Love was in the air for Valentine’s Day in Cedar Key. Hundreds of people visited the island on Saturday, February 14, to celebrate the holiday and participate in the first “Chocolate Tour of Cedar Key.” This fun & free event was put on by Joetta Schneider, Jackie Kiss, and myself. We think Cedar Key is the perfect getaway for Valentine’s Day and wanted people to experience it in a fun and unique way. We were told every room in town was booked and businesses were busy!

Participants were asked to pick up a “Passport” at the Visitor’s Center or at various local businesses. They could then visit any of the participating businesses, get their free piece of chocolate and get their passport stamped. Once they received 12 stamps, they could return their passport to the Visitor’s Center to be entered to win one of several prizes, all donated by the local community.

“We had the best time!!!! Thanks, Cedar key!” Posted by Maggie Chambers on the I Love Cedar Key Facebook page. She visited with her special someone for the day from Ocala. Her sentiments were echoed by many that I talked to while I was at the Visitor’s Center for the day with Ms. Sue. We were told that this was a great way to encourage visitors to step into businesses that they may not have gone to or didn’t even know they were there. When D. Warnick was contacted about winning a gift certificate from 1842 Coffee Shop, he said, “My wife and I loved our visit. We were already planning to return.”

If you participated as a visitor or as a business, thank you for making Valentine’s Day in CK a wonderful experience for many!

— Lisa