Each year, the City of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program organizes the wedding of a couple on the Love Train, which takes participants past its “Love Letter” murals in West Philadelphia. The event, now it its fifth — and potentially final — year, will for the first time ever feature the wedding of a same-sex couple.
“Since we first conducted the Love Train five years ago we have wanted to celebrate marriage equality by holding a same-sex wedding aboard the train,” said Mural Arts executive director Jane Golden, noting that heterosexual couples had wed aboard the train in the past. “In fact, we didn’t want to repeat a wedding unless it was a gay wedding and that wasn’t legal yet.”
But, with Pennsylvania legalizing same-sex marriage in May, Golden said, the wedding planning took off.
“Now that it is [legal], we are thrilled to be able to bring marriage equality to the Love Train in 2015! And we’re still looking for that special couple to tie the knot aboard the train.”
Mural Arts and PGN are currently seeking applications from local same-sex couples to be the main participants in the Feb. 8 event.
The marriage will be performed by the Hon. Daniel J. Anders, Philadelphia’s first openly gay male judge, and will be followed by a reception at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. The winning couple will receive 25 tickets for family and friends. An additional limited number of tickets will be sold to the public.
The Love Train is a privately chartered, slow-speed, guided ride amid the 50 “Love Letter” rooftop murals along the Market-Frankford SEPTA line in West Philadelphia.
The murals were painted by world-renowned street artist Stephen “ESPO” Powers in direct response to the Market Street closure — which took years longer than expected, and forced many minority-owned businesses to close their doors, according to Brian Campbell, executive assistant to Golden and former project manager for the Love Letter project.
“Steve had the idea to send a multi-layered ‘love letter’ to the city, and West Philadelphia,” Campbell said. “They’re like little Valentine’s messages in Powers’ signature quirky, day-to-day style.”
Some of the murals in the series are only visible from the train. Others can be seen from ground level.
The “Love Letter” tour is available year-round — mostly on weekends — but the special Love Train event will only be held noon-3 p.m. Feb. 8.
This year’s event is in collaboration with PGN, Wired 96.5 FM, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Cakes by Maryellen, Yards Brewing Company, William Way LGBT Community Center and SEPTA.
Interested couples should send their love stories to [email protected] by Jan. 26.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://muralarts.org/interact/blog/love-train-find-love-septa.
