Loveland didn’t start out as a land of love and romance. A store owner named James Loveland supplied its name. But it has worked hard to justify its “Sweetheart of Ohio” nickname with things like its Valentine Re-mailing Program. This year it cranked things up a notch with Hearts Afire Weekend. Activities like a date auction, speed dating, and pet adoption filled the pre-Valentine’s Day weekend but for me, the attraction was the ice carving display.

I photographed nearly all of the twenty-some carvings but am including just a few of my favorites. With the local pro footballers playing in the big game on Valentine’s Day Eve, you knew that there would be a tiger or two in the mix.

Maybe the carving of a frog was inspired by the legend of the Loveland Frog. Maybe not.

There was dancing in the street with Premier Tumbling and Dance instigating, and inside City Hall, the King and Queen of Hearts greeted shoppers headed to Heartland Market.

I grabbed photos of the raw materials and tools waiting in front of city hall for the ice carving demonstrations.

Then returned a little later to watch some of those demos.

I didn’t stick around for the fireworks but did take advantage of a wonderful opportunity to look at love from both sides.