Roanoke is in the running for a statewide tourism promotion as part of the “Bring LOVE to Your Town” event. The Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) opened a Facebook vote on Wednesday, August 17 that ran through Thursday, August 18 to determine which town in Virginia will receive the giant sized L-O-V-E letters to display. The VTC will install the artwork at the winning destination on August 31 to be on display through September.
The promotion ties into the Virginia is for Lovers marketing campaign which promotes Virginia as an ideal destination for families. “Our iconic Virginia is for Lovers brand is about love – pure and simple, and has been for more than 40 years,” said Alisa Bailey, president and CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corporation. “The LOVE artwork has great social media buzz and promotes the message that love is at the heart of every Virginia vacation.”
More than a dozen Virginia localities have nominated their location to display the LOVE artwork and were part of the Facebook voting. If successful, the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau has chosen to display the LOVE artwork at the corner of Williamson Road and Shenandoah Avenue. This location is next to the Visitor Center and O. Winston Link Museum. The backdrop is of Mill Mountain as well as the Roanoke Star and the Taubman Museum of Art. As the gateway to Downtown Roanoke, the letters will be highly visible from Williamson Road as well as Interstate 581. The LOVE artwork is 16 feet wide and eight feet tall.
If successful, visitors will be encouraged to take a family picture in front of the artwork and share it on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/VirginiaisforLovers and on Twitter, using the special hashtag #LOVEVA.
