Ladies Night Out takes place in downtown Aberdeen this Saturday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The cost is $15 at the door and proceeds go directly to scholarships for local women to attend Grays Harbor College. The crawl-style event will include raffles, goodie bags and a chance to win a gift basket.

Event organizer Bobbi McCracken said, “What this event is for is to provide scholarship funds that our group does every year for women’s education, scholarships to Grays Harbor College, it’s going to help us to continue to do that.”

The event will start at Past and Present, located at 110 East Heron, and attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy appetizers, beverages, and exclusive in-store experiences at several local businesses including A Little Bit of Everything, Harbor Blooms, Flawless Esthetics Boutique, Throwback Threadz, and GH Wine Sellars. A daisy wreath and accompanying balloon will signify participating establishments along Heron, I, Wishkah and Broadway streets.

Event organizer Bette Worth says it’s an opportunity for everyone to see what local Aberdeen businesses are all about.

“It’s a chance for you to go and see in the various businesses we’re doing this with, what they have to offer,” Worth said. “Downtown, people are always amazed, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that business existed.’”

Ladies Night Out will also feature a variety of vendors such as Pampered Chef, Evergreen Flower Farm, Lunar Tides, Tokeland Candle Works, Brass Hub, Mary Kay, Color Street and Sole Reflexology and Wellness.

“Our hearts are still wanting to make sure we’re supporting the downtown businesses,” McCracken said. “It’s easy to get on your phone or your computer and order something and have it delivered the next day. It’s easy to get in the car to go to Olympia and fight traffic. But it needs to be easy to go downtown and see what we have, and we have things. Just come downtown and see what’s going on.”

The organizers are members of the Chapter AK of the Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.), which was founded in 1869 by seven students at Iowa Wesleyan University. Today, the P.E.O. Sisterhood is a nonprofit organization focused on promoting educational opportunities for women. P.E.O.’s mission statement has been distilled down to, “Where women motivate, educate and celebrate women.”

There are a total of five P.E.O. chapters in Grays Harbor County — AK, T-Hoquiam, BC, DP and GM-Elma.