Founder of Barkz the Dog Stop LLC, Paula Heddle is doing quite the job rallying Kirklanders and getting us excited to take pride in our City.

I know, because Heddle spurred this newspaper editor to get out of her office chair last Saturday. On to the streets of downtown Kirkland I strolled, along with a dozen other residents and business owners, including The Grape Choice wine shop owner Larry Springer (his wife, Penny, was recovering from minor surgery and couldn’t join us).

We meandered along Lake Street, stopping to check out a gold and purple masquerade mask hidden among the leaves inside a flower pot at Café Harlequin, then down Lake Shore Plaza to look at the mermaids singing amid the vibrant flowers at Mermaid Hair Extensions.

Before we left on our venture, we all met at the Kirkland Downtown Association office with Heddle – the organization’s co-vice president – who gave us a list of merchants who were participating in the first-ever Merchant Flower Pot Competition. She explained the criteria is based on creativity, whether the flower pot reflects the business and overall attractiveness.

Part of Heddle’s involvement in the KDA is to head up merchants and get them more involved.

“Kirkland needs something,” she had thought, which is why she came up with the idea to make the City more of a destination – starting with merchant’s flower pots.

During our stroll that afternoon, there were many neat creations, including a trunk filled with flowers and herbs in front of the Heathman Hotel (which won the contest, by the way, and a grand prize of $100. You’ll have to see for yourself why). But what was even more exciting was watching shoppers and pedestrians stop to admire the flowers and make comments.

Aside from beautification and other ways to make the City inviting, Heddle’s next moves are to get businesses to depend on each other.

“If we can piggy back on events – that’s a huge thing we need,” she said.

It’s a concept that several businesses have taken hold of already, such as Ford of Kirkland, Evergreen Healthcare and Overlake Oil-Pacific Pride that recently stepped forward to save Kirkland’s July Fourth (see page 1). It’s a concept I hope to see spread like seeds across the City.