Shopping Meets Locavore At Chevy Shop Social: Austin

Chevy Shop Social
Getting ready to shop for Chevy Shop Social: Austin

Local Goods Create Greater Good In Austin

Ferreting out the best local retail is almost a sport for many Austin-ites: they love to celebrate the boutiques and specialty shops in different neighborhoods across this unique city. But putting the shopping skills of Austin’s top influencers to the test to benefit a local charity? Even better.

That was the mission of Chevy Shop Social: Austin, which benefited I Live Here I Give Here and Health Alliance for Austin Musicians on June 5th with an influencer-driven shopping spree followed by a raffle of the items they bought. Influencers were teamed in pairs, put into spanking new Chevrolets, assigned a shopping district and given $300 to shop. At the end of the day they gathered to snack on local foods, dance to local band Kanude, and to watch as party guests vied for a chance to win something from the spree, ultimately generating $7,000 in donations for ILHIGH and HAMM.

Chevy Shop Social
Christine Young and her family and friends set out in the Silverado to shop for Chevy Shop Social:Austin

 

The Chevy Tahoe: Just Enough Room For AdoredAustin’s Adorable Haul

Indiana Adams, founder of Adored Austin, hit the road in a Chevy Tahoe, digging up great stuff on 2nd Street. Indiana hit Toy Joy and brought back The Rody, an aninated-looking sit-on toy for toddlers. The Rody was  a huge hit, gathering a massive pile of raffle tickets.

Electrifying Downtown’s Shopping District

Rebecca Darling, founder of RWeThereYetMom?  hit the South Congress shopping district with Joey McGirr, owner of McGirr Enterprises, in a Chevy Volt. The hybrid electric Volt kept their carbon footprint low while shopping for hats from Tyler’s and finding an arresting panoramic photo of University of Texas football stadium at  Co-op Market.

Chevy Shop Social
Kanude performing at Getaway Motor Club

Not Just Gals Are Born to Shop

Matt Swinney, founder of Austin Fashion Week, served not only as a shopper but also as raffle emcee. For his raffle item, he curated a ‘guys’ package that included a bow tie from First Access Boutique, picnic knife from Spartan, and shampoo from Birds Barbershop, a hyper local gift ideal for Father’s Day giving. Matt spent the day tooling around Austin in a Camaro and was even brave enough to put the top down in the 93 degree heat.

Shopping and Winning and Boots–Oh My!

Since in Texas boots are at home everywhere, an array of cowboy and motorcycle boots from Allen’s Boots served as buckets for raffle tickets; party guests bought $1 tickets and deposited them into boots for the items they hoped to win. Allen’s even got in on the spirit of the day by donating a gift certificate and accessories as a (popular!) raffle item.

Chevy Shop Social
Ecstatic raffle winner at Chevy Shop Social: Austin shows off her loot
Chevy Shop Social
Dane Klusman of Short Bus Subs serves sandwiches with a smile. Photo: Judy Antell

Eat and Drink Local, Too

Bowing to Austin’s foodie love, food trucks were brought to the party to provide great eats across a variety of cuisines. Hat Creek BurgersTaco Bout ItShort Bus Subs, Stony’s Pizza, Tapas Bravas and Frozen Yogurt Inspirations kept everyone fed, and the bar included local spirits from Lone Star BeerAustin Beerworks and Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

That’s Some Selfie!

To capture the car and party feel, a 2014 Corvette in hunter green served as the stage for a photo booth at the party. Guests could sit in the car in front of a green screen and take photos, then choose from a background of the Austin skyline, a Texas sunset or the iconic Pennybacker bridge. While everyone wanted to sit in the Corvette and have a photo taken, it was especially popular with the car-seat set in attendance.

Chevy Keeps the Party Going

Chevy Shop Social
Chevrolet’s donation to  I Live Here I Give Here. (L-R) Tom Spencer of ILHIGH, Sara Leeper, Chevrolet, Dave Barthmuss, Chevrolet, Scotty Reiss, AGirlsGuidetoCars

At the end of the evening Chevrolet capped the fun with a surprise raffle addition: three lucky winners would be able to drive a Chevrolet for a week. All the evening’s raffle tickets were culled into a single bucket (there wasn’t a big enough cowboy boot!) and three winning numbers were drawn. Stay tuned for more from those lucky winners and their own personal Chevy experience.

Chevy Shop Social: Austin was produced by AGirlsGuidetoCars and sponsored by Chevrolet.

Photos: Except where noted, Sparky Anderson, Digital Fashion Studios, for Chevrolet.

Judy Antell
Judy Antell

Judy Antell, who is TravelingMom.com's Free in 50 States editor, lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with her husband and three daughters. Between road trips to visit colleges, travel sports and seeing East Coast sights, she spends a lot of time on the road for a city girl.

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