LOVE letters on oversized chairs on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
The state slogan is "Virginia is for Lovers" and, as far as Suzanne Zolldan is concerned, "LOVE" is exactly what the Town of Vienna needs.
Specifically, she’d like to see the word spelled out in letters somewhere in town. Toward that end, she addressed the Vienna Town Council at its March 17 meeting and explained her idea.
"I love Vienna," said Zolldan. "When my husband and I moved here over 25 years ago, we were excited to be part of this town and community and knew we made the right decision calling Vienna home."
In their first year here, the couple gathered with other town residents and proudly helped commemorate Vienna’s first 100 years. Next year, the town will celebrate its 125th anniversary and, to mark this important milestone, Zolldan made a proposal to the town leaders.
"As I travel with my work throughout Virginia to the many cities, towns and jurisdictions, I enjoy seeing the ‘LOVE’ letters that different towns and communities have established," she said. "Most are permanent, large, life-size sculptures that are also suitable for photo ops. Most reflect the different communities’ culture, industry or geographic location."
To get an idea of what these art installations look like, go to http://www.virginia.org/LOVE/. Noting how much Vienna’s residents love their town, Zolldan suggested Vienna erect its own LOVE letters to commemorate its 125th anniversary.
"I welcome the opportunity to head up a group and work with the Parks and Recreation Dept., the Community Enhancement Commission – or [whatever] group is appropriate," said Zolldan. Together, she said, they’d select the design of the letters and oversee the project from start to finish.
The group would establish the design process and determine exactly where in the town the letters should be placed. They’d also review the costs to produce the LOVE letters, select the artist or company to create them and even do fundraising and/or solicit donations to cover the project’s expenses.
"I envision having residents of the town submit ideas for the design," said Zolldan. "Possibilities for locations could include [somewhere] near the Community Center, Town Hall, Town Green or caboose. I am willing to research how other towns established their LOVE letters, too."
"Please let me know your thoughts on this proposal and how best to move forward," she told the Council members. "I welcome suggestions, input and volunteers for this group to work with me to make LOVE part of Vienna in 2015."
Delighted with what she’d heard, Vice-Mayor Carey Sienicki said she liked Zolldan’s idea and thanked her for bringing it to the Council for its consideration.