Colorado living: Embracing the Valentine season with Loveland

Every year, Loveland stamps Valentines that go through the re-mailing program with a unique cancellation stamp and cachet. The cachet is chosen via a yearly contest. The 2025 cachet artwork was designed by Corry McDowell and the verse was written by Jeanne Perrine.
Because of its name, the City of Loveland has come to be associated with Valentine’s Day, and it embraces that connection with its Valentine re-mailing program and Sweetheart Festival.
Originally a railroad depot town, the City of Loveland was incorporated in 1881, named after William A. H. Loveland, president of the Colorado Central Railroad. In the mid-1940s, the postmaster and the chamber of commerce president came up with the idea for the “Loveland Valentine Re-mailing Program,” using the city’s unique name to share love and friendship. Around then, Loveland also got the nickname “The Sweetheart City,” although the exact origin of the name is lost to time.
Loveland’s Valentine re-mailing program is the largest of its kind in the nation and receives around 100,000 cards each year from all 50 states and 110 countries. Here is how it works:
- Address and stamp your Valentines.
- Enclose your Valentines in an envelope with first-class postage, and mail that to:
Postmaster
Valentine re-mailing program
446 E. 29th St.
Loveland, CO 80538 - Volunteers remove your Valentines from the outer envelope and hand stamp them with the special Loveland cachet (collector’s stamp) and cancellation.
- Your Valentines are re-mailed to your recipients.
The deadlines for getting Valentines to Loveland for the re-mailing program are February 7 for Valentines going to the continental U.S. and February 10 for Valentines headed within Colorado. Loveland has several drop-off locations for Valentines, an option that does not require the outer envelope. So, if you are in the mood for a drive, you could head to Loveland for a visit and drop off your Valentines at the same time. The city also has an official collectible card that can be ordered online. It automatically gets the special cachet and cancellation.
Starting in late January, Loveland hosts various Valentine-themed events. Loveland Lights at Chapungu Sculpture Park, a light display set to love songs, runs nightly through February 16. The city’s annual Valentine’s celebration, the Sweetheart Festival, is February 14 and 15 in downtown Loveland, with live ice sculpting, fire and art demonstrations, music and dance performances, chocolate, the Annual Valentine’s Day Group Wedding & Vow Renewal Ceremony, and more. The morning of February 15, there are romantic rides in a heart-shaped hot air balloon, and the Sweetheart Classic 4-mile race.
For more information about the Valentine re-mailing program and collectible card, visit loveland.org and search “valentines.” For more about Loveland’s Valentine-themed events, visit visitloveland.com/loveland-lights, visitloveland.com/sweetheartfestival, valentinesdayinloveland.com, sweetheartcityracing.com, and lovehotairballoonrides.com. To learn more about Loveland’s history, visit loveland.org and search “history.”
By Susan Helton