Love is in the air in Chestnut Hill this February.

With Valentine’s Day approaching, the Chestnut Hill Business District is bringing back its annual “Love, Chestnut Hill” event on Feb. 7 for the third year.

Shoppers are encouraged to stop by participating businesses, from art galleries and bookstores to gift shops and restaurants. Every customer who spends $25 or more will receive a raffle ticket to fill out their name, phone number, and email address. On Feb. 11, three winners will be drawn to take home a gift basket full of approximately $500 worth of Chestnut Hill-themed merchandise and other goodies provided by local businesses.

Georgia Forjohn, owner of the fashion boutique Giraffe, first conceived of the idea for this event in 2024, hoping to draw attention to small businesses and community spirit.

In addition to Valentine’s Day being soon, the timing of “Love, Chestnut Hill” is intentional for another reason. According to Courtney O’Neill, executive director of the Chestnut Hill Business District, mid-winter can mark a slow period for businesses without the bustling activity of the holiday season.

“We want to make sure people remember to keep shopping local and supporting local, especially at this time of year when foot traffic is a little bit harder [to come by],” O’Neill told the Local. “It’s not a huge, major festival like some of our other events that we do. It’s more organic.”

Turnout the past two years has been recorded based on how many tickets were collected by the business district, a number that exceeded 1,000 each year.

O’Neill said this event exemplifies one of the things she loves most about Chestnut Hill: the community.

“I’ve been in this job for over three years now, and I just love meeting all the different people. I love the diversity of our business leaders,” O’Neill said. “There are so many creative people and so many entrepreneurs that I get to work with, and I love learning from them.”

Maggie Dougherty can be reached at Margaret@chestnuthilllocal.com.