CARLYLE - During the months of November and December, one often sees a busload of women stopping in Carlyle to do some shopping. The Observer recently caught up with the owner of the tour, Cheryl Hughes.
Said Hughes: “Women On the Go Tours came about as a result of a persistent friend and a visionary group of business women. A group of like-minded women on a road shopping excursion came up with the idea of a bus trip to various rural communities for a unique shopping experience. They invited neighbouring communities to join them, paired it with the annual Dicken’s Winter Festival in Carlyle, and before you knew it, their annual shopping tour, the Pink Scarf Express, became a regular event.”
“As the response to this Christmas shopping extravaganza grew, they recognized that they needed someone to co-ordinate this project. My friend, Marie Anne Fournier from sisters in Montmartre, knew that I was looking for a new challenge. She approached me to take this on with a view to turning it into a year-round business. I turned her down not once but twice before realizing what an incredible opportunity this was.
“I took on the Pink Scarf Express 2012. Women on the Go Tours was born, and we never looked back.”
Based out of Regina, Women on the Go offers day trips geared towards women interested in experiencing rural Saskatchewan at its finest. Since inception, they have wined and dined, shopped till they dropped, rode the rails, rode the trails, explored and experienced breathtaking scenery, quilt shop hopped, river cruised, and discovered old, new, unique, and fascinating areas of Saskatchewan.
Hughes is proud to be the owner-operator of Women On the Go and the tours are usually sold out just days after being posted. She was awarded the Fred Heal Ambassador Award in 2015 from Tourism Saskatchewan. This November, trips are also scheduled to Montmartre, Kipling and Grenfell. The bus travels to Carlyle on Nov. 26.
Added Hughes, “Carlyle is such a great community with a lot of retail businesses. I sure hope to see you there.” For further information on Women on the Go, please visit their Facebook page.
