This Valentine’s Day, throw out the traditional cards, flowers and dinner dates for a deeper appreciation of art on the ISU campus.

Friday night’s Moonlit Romance Walk, presented by University Museums, will combine artwork with classic Valentine elements — romance, moonlight and, of course, chocolate.

Allison Sheridan, leader of the walk, said the free tour is an affordable date for students or others on a budget. Participants will begin by eating chocolates and drinking punch at the Farm House Museum, then continue to the Fountain of the Four Seasons and other artworks. Couples will also be given the opportunity to carry on the ISU tradition of “campaniling,” which is kissing under the Campanile at midnight, if they choose.

The walk will focus on university artwork with a “romantic mystique,” says Rachel Hampton, information and collections manager for University Museums.

“We will look at Christian Peterson’s ‘Conversations’ and explore the intimacy between the two figures within that sculpture,” she says.

Hampton says several couples are planning to make the walk part of their Valentine’s Day celebration by going out to eat and attending afterward.

“Students will enjoy the walk because it is unique and intimate and outdoors under the full moon,” she says.

The darkness of nighttime will create a romantic atmosphere for the walk, says Sheridan, education assistant for University Museums.

“I think what sets this apart from other walks is that it’s at night, and you get to view the works of art through moonlight instead of sunlight,” she says. “It adds a different tone to the walk in the sense that we can go a bit further into Peterson’s style, including shadows.”

Sheridan says poems about the artwork will be read during the walk as well.

Hampton says the moonlight walks are a new program that was implemented at the beginning of the academic year. Fifty people participated in a similar walk on Halloween night, which started at the ISU cemetery.

“We try to do [a walk] on every full moon,” she says. “It’s been really popular.”