Get Out! Enjoy a Valentine’s themed Family Day on Saturday, February 8, 10:30am-3:30pm at the Library of Congress

by Peggy Robin

Join us at the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building on Saturday February 8, 2025, to celebrate love and friendship in the run up to Valentine’s Day. Activities during the drop-in program (10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) are primarily designed for kids and their families, but all ages are welcome. 

The event is free of charge, although you will need free building passes. A limited number of walk-up tickets are available on the day, but registering in advance is the best way to guarantee entry at your preferred time. 

Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at 202-707-6363 or by emailing ADA@loc.gov.

To my Valentine, 1890. Prints and Photographs Division.

During February’s Family Day, we invite you to create cards for crushes, friends, and loved ones using Library images, or to pen a note for our Valentine’s Day communal message board. Colleagues from the Prints and Photographs Division (P&P) will be on hand to show how the holiday is represented in their collections and to talk about their work. Some of the items they’ll be discussing at Family Day are not yet available on the Library’s website, so this will be a rare opportunity to learn about several real gems in P&P holdings.

Join in from Home

A Valentine’s Day treat “to please the man in your life”, from The Coastland Times, February 12, 1954. Chronicling America.

If you can’t make it to Family Day in person, we’ve got you covered. Read on for Library resources about Valentine’s Day, crafting ideas, love-related lore and more to help you celebrate those dear to you.

Library blog posts and web pages include a wealth of historical information connected to this sweetest of holidays:

• If you’re curious about the origins of Valentine’s Day, this piece provides plenty of answers.
• February is the perfect month to celebrate a love story. Read about letters documenting the relationship between musical theater composer Jerome Kern and his wife-to-be Eva Leale.
• Discover the story of Esther Howland, who founded the New England Valentine Company in the mid-1800s, popularizing the exchange of Valentine’s Day cards in the United States.
• Find ideas for making homemade cards and gifts using Library collections in Sweet Ideas for Valentine’s Day.

Read more about LoC resources for Valentine's Day crafting at:

https://blogs.loc.gov/families/2025/01/enjoy-a-valentines-themed-family-day-on-february-8/ 

We look forward to welcoming you to the Library if you are in the neighborhood on February 8.

Wherever you are, and however and with whomever you celebrate this year, we wish you a very happy Valentine’s Day!  

Highsmith, Carol M photographer. A street sculpture modeled after Valentine’s Day candy hearts.
Springfield, Missouri 2020. Prints and Photographs Division.

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The "Get Out!" event of the week is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays.