Multiple East Main Street businesses are teaming up for the second year of "Back to School" Night, a progressive dining and shopping event set for Wednesday, Sept. 2, as part of that day's Westminster Wednesday.
Westminster Wednesday is a monthly extended-hours shopping and dining night in downtown Westminster held on the first Wednesday of each month, according to Discover Westminster. The "Back to School" Night event first ran in 2025, according to Jennifer Yang, co-founder of Covalent Spirits, one of four participating "core courses." The event runs from 4 p.m. until each participating business closes for the night.
"We did the passport idea for the first time last year," Yang said. Covalent Spirits isn't normally open on Wednesdays, she said, but they wanted to take part in Westminster Wednesday. "It's a way to support Westminster Wednesday and create more buzz for our part of Main Street," Yang said.
The idea grew out of something Yang said customers are already doing on their own, as they move between Main Street establishments during a night out. "Customers bop around between us anyway," Yang said. "So we thought, let's give everyone a report card, turn it into a school-themed progressive dinner, and let people bounce around."
According to a FAQ page published by Covalent Spirits, the concept is a "progressive meal concept (with a shopping passport)": participants move between businesses, make a purchase at each one, and collect a stamp on a "report card."
Four businesses make up the required "core courses": Collision Course, described in the FAQ as a "crash course in humanities"; Covalent Spirits, the "science lab"; City Park Gaming and Brew Room, where visitors "play park games during recess"; and Liquid Library, the "library." Report cards will be available starting at 4 p.m. at all four core-course locations, according to the FAQ.
Three retail businesses are offering "extra credit": Shop Rebels, Cultivated, and East Main Antiques & Furnishings. Fine Tuned Presents is also offering extra credit for attending what the FAQ calls an "after-school concert" on the library lawn, featuring live music from Sparrow, Wile & Lanette. The retail partners tie into the back-to-school theme, giving shoppers a reason to pick up school supplies and outfits along the way, Yang said. "Last year, 20 to 30 people came into East Main Antiques & Furnishings who don't normally shop there," Yang said.
Graphic: A "Back to School“ Night report card guide showing the "core courses" and "extra credit" stops, from Covalent Spirits' Facebook page.
"We have four mandatory courses," Yang said. "The extra credit gets you additional raffle entries on top of the four core businesses." According to the FAQ, a completed report card requires stamps from all four core-course businesses; visiting fewer than four earns no raffle entry regardless of how many extra-credit stops are added. Completing all four core courses is worth one entry, and each extra-credit stop adds one more, for a possible maximum of five entries. Participants can visit the businesses in any order, the FAQ says, and can submit their completed report card to any of the four core-course businesses by closing time on Sept. 2.
The grand prize is a $100 gift card bundle, consisting of a $25 gift card for each of the four core-course businesses, Yang said. The raffle will be drawn by Friday, Sept. 5, and winners will be contacted, so the FAQ asks participants to make sure their name and contact information are legible on their report card. Individual businesses may also run their own specials or discounts that day, according to the FAQ, which directs shoppers to check each business's own website and social media pages for details.
Yang said the event is intentionally kept small for now. "This is only the second year," she said. "We're still a small group, but if it goes well this week, we might grow it next year."