Members of the “Love Factory” at their Love Signs event on Feb. 7. The group is on the corner of Congress Street and High Street three times a week, year-round. Sophie Burchell / The Forecaster

At the corner of Congress Street and High Street, overt demonstrations of love are not reserved for Valentine’s Day.

Three times a week, the “Love Factory” stands on the corner with large and colorful heart signs, a speaker playing tunes mostly from the ’80s, and waves for the cars and pedestrians passing by.

Portland passersby show some love back. Every few minutes this past Friday, a driver going through the intersection honked their support or cheered through a rolled down window.

“Love Signs” events next to Congress Square Park take place every Wednesday evening, Friday at noon, and Saturday afternoon every week of the year that the weather permits. An informal gathering, the dedicated participants simply hold signs with the simple message of “love” painted on them, energetically dance to the beat of the music, and share smiles with anyone nearby.

Their motivations are simple: sharing the love with others.

“We’ve been so committed and kind of religious about doing it, and it’s really about meeting these people that were willing to do it with me,” said Krista Love, organizer of the group.

Love – a surname she uses instead of her legal name of Donoghue – began organizing demonstrations of love in Portland in 2016. A lifelong resident of Portland, she works in elder care when not holding a cutout heart.

“I had the inspiration in the middle of the night on Valentine’s Day in 2012. I had this sort of vision of calling attention to love and using everything we’ve got to kind of call attention: music, dance, art, all that good stuff,” said Love, 51.

Originally, Love and two friends just stood outside at various locations in Portland holding heart signs. It was not until the COVID-19 pandemic struck that Love made the event more consistent with her newly found free time. She began posting about the gatherings on Facebook and soon about 10 people began regularly joining her. Four years later, many original participants still join her multiple times a week.

“Since then, we pay so much attention to division, to negativity and all of that. Our media system kind of feeds on that stuff, and it’s a lot around fear. And I feel the energies of play and joy are really close to love, you know, like really bring us in that direction, to just feel our unity as humans,” she said.

Judith McAllister, also known as the “Purple Lady,” greets drivers on Congress Street as part of the Love Signs group. Sophie Burchell / The Forecaster

Holding a purple heart sign on the street corner, Judith McAllister waved to the cars coming down Congress Street. Also known as the “Purple Lady,” McAllister has dressed exclusively in purple for 28 years and lived in Portland for 20. She joined the Love Signs group after she saw them through the window her apartment behind Congress Square Park – the window having a purple curtain, of course.

“Reminding people of love brings me so much joy, and I know it brings a lot of other (people) joy,” said McAllister, donning a purple puffer jacket and sporting dyed purple hair.

Love Signs members said that sometimes they are met with anger or ridicule from the public, though what they most often witness is confusion. People often mistake them for a protest, religious group, or even cult, said Love.

They have no purpose nor agenda but to spread the message of love for humanity, said she said.

Even for some Love Signs participants, the meaning of the group cannot be pinned down. Tom Kovacevic has been a regular at the Love Signs for four years. A South Portland resident and music teacher and church organist, the opportunity to joyfully dance with others attracts him to the group.

“I met (Love), I came to Love Signs, and I just kept doing it. I love to dance. I don’t really understand what this is about; it’s boggling my mind. But I love it,” said Kovacevic, 64.

The community response to Love Signs has been overall positive, if confused, over the years. In addition to honks of support, pedestrians sometimes jumping in to hold a sign or dance with the Love Signs for a song from the speakers. Wedding parties and musicians headlining at the neighboring State Theater have all joined the group for a brief boogie in celebration of love.

“We have one bus driver who will stop the bus, come down the stairs and dance,” said Love Signs participant Jacqui Deveneau.

A self-described “flower child of the ’60s,” Deveneau found the group when the Love Signs assembled one day below her apartment on State Street and Congress and she thought, “That’s my people.” She has been joining them regularly for four years.

Love Signs members also beckon inquisitive pedestrians to join them. Some will then take up the challenge of breaking their daily norm on the street corner, while others continue walking.

“In private, we feel a lot of love, but we can’t say it. So this is a cool opportunity to do this in public,” said a Love Signs participant who asked not to be identified.

“A lot of people don’t want to join us, because they’re kind of shy. And I just say, ‘Come out and just stand there, just for one song, and you’ll feel the energy.”