Louisville's 'Cupid' spreads Valentine's Day cheer with sticker surprise

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Metro Louisville got several heart-shaped treats -- 100 of them, in fact -- when an anonymous "Cupid" gave the city a sweet sticker surprise!

Louisville residents woke to find 100 heart-shaped smiley-face stickers greeting them throughout the city.

"I came in this morning and saw this wonderful surprise," said Patrick Renn, a criminal defense attorney who works downtown. "I thought one of the assistants had put it up. They said, 'No, no.' Somebody went around and I looked out and saw this happened up-and-down the street."

Those stickers are what greeted thousands of people downtown including Janice Stone, a lover of all things Valentine's Day, who works in the office building at 600 West Main Street.

"I knew it was going to be a great day," Stone said.

Some were even lucky enough to have a VIP view of the hearts from inside their office.

"All the sudden it's sunny and blue skies," Renn said. "It was a real treat."

But the question many are asking is, who is behind the stickers?

Cupid is. Louisville's Cupid.

"I love Louisville and I live downtown," Cupid said. "I work downtown.

"The backstory is that for the last year or so, this has just been a thought, but the city needs -- who doesn't need a smile right now? A little love? A little warmth?"

He and his lifelong friend bundled up and were tagging buildings with stickers across 4th Street, Main Street and Whiskey Row by 4 a.m.

Cupid hopes the hearts remind people that downtown is on the rebound after a couple of tough years.

"I think it's important that we all find a way to pull together and reunite," Cupid said. "And I'm hoping this is a small part of that.

"Main thing is, I want everyone else to feel good."

Which is exactly what happened.

"It sure gave all of us a nice smile," Renn said.

Cupid said this year just felt right for his vision, but don't think he's one and done. He hopes to do this again in the future.

For now, he encourages people to keep the stickers up at least for the week, but he says they're easily removable.

While Cupid originally wanted to stay anonymous, many people found out who was behind the stickers, and WDRB wants to give credit where credit is due. Dan Hartlage, principal for Guthrie Mayes Public Relations, played Cupid this morning. His childhood friend Daniel Boone, who lives in Jeffersonville, was right next to him to double the efforts.