PLATTSBURGH — With a plastic rose between his teeth and two more clipped to his music stand, Russ Mulvey of The Dogs of Jazz swayed with his upright bass on the sweetest day of the year.

Mulvey and Joanna D'Ascoli, singer in the band, received the roses as they played in Irises Cafe and Wine Bar from a man single-handedly celebrating the little-known holiday, Sweetest Day.

Michael Pesek of Saranac Lake took it upon himself to spread the sweetness to this area and educate others about the day, which is popular in the Midwest as a secondary Valentine's Day.

But, he stressed, it's not about him.

"It's really about giving."

STARTED BY CANDY MAN
Pesek, 50, grew up in Cleveland, where the holiday was invented in 1922, the legend goes.

Though there are conflicting reports of the holiday's origins, many attribute its invention to Herbert Birch Kingston. According to www.sweetestday.com, Kingston was a Cleveland candy company employee who wanted to brighten the days of those "forgotten," namely orphans, shut-ins and the sick.

Pesek celebrates the day every third Saturday in October as one of his "random acts of kindness," and he began spreading that cheer to the people of Plattsburgh last year.

LITTLE TREASURES
Traveling through the bars and restaurants on Margaret Street last weekend, Pesek started at midnight, the first few minutes of Sweetest Day, and then returned the next evening to finish it out.

He handed out plastic roses, teddy bears, playing cards and other small tokens to passersby.

He hopes to expand the celebration next year, getting businesses, nonprofit groups, students and other volunteers involved.

"Next year, I'd like to start handing things out in the mall and to get businesses involved with purchasing and distributing the gifts."

Pesek would like to eventually spread the holiday down the East Coast. He plans to start the expansion by visiting Burlington next year.

RECIPIENTS PUZZLED
This year, customers of downtown restaurants, including Irises, Olive Ridley's, Koffee Kat and Pizza Bono, accepted the gifts with mixed reactions.

Across the board, recipients of the gifts hadn't heard of Sweetest Day, and as he wished them a happy one, they often repeated back: "Swedish Day?"

He explained the day and its meaning. Some people smiled, and others took the gifts awkwardly, assuming at first that he was selling the tokens, not giving them away for free.

Pesek said that on one occasion, a woman took his flower, threw it on the ground and stomped on it. After he explained to her what it was all about, she apologized.

Audra Green of Plattsburgh, 21, was ecstatic when she looked up from her slice at Pizza Bono to find a white flower on the table top next to her plate.

"I think it should be practiced every day," she said, though she hadn't previously heard of Sweetest Day. "I'm going to look up more about it now."

She jumped up to snap a picture with her gift bearer.

As he left the restaurant, giving employees and customers alike their Sweetest Day tokens, they shouted out farewells of "Happy Sweetest Day."

Leena Peters-Uitto, 22, was gathered with six friends at Olive Ridley's to celebrate a birthday when she received her token from Pesek. She said she had heard of the day but didn't know what it was.

"My friend works at a day care, and she prints out a calendar for the door," she said. Peters-Uitto saw Sweetest Day listed on the calendar.

Peters-Uitto and her friends welcomed the gifts, some of the women adding the roses to their hair.

When Pesek hands a rose to a man, he suggests that it be a gift for a girlfriend, mother or sister.

"I kind of hate giving them roses. I'm old fashioned," he said with a laugh.

Pesek said he spent less than $100 on the tokens. He found it doesn't take much to make someone's day.

"They're just little tokens to let people know: 'Hey, you're a special person.'"