Visit Philadelphia in partnership with restaurants and hotels to decorate a stretch of the street with 5,000 pink and red balloons.
“We love love, so we’re just expressing our love for each other like we do every day,” said Chris White of southern Philadelphia.
White said he earned style points for taking his fiancée Simona for Sunday brunch.
“It’s beautiful. We just passed and she said ‘Wow! We’re going there! ‘ And I said, ‘Yes, we’re going there,’ “said White.
The setup is a collaboration across the city.
“I just wanted it to be warm, warm; it’s freezing outside, let’s toast, keep it sexy,” said Madisun Morgan, owner of Maple Street Modern Design and set up the balloons.
The design company has partnered with Visit Philadelphia, restaurants and hotels to encourage people to go out to eat.
“We really want to do everything to give people the opportunity to work again and also give people who have been stuck at home for a year the inspiration to go out and start traveling again,” said Cara Bongiorno of Visit Philadelphia.
As an additional surprise, Visit Philadelphia has also distributed 100 Visit Philly Overnight Hotel packages to some customers and restaurant staff.
The package includes a free night at a hotel, parking and tickets to buy-a-take-one attractions.
“Every day has been a little bit harder with the meals outside, with the heaters, the tables. Every little thing has been a little bit harder. So anything like that just puts a smile on our face. It’s good,” said David Montague, the general manager of Bar Bombon.
It was a devastating year for the service and hospitality sectors, but by showing a little brotherly love, they hope they will get over it.
“It feels so good. It feels really good to see a splash of color on a dark day,” said Olivia Christian de Langhorne.
In addition to the 100 surprise packages offered on Valentine’s Day in Rittenhouse, Visit Philadelphia says it will offer even more on its website. Applications will be accepted until February 28.
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