West Side vendors to sell at Shea’s event

Lexie Furlong of Blush Boutique

          Shea’s Performing Arts Center will hold its fifth annual Shopping Soiree from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, at the theater, 646 Main St.

     Businesses from across Western New York will sell items such as clothing, sweets, jewelry and art. West Side vendors at the event will include boutiques Blush and Global Villages and D’Avolio Olive Oil, Vinegars and More.

     “We like doing these events because we get to meet and mingle,” said Lexie Furlong, co-owner of Blush, 1005 Elmwood Ave. “It’s just a really good opportunity to get new customers to come into the store.”

     The event sees between 400 and 700 shoppers per year, said Hannah Alt, Shea’s development associate. This year, there will be raffles and games in addition to the vendor stalls.

     “I think it’s going to be our biggest and best year yet,” Alt said. “We’re hoping to break records with it.”

     Vendors will set up on the stage and in the first and second floor lobbies. Proceeds from the event will go to the theater’s educational programs and restoration project.

     “The event is to raise money for Shea’s and I wanted to be a part of that as well,” Furlong said. “Who doesn’t love Shea’s and supporting them?” By Autumn Evans, Olive Porter and Melissa Zimmermann