First Person: Chamber kicks off spring with Girlfriends Getaway
With spring finally on the horizon, summer tourism in the Northwoods will soon be underway. In four short weeks, fishing season will open and the many lakes in the area will be populated with anglers hoping for their first catch of the year. To honor the opening of this popular sports season, the Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce has organized a weekend-long event for those who enjoy the Northwoods without a fishing pole in hand. We recently spoke with Kate Bauman, tourism and event coordinator for the Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce, about the upcoming Girlfriends Getaway event debuting the weekend of May 3 through 5.
Star Journal: What is the purpose of this event?
Kate Bauman: We wanted to come up with an event that was geared toward women who head north for the opening weekend of fishing season with their friends or families, but may not necessarily want to spend the whole time out on the water. Much like “widows weekend” is during deer hunting season, we wanted a way for the wives, girlfriends, sisters and daughters to experience what Rhinelander has to offer away from the lake.
SJ: Where did the idea to utilize the opening weekend of fishing season come from?
KB: I’m originally from the Medford area, and we have had an event similar to this in previous years that has been enormously successful, with hundreds of participants in attendance simply from learning of the event through word of mouth. As the tourism coordinator for the Rhinelander area, I thought a similar event would be widely received in the community.
SJ: What kind of classes and workshops are being offered throughout the weekend?
KB: We have 20 different classes that will be held on Saturday and over a dozen businesses that are participating. The classes reflect the interests of the businesses, but are also designed to appeal to participants in an effort to allow new areas of exploration for those unfamiliar with all that Rhinelander has to offer. For example, Trig’s Floral and Home is hosting a workshop on creating floral arrangements, Frasier Kitchens is demonstrating how to create a kitchen design and Yoga Living Center will instruct a beginning yoga class for those interested in learning about the activity. We have so many more great opportunities that businesses are providing as well, and so many local businesses have been receptive to helping us organize this event.
SJ: How do participants choose what workshops they’d like to attend?
KB: All interested participants register for the weekend. The attendance fee covers the Taste of Rhinelander event in downtown Rhinelander on Friday night, the art and wine tour located at ArtStart on Saturday evening and a Sunday brunch to conclude the weekend. In addition to these events, the registration fee also covers either an a.m. or p.m. workshop session for Saturday, with a variety of classes offered throughout both sessions. Some of the classes have an additional fee, but the majority of them are covered under the primary registration fee.
SJ: How can interested women register?
KB: Anyone interested in attending Girlfriends Getaway can visit the Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce at explorerhinelander.com or call us at (715) 365-7464 for more information. We have registration packets online that can be printed and mailed to us or available forms located in our office. We encourage women from any area to grab a few friends and head to Rhinelander for the weekend to discover our community in a new way.
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