Ladies Night Out - fun for ladies, funds for kids

Ladies Night Out on Saturday will be a time for women to do what they normally do at a formal dance.

They will dress up in formal attire, dance, eat and have a good time. There will be a silent auction, and there will be prizes for the best dressed.

Only one thing will be different — there will be no guys around to ruin the fun.

The event is sponsored by the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce's Chamber Ambassadors, and money will go to help troubled children.

It starts at 7 p. m. in the Duck Inn's Olympic Room.

Tickets will be $25, $20 if people bring a donation of nonperishable food for the Havre Food Bank. Tickets are available at the Havre Daily News, the Chamber office or at the door.

The event started last year as "Mom's Prom, " a nationwide night-out program, but Rachel Dean, one of the organizers, said too many people thought it was just for mother's, so the name was changed.

"This is for any woman, aged 21 to as far up as you can imagine, " she said.

"It will be a night of fun, without having to drag along the guys, " Dean said. "You don't have to drag along your boyfriend who is pouty about having to come. "

"We will have a lot more fun this way, " she said.

"We all dance, we talk, we eat, we shop, everything we like to do, " she said.

Proceeds will go the Court-Appointed Special Advocates. CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to look after the interests of children in court cases, often involving custody disputes or allegations of child abuse or neglect. Except for a part-time executive director, everyone in CASA is a volunteer.

Last year, Dean said, the money went to the food bank. which was in the middle of a financial crisis.

Prizes will be awarded to the best-dressed woman, she said. This year, a prize will be awarded to the best-dressed group.

Last year, she said, a group of women came in '80s attire that everyone enjoyed, but there was no award for them.

The decorations will all be pink, she said.

The Chamber Ambassadors is something of a welcoming committee to new businesses, she said. They host ribbon-cutting ceremonies and other such events for new Chamber members. This is one of its major fundraisers, but members also sell food at Sounds on the Square and the annual Christmas tree lighting festivities.