will display its fall fashion line. A fashion show will begin each half-hour from 7 until 9:30 p.m.
A different pink drink will be on sale at every stop along the walk. Attendees are encouraged to pick up an event map at any participating location, and drop in on as many of the restaurants as possible.
“The hope is that people get downtown and map out their route and will be able to hit three or four different locations and see a couple different fashion shows throughout the evening,” Hallin said, who added that each stop on the stroll will be a unique experience created by the restaurant and the boutique.
“Since all the venues are a little bit different it’s going to be slightly different at each location,” Hallin said. “It’s going to be real informal, it won’t be models on stage on the catwalk, but it will be … models kind of just walking through the restaurant, modeling, talking with the customers.”
Cakes Boutique, at 245 S. Kalamazoo Mall, will be partnering with Epic Bistro and plans to have numerous models walking through the rotating crowd showing off two new clothing lines the store recently received.
“Were just trying to showcase our clothing for a good cause, to raise some money. It’s going to be really relaxed,” co-owner Susan Terranella-Hoffman said. “(The Style Stroll is) just a great way, we feel, to be involved in the community to raise some money for breast cancer.”
If You Go
- 2010 Style Stroll
- What:
- Fashion shows and restaurant hop designed to raise money and awareness for the Susan G. Komen foundation.
- Where:
- Participating restaurants and retailers in Downtown Kalamazoo.
- When:
- Oct. 7 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Each location will host a fashion show every half-hour.
- Cost:
- Free. Drinks and wearable goods will be on sale.
- www.facebook.com/StyleStrollKz.
- komen.org
- .
Specials to check out
- Drink specials
- The Pink Ring
- The following stores are selling the Signature Pink Ring, $15 each with more than 50 percent of the proceeds donated to Susan G. Komen Foundation, through Oct.6:
- Specials available through Oct. 7:
- Specials available Oct. 7 only:
Hoffman said all styles shown at Epic Bistro will be available for purchase at Cakes, and 25 percent of profits that night will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Plus, the store will knock 20 percent off of one regularly priced item, and customers with the Style Stroll brochure will get a free gift.
And it won’t be just Cakes giving away free gifts to patrons.
At each restaurant location, “the first 20 women will get a goodie bag,” Hallin said. “A total of 140 are going to go out.” The bags will be filled with coupons, discounts to area retailers and other gifts donated by downtown businesses that want to be a part of the event.
Other retailers are chipping in by selling a commemorative pink. The ring costs $15, with more than 50 percent of the proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and is available at the official locations through Oct. 8.
“We wanted people to remember the event because we do plan on doing this from here on out,” Hallin said. “So each year I think we’ll have a signature piece of jewelry or clothing that represents the event.
“It’s creating the awareness for Susan G.; it’s a constant reminder of breast cancer awareness,” Hallin said of the rings.
'It's sneaky'
Some people, like Ann Feldmeier, need no reminders of the constant struggle to fight breast cancer.
Feldmeier, of Vicksburg, is the chairwoman for the Susan G. Komen Race for Cure, which is held each May at Arcadia Creek Festival Place. She is also a breast cancer survivor.
“I’m one of those very fortunate ones, who have not had a reoccurrence,” Feldmeier said. “I say that because women with breast cancer never really feel completely safe. Women have come back (with symptoms) after 15 to 20 years.”
“Breast cancer is that way — it’s sneaky. ... at what point can you say ‘OK I can relax about this?’”
Feldmeier was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, but has been cancer-free for 13 years.
While not directly involved in the planning of the Style Stroll, Feldmeier expresses how much she appreciates events that benefit breast cancer research at the local and community levels.
“I’d really like to say how grateful we are for the ladies and gentleman who are organizing and putting on the Style Stroll to benefit Susan G. Komen,” Feldmeier said. “They are going to save lives.”
Feldmeier said 75 percent of local donations go directly to help women in the eight-county affiliate program in Southwest Michigan.
Patrons can go out on the town guilt-free, sampling one-time only pink drinks like Olde Peninsula’s Pink Tulip and Zazio’s Pink Ribontini. All the while, enjoying several fashion shows and supporting the Susan G. Komen Foundation.