2015 Downtown Petoskey Mardi Patty Gras Crawl
St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner but we’ve started celebrating early. We’ve been enjoying Irish Soda Bread, Andes Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies (to die for!) and this past weekend a local Mardi Patty Gras Crawl. Who needs to go to Louisiana to celebrate? Not us! Downtown Petoskey held their own version of a Mardi Patty Gras Crawl, complete with beads, masks and a glow stick.
The event almost seemed VIP because of the attention we received from the store owners. It was fantastic. For over an hour, we stopped at all the local stores participating and they treated us with special appetizers, cocktails and we were able to shop. Which of course is what we did, stocking up on local honey, American Spoon Foods preserves, fairy garden goodies for the Easter basket and more. Take a bite of food, a sip of a fancy Bloody Mary, chat with your friends, shop and then move onto the next store. A perfect evening and it ended with dinner at one downtown Petoskey restaurant and then dessert at another. So many downtown merchants participated; we couldn’t even get to all of them!
Northern Michigan Artists Market
North Country Cycle Sport
Grain Train Natural Foods Market
Northgoods
Pretty Woman Boutique
Arlington Jewelers
Spice Merchants
V2V
County Emmet Celtic Shop
Grandpa Shorter’s Gifts
Robert Frost Fine Footwear
J.W. Shorter & Son Mercantile
Linda Michaels of Petoskey
Bearcub Outfitters
Sunglass Shoppe
It’s Always Good
Fustini’s
Ciao Bella! Home
American Spoon
Talulu Beauty Lounge
Salon Nouveau Vous
After shopping, it was on to dinner. We were so full from the amazing appetizers the merchants provided us. Grandpa Shorter’s had delicious shrimp, Fustini’s made Po’Boys (a meal in itself), Ciao Bella! had grilled mushrooms and candied bacon, the Sunglass Shoppe served homemade Gumbo and It’s Always Good made Shamrock Shakes. It was a feast, just of appetizers but we kept going!
After dinner, full as can be but happy to try dessert, Jill crawled her way to the Perry Rose room for a delicious vanilla ice cream with bananas and I moved onto Whitecaps for the best dessert I’ve ever had, Chocolate Brownie Mousse Bomb, which I couldn’t even finish because it was so rich and I was so full.
In all, the event was outstanding and a perfect was to begin March and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Events like this are a great way to get out, meet downtown business owners, experience new foods and enjoy what is in your own backyard. No need to spend thousands to go away and celebrate Mardi Gras when there are fun events like this in your hometown. If you missed out on this local event, we highly recommend keeping an eye out for it next year. It would make for a great weekend away with your girlfriends if you’re from out of town! It will only get better and here’s a tip, where elastic wasted pants!
Tell us, do you have fun events like this where you live?
