Roper on the River: The First One's in the Books
Well would you look at that. Turns out girls do want to have fun. They just wanna, just wanna. I don't make the rules people, Cyndi Lauper does. And if Cyndi says it, then we have no choice but to deliver, and man oh man, did the ladies on the first Roper on the River deliver.
You came by limousine. You came by bus. Husbands and kids pulled up to the dock and dropped you off like it was prom, and in the best possible way, it kind of was.
The boat was colourful and bright, and it was obvious how much thought every one of you put into channeling Mrs. Roper. The muumuus. The wigs. The jewellery you could spot from shore. You did not come to do this halfway.
And then the night just proceeded beyond my wildest dreams. The dancing never stopped. The singing was almost in tune, which is exactly in tune enough for me. And those blow up microphones, were clearly a hit.
It helped that it was quite literally the most perfect day of the whole summer of 2026. Ottawa spent this summer either withering in the heat or getting doused with buckets of rain, but somehow, on our one day, none of it. Clearly someone was smiling on us, so let's give the credit to Mrs. Roper herself, martini in hand, waving the clouds off to somebody else's weekend.
We drew tickets for the prizes, and those prizes came from sponsors I'm genuinely grateful to. Thank you to Cheekbone Beauty, So Morocco, BeautySense, HarperCollins Canada, and Farm Girl for backing this night and sending everyone home with something.
The part I loved the most
One of the things I love most about spending time with women at this stage of life is that they just show up and give it everything. No drama. Everyone gets along, everyone has fun, everyone makes a friend. So thank you for that. Thank you for being the awesome hellions I always knew you'd be.
The funny part is I must have heard thank you a hundred times that night, and I need you to hear me when I say please don't thank me. Thank you. Thank you for showing up. For putting yourselves first for once. For having fun. For dancing your little hearts out. You made me so proud and so happy I could burst.
I really do believe Girl Trips is going to become something, and not because of me. It's because this is something women actually want and can't always find. Somewhere to belong. Someone to reconnect with. A reason to put the wig on and get out the door, alone even, because you know there's a group waiting to welcome you.
And as if to prove my point, you trusted me with the big stuff. Three birthdays. A bachelorette. A woman who just kicked cancer's ass. Someone who had never been on a girls' night out in her whole life. Women who met last year on my very first Girl Trips adventure and have stayed friends ever since, back together again. Someone who came on a trip with me in March and came out again this summer.
That is the whole thing right there. Those moments where we connect, reconnect, and make someone new. You won't make it to every event or every trip, and that is completely fine. But when people keep coming back, again and again, that is the literal dream. It is the reason Girl Trips exists at all. That kind of connection is the entire point.
So here is the good news. You made it very clear on the boat that you want to do this again, and I heard you loud and clear. We're booked, baby.
Roper on the River returns Saturday, July 24th, 2027. One year to the day. Get on the waitlist and you will be the first to know the moment tickets open.
