BREMERTON — Time to break out the high heels and go for a walk.

Both men and women will be donning stilettos to go for a mile-long trek 3 p.m. July 9 at the Evergreen Park in Bremerton in an effort to raise awareness and offer support of YWCA Kitsap County’s services for victims of domestic violence and their children.

“It’s a wonderful way, in a non-threatening way quite frankly, to bring up the issue of domestic violence and its impact on women in our community,” said Denise Frey, executive director of YWCA Kitsap County.

The walk is a literal take on the saying, “walk a mile in their shoes.”

“This is, I think, a play on that,” Frey said, “that by walking a mile in women’s shoes, it calls attention to the fact that it’s predominately women who are victimized by domestic violence.

“No one likes to talk about domestic violence,” Frey added. “It was, for many years, considered a private issue, a personal issue in a family. it’s only been more recently that public awareness has been growing. We have to remain vigilant. It’s too easy to try to hide it behind closed doors, and the reality is it impacts all of us.”

Registration for the walk is $25 per person, $100 for a team of up to five and $10 for students. Register online at www.ywcakitsap.org.

About a hundred people participated in last year’s Walk a Mile event. Frey said the Bremerton Police Department team “stole the show” last year with their “heels and holsters” outfits.

A team from BPD will be participating again this year, as well as teams from Olympic College (“Word is they’re wearing red caps and gowns along with their high heels,” Frey said); and “at least one team from the Nimitz.”

“These really macho guys are willing to come together and wear women’s high heels and strut around Evergreen Park,” Frey said, “which I think is phenomenal.”

The walk is only one part of the two-hour festival, which will include a family-fun fair, dunk tank, K-9 unit demonstrations and other family friendly games. Steven Strachan, chief of the BPD, will also attend the event: he’ll be sitting in the dunk tank for part of the festival.

“It’s just a nice, fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon and call attention to an important issue,” Frey said.

“It’s a fun way to bring the community together to encourage people to learn about domestic violence and its impact on families in our community. And it’s a lot of fun.”

Learn more about the Walk a Mile event or register to participate in the walk at www.ywcakit sap.org.

YWCA Kitsap County is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families and strengthen the community. YWCA Kitsap County is part of an international movement serving more than 2 million people in the United States and 25 million worldwide. For more information, visit ywcakit sap.org and www.ywca.org.