It’s time to crawl — fall crawl, that is.

Ladies of Washington and beyond are invited to a fun evening around downtown, courtesy of a slew of business owners on Main, Market and Water streets. The first-ever Girls’ Night Out Fall Crawl is headed up by Cottage Junkies.

Thursday night, participating businesses will offer special discounts, sales and giveaways for customers as a way to kick off the holiday shopping season. Participating restaurants will offer wine and beer tastings.

“We each enjoy our own girls’ night out with our closest friends and try to plan them around local events that are happening here in town, so we wanted to make an event for others to enjoy,” said Brooke Newman, with Cottage Junkies and The Graceful Goose. “We started talking to other downtown business owners who liked the idea and wanted to participate, so it just kind of grew from there.”

Newman said she and the other business owners are hoping the Fall Crawl will be an opportunity to promote Washington’s downtown area, while also encouraging residents to shop local.

“We have a lot of unique shops and restaurants downtown that not everyone is aware of, and they are traveling to other towns to shop and eat,” Newman said. “We hope to introduce those that attend to some businesses they may have never been to, and show them what all they have to offer, while enjoying their familiar spots, as well.”

According to Newman, she and her family originally planned to have a mother-daughter event, but then decided to open it up to all ladies. Although Washington will officially celebrate Small Business Saturday (or Buy Local Day) Nov. 25, businesses try to promote shopping local all year.

“It all just kind of fell together,” Newman said. “The response so far has been great, so we hope to have a good turnout. I think it has great potential to grow and become an annual tradition for many to attend.”

The following businesses have signed on to participate: A Beautiful Mess, The Wine Crate, Cottage Junkies, The Graceful Goose, Stewart’s Jewelry Store, Bloom Women’s Apparel, Nauti Life, Down on Mainstreet, Springhill Antiques, The River Girl Antiques, Russell’s, Grub Brothers Eatery, The Bank Bistro, River Walk Art Gallery, Bardot, Secret Garden Gallery, South Market Antiques, Lemonade Art Gallery, Lone Leaf Gallery, Little Shoppes, Art on Market (Kay Woolard Studio), Market Street Pub and Day Dreamer Events, among others.

The Girls’ Night Out Fall Crawl is scheduled for Thursday from 5-8 p.m. Those interested are asked to stop by Cottage Junkies first for a map of the participating businesses.