MIDDLETOWN – Even Saturday's nasty weather could not prevent an estimated crowd of more than 2,000 people from attending the New Jersey Women's Expo at Brookdale Community College this weekend.
The fourth annual event featured everything from fashion vendors and health screenings to dessert tastings and psychic readings.
"What we wanted to do with this is create a 'Gal Pal Day' where women could come to have fun, have lunch, shop and learn new things, such as fashion tips, fitness and wellness, finances and skincare," said Phyllis Peterson, an account manager for the New Jersey Women's Expo. "We even have a happiness coach giving a talk about the scientific approach to being happy. So we definitely have a little bit of everything."
Peterson said the event, which was produced by MAC Events and presented by Meridian Health, has grown since its inception, in terms of participation and turnout, by keeping what works and taking suggestions from visitors to add new aspects to future events.
"For example, we've continued our fashion shows which remain very popular and in the future, we may reach out to some local female authors to promote their work and also provide somewhat of a roundtable discussion," she said. "There are so many local women who would love to write and could write, but don't know how to get started. So something like this could help them do it."
Colts Neck resident Jill Dalton and her 14-year-old daughter, Julia, used the expo as an opportunity to get out of the house together.
"The guys were watching football, so this was a nice chance for us to have a girl's day together," Dalton said.
Early in to their visit to the expo, the mother and daughter had already made a purchase – shoes – when they were checking out skincare products from Rodan and Fields. They made another stop before they reached that vendor, however.
"We were very happy to see Mr. Green Tea was here," Dalton said. "Because we got to try all of their ice cream flavors."
Laura Redding, who was working the Rodan and Fields table, said the expo gives the vendors an opportunity to introduce their products new potential customers.
"When I've asked people if they've heard of Rodan and Fields, most of them say they have not. However, when I say that it is skincare cream by the doctors who created Proactiv then they are really interested," Redding said. "From there, it's really about educating people on the value of premiere skincare products versus over-the-counter products."
Some of the most popular people at the expo this weekend were Joe Coyle and Hen Sham, who are the owner and chef of Raritan Bakery in Edison, respectively.
On Sunday afternoon, the Raritan Bakery table had a long line of women stretching from it as Coyle and Sham were handing out slices of a multi-tiered wedding cake.
Coyle said the variety of vendors at the expo was a "perfect mix" for visitors and vendors alike.
"It's excellent exposure for us," he said. "But they also get to learn a little bit about what goes into the design of a wedding cake and even get somewhat of a behind the scenes look into the stress there can be at times in the kitchen."
Friends Ellen Burach, of Manalapan, and Shelley Strauss, of Monroe, visited the New Jersey Women's Expo together for the first time on Sunday.
"It was very helpful," Strauss said. "It covered beauty, health, fashion, baking... 'The More You Know', right?."
At the end of the day, Peterson said, the New Jersey Women's Expo is about providing women an outlet that might not otherwise exist.
"There so many demands on women's time – family, kids, husbands, careers – that they rarely have time for their friends or even themselves," she said. "And this is a great opportunity to get out with the gals, and away from football, for the day."
Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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