The Greater Kirkland Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Kirkland Downtown Association and Seattle Uncorked, is putting on its first “All You Need is Love”-themed wine walk from 6-9 p.m. Feb. 7.

Starting at 5 p.m. for early-entry ticket holders, participants check in at the Heathman Hotel, which is located on Kirkland Avenue. Walkers will receive a map card, a glass that comes with 14 tasting tickets and a bag from an event sponsor.

Those interested in attending are encouraged to purchase their tickets early because wine walk events frequently sell out ahead of the event. General admission tickets are $30. Early-bird “beat the crowd” tickets are priced at $40.

Fifteen stores and 16 wineries are participating. Who takes part is narrowed down by a mixture of businesses reaching out to the event’s coordinators and vice versa. If a participant decides to buy a bottle of wine during the event, it can be dropped off at Hallmark Realty (101 Lake Street) and then picked up once the wine walk is over.

Jennifer Dean, the director of operations and finance at the chamber, said that ticket-buyers are free to map out the event as they please.

Dean said that wine walk events, which happen throughout the year with different themes, dependably attract hundreds to the downtown area, which is beneficial to community members and its businesses.

“It brings 400 to 500 people to downtown Kirkland… People get festive and dress up, which is always fun to see,” Dean said.

Dean said that residents have voiced a particular enjoyment of the Valentine’s Day-centric wine walks because of their theme. The last wine walk event was at the end of 2019 and was holiday-themed.

This year, the biggest challenge of coordinating the event was the looming possibility of bad weather, Dean said.

“We don’t need any more snow,” she said with a laugh.

Following the wine walk, the Kirkland Chamber’s next major event is the “Lights, Camera, Auction!” gala on Saturday, April 4. The next wine walk is set for June 5, with two more on Oct. 23 and Nov. 20.

Dean said she’s most looking forward to seeing the community come downtown and get festive for the activities.

“It brings out the people to the community and supports the businesses especially during the wintertime… it gives them a reason to get out,” she said. “[I enjoy when] people come out and get dressed up — it makes it fun.”

For more information about the event, go to the Greater Kirkland Chamber of Commerce’s website (https://bit.ly/3aj9H61).