Stacy Brown

Celebrate Galentine’s DayHonor Your Gal Pals in Woodstock

BY STACY BROWN

While Galentine’s Day is a made-up holiday championed by a fictional character, Leslie Knope from NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” would find Woodstock the perfect place to celebrate female friendships. According to Knope, “Every Feb. 13, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast-style. Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas.”

Woodstock, whose slogan is A City Unexpected, boasts plenty of top-notch restaurants serving breakfast and brunch from buttery biscuits to fluffy pancakes, all with perfectly roasted coffee or expertly crafted cocktails. Woodstock’s restaurants have made changes to keep patrons safe during the pandemic. If you’re opting for a virtual Galentine’s Day celebration, many eateries offer curbside carryout or delivery.

One of the hallmarks of Galentine’s Day is a heartfelt gift to show your best girls some love. Woodstock is home to the Atlanta area’s newest and best outlet shopping with about 100 luxury brand shops as well as a vibrant and authentic downtown district with more than two dozen unique shops and boutiques. You’re sure to find an inspired gift for your gals.

Another way to ensure Galentine’s Day is, as Knope asserts, “only the best day of the year,” is to book spa treatments. Woodstock’s salons offer a luxurious array of services. While you can indulge in classic facials and massages, you can also take advantage of trends such as body sculpting or microneedling.

And while you are celebrating, book a safe stay next to the outlets so you can shop until you drop right into a comfy bed in a wellappointed suite, or snag a room for you and your besties at one of the hotel properties that are walking distance from the Noonday Creek Trail.

“It’s wonderful, and it should be a national holiday,” according to Knope. And while the holiday won’t be closing banks and schools anytime soon, you should make a weekend of it, especially since it falls on Saturday. Your guide for all things Galentine-related can be found at visitwoodstockga.com.

Toasting their friendship are, from left, Marishell Mulvihill of Holly Springs, Heather Scott from Marietta and Jackie Yetso, who lives in Tennessee.

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“Since 2018, I have been getting together with some of my closest college girlfriends for a proper Leslie Knope-style Galentine’s weekend. It’s something that we all look forward to each year. We retreat to a cabin in the North Georgia mountains where we eat and drink way too many carbs all while solving the world's problems in our comfiest pjs.” - Nikki Estill, a Woodstock resident for 11 years

Friends gather to celebrate Galentine’s Day in a North Georgia cabin. From left, Melanie Smith and Tamara Humphres from Tennessee, Melissa Fulford of Smyrna, Nikki Estill from Woodstock, Heather Scott from Marietta and Andrea Moore from Tennessee.