LOVELAND — Each and every year, for more than seven decades, Loveland has received and then re-mailed hundreds of thousands of valentines. The cards come from all over the nation and across the globe to take a pit stop in the Sweetheart City and pick up a bit of extra love.
It takes a lot to pull off this massive outpouring of love and affection each year; the Loveland chamber of commerce pairs with the postal service, both working in tandem with dozens of volunteers who each contribute dozens of hours of work from the end of January through Valentine's Day.
All that work translates into more than 100,000 valentines receiving custom stamps and cachets before then being re-mailed out to their final destinations; each card now bearing the trappings of Loveland, Colorado.
Each year the chamber hosts a contest to determine what will be written on the cachet, this year it read:
All around our 'Sweetheart' City, hearts are on display.
Symbols of our vision for world-wide love.
Where everyday is Valentine's day.
Far from being an event that struggles to pull in volunteers, the Loveland chamber sees many volunteers who return year after year, some reporting for valentine duty for more than 20 years.
In fact, the volunteer job is so popular that there is almost always a wait list of folks eager to help send a bit more love out into the world.
The tradition has been going strong for 76 years and shows no signs of stopping.
To learn more about the long-running valentine re-mailing program, CLICK HERE.
