Residents gather to show their love for Kirkland

Dozens of Kirkland residents came together Monday night to share their love for the city.

The City of Kirkland and the Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods partnered together to bring author Peter Kageyama in to lead a workshop titled “For the Love of Kirkland,” based on his book “For the Love of Cities.”

The workshop wasn’t just a lecture by Kageyama. He included several exercises to get participants thinking about how they can be more involved in their city, from sharing sticky notes with things they love about Kirkland to designing T-shirts for Kirkland residents to coming up with events or initiatives in the city.

“Surprise and delight should be seen as legitimate objectives,” Kageyama said of what to look for when engaging people who live in, work in and visit Kirkland.

Kageyama tours around the country to engage people in getting involved with their cities. He also has done workshops in Kenmore, Bellevue, Lynnwood, Tacoma and Renton.

The author acknowledged that a lot of Kirkland residents are already very engaged with their city (and vice versa), specifically citing the Cow and Coyote statue in downtown Kirkland, lakefront parks and the Cross Kirkland Corridor (CKC). “I think this is wonderful,” he said.

Throughout the workshop, Kageyama encouraged residents to recognize what they love about the city and how they can build on those things. When people were asked to write what they love about Kirkland on sticky notes and share them with the rest of the group, many listed the CKC.

Later in the evening, the workshop participants were asked to think of an event or initiative they could pull together with a $500 grant from the Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods. Many of the proposed ideas made use of the CKC, including the winning idea, which was to throw a food-based event on the trail with each neighborhood sponsoring a menu item.

The event was free to attend, and registration filled up more than two weeks before.

“We’re so excited for the amazing turnout,” Highlands Neighborhood Chair Karen Story told attendees. “We hope this meeting inspires you to think of new ways to get involved with your neighborhood.”

For more information about Kirkland’s 13 neighborhoods, visit kirklandwa.gov/depart/CMO/Neighborhood_Services.htm.

Author Peter Kageyama leads the “For the Love of Kirkland” workshop on Jan. 23 at Google. CATHERINE KRUMMEY / Kirkland Reporter

Kirkland residents share “love notes” about the city during the “For the Love of Kirkland” workshop on Jan. 23 at Google. CATHERINE KRUMMEY / Kirkland Reporter