It’s often easy for even the most cheerful to turn pessimistic on Feb. 14 — the hearts, the flowers and all the pressure to go on a fancy date can make a person a little crazy. After all, there are only so many Valentine’s Days that can be spent alone at home with a bottle of wine or out at a expensive restaurant with microscopic portions and a burning desire just to change into pajamas and fuzzy slippers.

Luckily for peninsula residents, the area has several options for singles (that aren’t necessarily labeled as “for singles”) or couples who just want to get away from the same-old thing.

For those into food and drink (and really, who isn’t?) Port Angeles’ Laurel Park Assisted Living is having its annual chocolate festival from 2-4 p.m. The Valentine’s Day event is good for the soul as well as the taste buds — although it is free, the chocolate tasting will be accompanied by a silent auction benefiting homeless youth.

Several wineries on the peninsula, including Lost Mountain Winery in Sequim, will be hosting a “Red Wine and Chocolates” event the weekend after Valentine’s Day, from 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Feb. 16–18. Guests will be encouraged to sample the winery’s newest wines and nibble

on confections.

After all the sugar, Park View Villas and Port Angeles Senior Center are inviting the public to the Heart Healthy Valentine’s Dance at Vern Burton Memorial Center from 7-9 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 14. George Snyder’s Olympic Jazz Band, featuring the vocals of Lynn Peterson, will provide entertainment and all proceeds of the donation-entry will go to the cardiac units of Olympic Medical Center.

Olympic Theatre Arts is kicking off its newest production on Valentine’s Day — and it’s the perfect antidote to too much sugar and sweetness: The title is “Café Noir” and it is a dark murder mystery. The dinner theater show has a total of eight performances.

If you’re into traveling, it may be a little too late to book that Valentine’s Day cruise, but there’s still an opportunity to live vicariously. On Feb. 14 at the Sequim High School cafeteria, Sequim’s Patricia Ernest will share her experiences traveling to Cornwall, England, complete with pictures and anecdotes — part of the Traveler’s Journal series benefiting the Peninsula Trails Coalition.

Finally, thanks to the Boys & Girls Club Carroll C. Kendall Unit in Sequim, the teenagers don’t have skip out on Valentine’s Day fun, either. The club is having a teen dance, with both a live band and a deejay, on Feb. 15 from 8–11 p.m. at the club.

The point is, on the Olympic Peninsula, single or not, residents can indulge a little in whatever makes them happy this Valentine’s Day.

Avani is a reporter for the Sequim Gazette. She can be reached at avanin@sequimgazette.com.