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After a minor debacle over its original set of LOVE Park granite keepsakes, the Department of Parks and Recreation is making good on a promise to create more.
On the one-year anniversary of the LOVE sculpture’s return to the park, a special Wedding Wednesday will feature Mayor Jim Kenney and Council President Darrell Clarke co-officiating a marriage by the famous structure. Next to it, Parks & Rec will be selling a new, limited-edition set of souvenirs.
Created out of the plaza’s former skateboard-friendly basin, which was eliminated during a recent renovation, the commemorative blocks will be similar to the ultrapopular ones made available in late 2017 — minus the copyrighted image on their faces.
Etched with the quadrant-letter design of Robert Indiana’s LOVE, the original granite souvenirs were yanked at the last minute over copyright concerns. It took the city more than 16 months to work out a mutually agreeable arrangement with the artist’s estate and release them. All 248 people who had a certificate for one of the first-edition blocks have picked them up, according to Parks & Rec.
The second-edition skips a copyrighted design entirely, replacing it with a simple, even more iconic shape: a heart.
At the center of the indented heart on the new keepsakes, carved for the city by Spike’s Trophies, are the words “LOVE PARK” in raised granite. Fans will be able to choose from three color variations — black, white and red, and the stone background also comes in various shades.
Important note: copyright issues won’t stop anyone from buying this round of bricks, but availability might.
Only 200 of the new keepsakes of were made, and they’ll only be offered on Feb. 13 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost is $51 each; funds raised will benefit LOVE Park improvements and programming, with a portion going to Skate Philly.
If you’re thinking of picking up one of the souvenirs as a V-Day present, Parks & Rec has your back.
Also on site Wednesday afternoon will be a Philly Typewriter pop-up, so you can clack out an original love note to your significant other. Not feeling inspired? The city asked former Philadelphia poet laureate Yolanda Wisher to swing through to help tongue-tied beaus turn their emotions into words that read beautifully on the page.
Topping off the St. Valentine-inspired cohort will be the Bella Buds Flower Truck, offering fresh local bouquets to enliven your gift.
Other mobile vendors on site Feb. 13 will include new organic hot chocolate purveyor La Chocolatera, Dos Hermanos and Dump-n-Roll. The date will mark the launch of this year’s “Lunch at Love” program, which brings a rotating cast of food trucks through the plaza on a regular basis.
