The Valentine Bandit(s?) of Portland, Maine♥
I have spent the past couple of years living in & around Portland, Maine, enjoy my 20s. It is by far my most favorite city ever & as I have come to realize, it seems to get more & more interesting each & every year. Maybe it is because I will soon be approaching 30 & seem to notice a bit more, but there are so many little things that happen in & around Portland that make it unique & truly unlike any other city in America. One of which is the Valentine Bandit which has struck Portland every February 14th since 1976, taping red hearts printed on sheets of white paper all over Portland and even in other nearby cities (I saw a heart taped to the new Westbrook Middle School this year!) People try and guess who it is responsible, but if you ask me, I will tell you that I don’t want to know! That takes all the fun out of it…just relax people & try to think for a minute that maybe there is someone or more than one out there that just wants to put a smile on your face whether you are acting miserable & single or happy & in-love. It can bring you back for a minute & help you to realize what life is all about. LOVE. It is what we are all chasing & don’t try to deny it because it is human nature. It is the ultimate emotion that we can feel & experience as humans (at least I think so) & maybe one of the only pure & true things that still exists on this planet. I guess it is what keeps us going everyday & keeps us together. I do know that the heart is frail & easily broken, but it is wonderfully resilient 
A little history regarding the bandit, or bandits (It is rumored there are a bunch of ‘bandits’ responsible for decorating the city on Valentine’s Eve)…I love it!
1976 The first Valentine’s Phantom strikes in Portland, & creates reports in the Evening Express and Maine Sunday Telegram newspapers.
1977 Printing the flyers cost $22 at Colonial Offset Printing on Forest Avenue; a Portland Press Herald effort to discover the Bandit’s identity fails.
1978 Hearts went up a day late, and bore a note: “It’s not only ONE day!”
1979 The weather was 8 degrees and windy, according to notes made by one of the 6 bandits.
1984 Massive heart banners, roughly 20 feet by 35 feet, hang from the Cumberland County Civic Center and the Portland Museum of Art.
1986 A heart banner is hung on Fort Gorges in the middle of Casco Bay.
1991 Down East magazine imagines that “the phantoms roam the city in a pack, dressed in red or white capes emblazoned with huge hearts.”
2001 A heart flag flies from the roof of Portland’s Central Fire Station; a fire lieutenant denies any knowledge.
2005 A heart banner hangs from the roof of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute on Commercial Street.
OCTOBER 2005 Portland City Council candidate Carol Schiller claims to be one of the phantoms.
NOVEMBER 2005 An anonymous phantom responds with information that his effort predated hers, and that she has never worked with them.
2006 CNN mentions Portland’s Valentine’s Phantom in a national report.
DECEMBER 2007 A would-be Portsmouth Valentine’s Bandit posts a message on Craigslist, hoping to get some pointers from Portland. No dice, apparently: “If anything does happen in Portsmouth, it won’t be any of my doing.” Sure. Like we’re supposed to believe that.
2008 THRU 2010 Valentine Bandit(s) decorate Portland each February 14th!
(I got this information here)
I smile every year & forget that every February 14th, if I go into Portland, I will see hearts everywhere! It brings a smile to my face & I hope it does for you too.
Maybe Portland needs a Shamrock Bandit to spread the cheer of St. Patrick’s Day? ♣
i heard about this. there was also a blog in the “Portland Dating” group from the library. awesome!
shoot fun info dude.