Celebrate an Iconic Kansas City-Style Valentine’s Day

Learn the history behind many Valentine’s Day traditions and discover memorable ways to continue the same traditions with a local spin.

Hearts

Historians believe that rapid heartbeats when one is excited, upset or in love led people to believe that the heart was the seat of emotions. This belief took hold and carried on through poetry, books and art. Cupids shooting arrows through the heart shape became a symbol of Valentine’s Day as it still is today.

• Snap a photo with a Neon Heart in Downtown Lee’s Summit at Third & Douglas (pictured above). The vintage heart is one of the signatures of the quaint downtown district, standing in honor of Dale Hartley, the original owner of Hartley’s Furniture, and a founding member of Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street. The beautiful red heart is a great place to snap a pic for Instagram when you visit the boutiques, restaurants and local businesses in the district.
• Wear a Heart. Charlie Hustle’s signature KC Heart t-shirt has seen many design iterations over the years, but it remains a signature of a tried-and-true loyal Kansas Citian. Show your love for your community and your neighbors with the KC Heart shirt.
• Feast on Heart-Shaped Pizza. Minsky’s (multiple locations: Minskys.com) has been serving gourmet pizza to Kansas City since 1976. The pizzeria commemorates Valentine’s Day with heart-shaped pizzas, a tasty and memorable meal the family will love.

Chocolate

Since the mid-1800s, chocolate has been a traditional valentine gift. Richard Cadbury, a British chocolate manufacturer, is attributed with selling chocolates in heart-shaped boxes in the 1860s. Milton Hershey launched “kisses” in Pennsylvania in 1907. But, the most successful commercial valentine chocolate company has a Kansas City history. In 1923, Clara and Russell Stover begin making candy in the kitchen of their Denver bungalow home.  By 1924, the Stovers were operating five stores, including a location in Kansas City. As the business grew, they opened their first factory in Kansas City in 1928, and all operations were based in KC by 1932. Russell Stover’s chocolates are still popular and available at stores across the country.

Other favorite local chocolatiers include Christopher Elbow, known for gourmet artisan creations, André's Confiserie Suisse, making decadent Swiss chocolates in KC since 1955, Laura Little’s, selling personalized Valentine chocolates, and Chip’s, located in Crown Center, where you can watch as fudge and chocolates are made right before your eyes.

• Cook Old-Fashioned Chocolate when you participate in an 1860s winter challenge cooking over Mrs. Mahaffie’s wood-burning cookstove. Try 1860s recipes using unique ingredients and sample your decadent creations at Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop’s Munchie Challenge on Feb. 8. Register at Mahaffie.org.
• Walk for Chocolate at the Independence Square Chocolate Walk on Feb. 8, 10:00 to 1:00. Buy tickets at TheIndependenceSquare.com. Stroll the historic square and stop into local shops that provide their own unique take on chocolate treats. Sample their FREE chocolate goodies and find the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your loved ones.
• Dip Chocolate at the Melting Pot on the Country Club Plaza (450 Ward Pkwy., Kansas City, MO). This fondue restaurant is known for indulgent chocolate fondue—the perfect complement to berries, bananas, pastries and marshmallows.

Valentine Cards

In the early 18^th century, Valentine’s Day cards were handmade, and pre-printed cards were first sold in Britain in the late 18^th century. In 1913, Hallmark produced its first valentine card. Headquartered in Kansas City, Hallmark is America’s largest greeting card manufacturing company.

• Make a greeting card at Kaleidoscope, the FREE hands-on art center for children. In this creative space, children can make their own masterpieces with a variety of supplies provided by Crayola and Hallmark. February’s materials offer plenty of beautiful valentine inspiration.
• Learn how greeting cards are made. Visit the free Hallmark Visitor’s Center (2450 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO, 816.274.3613). On select days, you may watch artists at work designing cards and view the manufacturing process. Don’t leave without pressing the button where you can watch a gift bow be made right before your eyes as a free souvenir to take home.

Flowers

According to legend, it was Charles II of Sweden who introduced the Persian custom of flowers as a language in the 1700s. The rose is known as a symbol of passion and love, the favorite flower of Venus, the goddess of love.

• Buy living flowers to gift at Family Tree Nursery (three metro locations: FamilyTreeNursery.com). This local family-owned business opened in 1964. They are known for their high quality gift plants. You’re sure to find the perfect beautiful flower or plant for your loved ones to enjoy.
• Visit a flower garden. Kauffman Memorial Gardens (4800 Rockhill Rd., Kansas City, MO) is a free outdoor (and indoor) botanical oasis in the heart of the city. The gardens are open year-round, and something is always in bloom.

Love

Love is what Valentine’s Day is all about. Celebrate love at these local landmarks:

• Snap a loving pic in front of a KC art mural. Art walls decorate the city’s buildings all across the metro, and many make perfect valentine photo backdrops. Kansas City I’m So In Love is perhaps the most iconic of the city’s art walls, now at 200 E. 20th St., Kansas City, MO. We love the vintage Heart of America design featured in the Gallup Map Co. Wall (1733 Main St., Kansas City, MO). The Maker Mural (2601 Madison Ave., Kansas City, MO) is a collage celebrating KC-made goods, and it includes a Charlie Hustle heart. And of course, you have to visit the #KCLoves Mural on the top level of the Barkley Parking Garage (1720 Main St., Kansas City, MO).
• Gift one of Helzberg's "I Am Loved" pins (available free at Helzberg jewelry store locations). The pins have been a Helzberg Kansas City tradition since they were first announced in The Kansas City Star in a 1967 ad campaign.

However you choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, remember to spend it with the ones you love!

Kristina Light still wears her “I Am Loved” pins in memory of her grandmother who always presented one every time they shopped together at the old Bannister Mall.