A Virginia is for Lovers Story...Cape Charles style

If you follow us on social media, you know we're a little obsessed with LOVE. Okay, we're a lot obsessed! LOVE are the art installations you'll see throughout Virginia to promote tourism and the "Virginia is for Lovers" brand. There are over 30 LOVE signs around the state and people "love" to visit and take pictures with them.

Each sign is unique and reflects the culture and history of its location. Ever since I learned about them, I thought we needed one in Cape Charles. Can't explain it. Don't know why, but it was really important to me that Cape Charles have one. 

Things always work out the way they are meant to, and I am grateful for everyone who said "no" because that brought me to the right team to bring LOVE to town. The Cape Charles Business Association was the one to say "yes" and instantly Miriam Elton from brown dog ice cream and Sandy McFall from gallery209 volunteered to help in the efforts. Miriam knows a lot about design and the right materials to use to weather any storm. Sandy is the artist so she knew what materials and colors would look good and complement one another. My role was to work with Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) to ensure we met their requirements, help with funding, and organize events to raise money and promote LOVE. 

We collaborated with Jen Lewis and Pete Leontieff of the Town of Cape Charles. The Town provided a permanent location (at the corner of Bay and Mason Avenues) and connected us with people who could actually build this thing. Together, we all came up with a design that is truly one-of-a-kind and perfectly represents Cape Charles and the Eastern Shore of Virginia. 

The entire sculpture is made of fiberglass which is perfect for our boating community. And then each letter incorporates materials to symbolize our area:

L - has beach glass and shells for our bayside location

O - is a tractor tire for our agricultural history

V - is made from kayaks to symbolize all the water sports and activities in our area

E - is made with crabpots for our aqua culture and watermen

LOVE is here to stay and be enjoyed by all. Come to the corner of Bay & Mason and take your picture. Post it out with #loveva and #capecharles to spread some LOVE far and wide from Cape Charles!

I love LOVE!

No matter where you are from, there are some travel slogans everyone knows - "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", "I LOVE NY", and "Virginia is for Lovers". Each of them have their own ways to communicate their message, but I am in love with what Virginia does.

L-O-V-E! Those 4 letters make up about 30 different art installations across the state. It's called LOVEworks and you'll see the letters in the most random, and not so random, places made up of unique materials and items - metal, canoes, wood, wine corks, hay stacks. The most common one you'll see is made up of white letters.

LOVEworks in Culpepper, VA

LOVEworks in Bristol, VA

LOVEworks at Veritas Winery in Afton, VA

Communities are encouraged to create their own permanent installation using materials "native" to or symbolic of that area. I say we need one here on the Eastern Shore made with oyster shells. I talked with our local tourism director about it a year ago but nothing ever came of that conversation. I still think it's a brilliant idea, and who knows…maybe one day you'll see me somewhere in Cape Charles laying out a bunch of shells to spell L-O-V-E.

But in the meantime, there is a traveling LOVEworks that can be brought to a Virginia town near you. And it's coming to Cape Charles! It's the first time we'll have it here on the Shore and I'm so excited to be a part of bringing it here. It will be placed at the "Point" on the corner of Mason & Bay Avenues from October 11-16 with the Chesapeake Bay in the background. Can you imagine all the great photo opps?

LOVE comes to Cape Charles, VA October 11-16, 2013

Come to Cape Charles and be part of this inaugural visit. Come fall in love with LOVE. Take pictures and #LOVEVA and #CAPECHARLES or upload to Facebook.

We want to spread the LOVE from Cape Charles across the globe. Maybe you'll love LOVE too!