Where better to spend your Valentine's weekend than in the land of Love, Loveland, Colorado, America's Sweetheart City. In Loveland, Colorado, Valentine's Day is more than a day – it is a celebration of everything you love. Here, romantic heart-shaped love notes dot the streets, fire and ice intersect for a romantic getaway and local craft brews are transformed into love potion during the Loveland Fire and Ice Festival, the largest Valentine's Day celebration in the US.
Loveland Fire & Ice Festival
The festival celebrates the passion of Valentine's Day, turning downtown Loveland into a magical destination where fire, ice, entertainment and fun collide. This family-friendly event drew more than 25,000 people for Valentine's Day in 2015 and is gearing up to be even bigger and better in 2016.
Held 12-14 February, the free event will light up Loveland with beautiful, Valentine's themed light displays, live entertainment, carriage rides, a live ice-sculpting competition, a family fun zone, car show, light show and a stunning firework display.
This year the Fire & Ice Festival will be hosting a meet and greet with Paula DuPre' Pesmen, Associate Producer from the first three HARRY POTTER films. In addition, the car show will include a model of the Weasley family car from the Harry Potter films for photo opportunities. Best of all there will be a Q&A with Devon Murray, who played Seamus Finnigan in the Harry Potter franchise.
Valentine Cards Re-Mailing Programme
2016 is the 70th anniversary for Loveland's Valentine Re-mailing Program, the largest of its kind in the USA, when over 130,000 cards are re-mailed worldwide in time for the most romantic day of the year.
In the run-up to February 14th, Valentine cards are packaged inside larger envelopes and sent to Loveland, where volunteers hand-stamp them with a Valentine's verse and send them on to the intended recipients in all 50 states and to over 110 countries worldwide. Each year a contest is held by the Chamber of Commerce and promoted through the local newspaper, for residents to submit their designs and verses. A winning verse and design are chosen from all the competition entries and the two are combined to form the 'Official Chamber of Commerce Loveland Valentine'.
Bleeding Heart Beer
Grimm Brothers Brewhouse will be releasing a special Valentine' Day beer - The Bleeding Heart Beer. The beer was brewed specially to celebrate Valentine's Day and has been named the Official Beer of Loveland's Valentine Celebration.
The beer will only be available in Loveland shops, select bars and restaurants, and the Grimm Brothers taproom in six packs and on draft.
And this year Grimm Brothers brings back the Valentine's dinner to their taproom with a five course tapas dinner on Saturday February 13th from 7-9 PM.
