You might have seen a group of people dancing around and holding up heart signs as you were passing through Longfellow Square. You may have honked or rolled your window down to show some support to the cause. Well, they’re on a mission to spread positivity one location at a time. These events are referred to as Love Signs and they are held by The Love Factory, a group of locals that blast happy music and flaunt colorful signs in various places throughout Portland’s downtown area and even as far south as New Hampshire. People come by and show support by dancing to the music and mingling with the group. It’s cool how instead of reserving the act of love to just one day out of the year, they brighten up the days of Portland residents just by showing up and spreading the word of love. I asked some questions to one of the Love Sign demonstrators to get more insight on what their purpose was and how it came about.
Aziel: Why do you guys always show up here and spread positivity?
Demonstrator: I think that humans really thrive on joy and it’s something that connects us all together of every culture, every political belief, all those things. It’s something about unity that we all want to smile. We hold signs that say love, but it’s really a lot about joy because I think that’s the thing that helps us remember our humanity, and just as a practice to share warmth with people and just open our hearts in that way and feel it.
Aziel: How did you gather all these people here? How did this come about?
Demonstrator: I did this for the first time in 2016; I did it in Congress Square with a couple friends. Over the years it’s morphed in many ways like during the pandemic we’ve developed this regular schedule that we have where we do it three times a week. People have come and gone through the years; it’s been ten years. A lot of people join us just for one time or just briefly as their passing, but we have a really devoted core group and that definitely allows this to happen because energetically it’s a challenge, it’s sort of a cliff dive to be out here acting like a weirdo on a street corner where everyone can see you. And we get some hate but mostly people are just going to be like ‘what the heck are you doing,’ you know? Unfortunately, being joyous and dancing and singing publicly is strange to us now. I think that’s part of who we are as humans so that’s sad.
Stepping out onto Portland’s sidewalks and simply being positively infectious takes a courage that few practice daily. The mission behind The Love Factory taps into an underrated yet fundamental need: shared connection. Their presence serves as a disruption to the chaos and stresses in the everyday lives of students, workers, and locals alike, as well as an invitation to break free of the working mind and enjoy a moment of relief. A little extra warmth on your commute goes a long way.
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