Visit Philadelphia, which partners with restaurants and hotels to decorate a section of the street with 5,000 pink and red balloons.
“We love love, so we just come out and express our love for each other like we do every day,” said Chris White of South Philadelphia.
White said he got style points for taking his fiancé Simona to Sunday brunch.
“It’s beautiful. We just drove through and she said,” Wow! We are going there! “And I said, ‘Yes, we’re going there,’” White said.
The idea is a city-wide collaboration.
“I just wanted it to be warm and warm; it’s freezing outside, let’s toast it, keep it sexy,” said Madisun Morgan, owner of Maple Street Modern Design, putting up the balloons.
The design company partnered with Visit Philadelphia, restaurants and hotels to encourage people to eat out.
“We really want to do everything we can to give people the opportunity to return to work and also to give people who have been at home for a year the inspiration to get out and travel again,” says Cara Bongiorno from Visit Philadelphia.
As an added surprise, Visit Philadelphia also gave away 100 Visit Philly Overnight Hotel packages to some guests and restaurant employees.
The package includes a free night in a hotel, parking and one-get-one free attraction tickets.
“Every day has been a little bit harder with dining outside, with the stoves, the tables. Every little thing has been just a little bit harder. So something like that puts a smile on our faces. It’s okay,” said David Montague, the general manager from Bar Bombon.
It’s been a devastating year for the service and hospitality industry, but by showing some brotherly love for one another, they hope they’ll make it.
‘It’s so much fun. It’s just nice to see a pop of color on a gloomy day, ‘said Olivia Christian from Langhorne.
In addition to the 100 surprise packs being given away at Rittenhouse on Valentine’s Day, Visit Philadelphia says it will offer even more on its website. Entries are accepted until February 28th.
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