Charm Night Out: Website redesign debuts amid party dresses, perfume

The 2012 Charm Night Out got off to a “tea”riffic start with a mother and daughter event, then continued with events for women and girls of all ages. About 60 girls, mothers and grandmothers attended the Mother and Daughter Tea Party. Attendees sipped tea and nibbled pastries while Amy Riestenberg of Etiquette East Texas spoke about the history and etiquette of tea parties. Performers from ArtsView Children’s Theatre sang a medley of songs. Kameron Brown was there with her 5-year-old daughter, Brinklie. “My daughter loves a chance to dress up and go places, so this seemed like the perfect event for us,” Brown said. “It’s our first time, but we’re having so much fun we’ll probably come again next year.” Hannah Hardey, 10, was at the tea party with her grandmother, Janet Secrist. “It’s fun,” Hannah said. “I’m having a good time, and I’m glad I got to come.” The big event of the night was the debut of Charm magazine’s website redesign, www.mycharmonline.com, said Stephanie Atkins, marketing director for the Longview News-Journal. Charm is a bimonthly publication of the newspaper. “This site will allow our readers to become interactive participants in Charm,” Atkins said. “They’ll be able to share ideas and comments with our staff and other women across East Texas.” About 50 vendors displayed a variety of products, foods and services at the event. Sharon Hardaway, a Mary Kay distributor, had come to Charm Night Out in previous years as a visitor. This year she was a vendor. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to share information on my products with a wide variety of women,” Hardaway said. Dr. Randy Morton, who specializes in varicose vein surgery, said he comes to Charm Night Out every year. “This is a good way to reach our target audience, and a lot of people don’t know these sort of services are available,” Morton said. Pam Sessums and her 15-year-old daughter, Jessica, were a bit beyond the tea party stage, but they both said they look forward to Charm Night Out every summer. “It’s something fun that we can do together,” Jessica Sessums said. “We especially enjoy sampling the different kinds of food.” Dana Dessesaure and her daughter, 10-year-old Lilly, missed the tea party but came out to the main event. “We moved here from the Dallas area a couple of years ago, and it’s good to find events in Longview that are aimed at girls around her age,” Dessesaure said. “This is our first time to attend, but we’re both enjoying it a lot.