By Anne Craig, Communications Officer

Queen’s geography students are doing their part to spread the love through downtown Kingston this Valentine’s Day. Students in Laura Cameron’s Geographical Imaginations course wrote love letters to downtown businesses as part of the Downtown Action and Revitalization Network’s (DARN) Valentine’s Day project to bring love into the downtown core.

A DARN poster.

“The crux of the course is to understand more fully the manner in which people interact with physical space,” says Chris Walasek (Artsci’14). “I chose writing to the Sleepless Goat as a loved place within Kingston. As this is my fourth year here at Queen's, I have seen the drastic changes occurring on Princess Street spurred on by the closing of the movie theatre. I think that a campaign which seeks to bring attention to the need for downtown revitalization is essential.”

Mr. Walasek’s letter to the Sleepless Goat reads:

You are a haven in the heart of Kingston. You reside on Princess Street – though within your
walls, neither Princess nor King, grandeur or the like are permitted. Indeed, your entrance is guarded
not by structures of force or persons of power, but by an invisible gate. A love magnet is burrowed
within the gate’s unseen iron. Thus, all those who pass beneath, and subsequently within, are
transformed into emitters of love.

“Queen’s geography students tend to be interested in community involvement and promoting things like healthy cities and livable downtowns,” says Dr. Cameron. “Given the option to write a letter to a beloved place in downtown Kingston, many jumped at the opportunity to support DARN.”

The reaction from the local businesses has been positive and the students in the class are all participating in spreading the love downtown. “As a Queen's student I am by default a Kingstonian. This city’s downtown has so much to offer us. It is our responsibility as residents to ensure its continued vitality,” says Mr. Walasek.