Locking down love on the Charlottetown waterfront

There's a new way for people to express their love in downtown Charlottetown.

A giant, steel sculpture that spells out LOVE has been installed at the bottom of Queen Street, and people are being invited to visit and leave a little piece of their heart behind.

The interactive public art piece is a love-lock structure, similar to other landmarks seen around the world. One of the most famous is the Lovers Bridge in Paris, a place where couples go to express their love by attaching a small lock to the historic Ponts des Arts Bridge.

The love-lock sculpture was commissioned by Downtown Charlottetown Inc. as a new way to draw people downtown.

"We're encouraging people to decorate your lock, put little hearts on it or your initials or something that is special to you," DCI executive director Dawn Alan said.

"It seals the deal if you're visiting or here to get married or on your anniversary or on your honeymoon, you can leave a little piece of your love behind in Charlottetown."

Already attracting locks

Welder Adam Arsenault was commissioned to create the new love lock structure and he is pleased to see some locks already starting to appear.

"The feedback has been overwhelming. Everyone seems quite happy and excited by it so that's good. I'm proud to be part of it," Arsenault said.

Arsenault is feeling the love himself these days. He even got to witness a lock being clicked into place via video when a couple reached out to him to share their moment of locking in their love.

"I was sent a video of the couple putting it on the other night. They were here in a monsoon. It was a downpour of rain but they felt they needed to send me a video of them doing this so that was kind of cool. It was nice to see that," he said.

Arsenault said he is happy to see people connecting with his creation and using it as a touchstone to celebrate those they love.

"Pretty special for a welder from P.E.I.," he said.

Also a memorial

For Erin Robinson-Tippett, the new love-lock sculpture could not have come at a better time.

The Island woman was shocked to learn of best friend Roni Leighton-Burch's sudden death this week. Coincidentally, it was the very same day the love lock was installed on the Charlottetown waterfront.

"As soon as I saw it I turned to my husband and said we need to go and do a lock for Roni because she was our rock star," said Robinson-Tippett.

"She loved iconic things like that, ways to really show and express love. So I think that she would just truly love that we are going to go and honour her doing that."

She has painted a personalized lock for Roni with her favourite colours and plans to have the lock's three keys dipped in gold and put on necklaces for Roni's three best friends.

"That way we will all be locked together," she said.

Robinson-Tippett plans to place the lock this weekend in a gathering with family and friends and take pictures of them attaching the lock to share at Roni's celebration of life.

"We're so thankful and happy that the sculpture is there," she said.

"It's a gift."

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