There may have been a nip in the air Saturday, but the rain held off until much later in the night. That was the main concern for Athens Main Street Executive Director Tere Richardson, whose organization hosted the annual Chocolate Walk on The Square in Athens.

Richardson said the Chocolate Walk, much like Sippin’ Cider held in December, is a way to help attract customers into downtown businesses ahead of a major holiday — in this case, Valentine’s Day.

“Our merchants need this,” Richardson said. “We need to have a good day. We need to bring a new demographic into downtown. Every year, that’s what this event does. Sixty percent or more of our walkers are out-of-town people, and that’s huge for our businesses to get new people in their stores.”

Richardson said the Chocolate Walk has proved to be “very popular.” Athens Main Street offered 300 tickets for this year’s event, which sold out in only five hours. It only took three hours to sell out last year, but Richardson said this year’s time is still great considering the country is in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event ran from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., and by the midway point, 256 of the 300 participants had signed in.

“People are having a great time,” she said. “What’s not to love about chocolate? It gets everybody in a great mood. We have locals who will come in and say ‘You know, I’ve never been in that store before.’ That’s what this event and Sippin’ Cider is all about.”

Tevvy McDole, owner of Belles and Beaus boutique on South Jefferson Street, just off The Square, said people she had talked to were loving the event. She said even in the earlier hours of the Chocolate Walk, she had seen a good number of people enter her store.

“It’s been going really well,” she said. “It’s been pretty busy. It brings people in, and I get to meet new people.”

Valentine’s Day is celebrated annually on Feb. 14, which falls on Sunday this year.