‘Lovers Lock’ Uses Ancient Chinese Tradition to Attract More
                           Visitors to Nevada Town

LOVELOCK, Nev. — Lovers Lock, a new attraction inspired by the ancient Chinese tradition of “locking your love” with lock and chain, opened on Valentine’s Day in the small high-desert town of Lovelock, Nev., where tourism officials hope to transform hearts and flowers into dollars and cents.

Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, chair of the Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT), and NCOT Director Bruce Bommarito joined local officials in cutting a big red ribbon to officially open Lovers Lock Plaza, which features metal posts encircled by chains where visitors can symbolically lock their love by affixing metal locks and throwing away the key.

 
“Locking your love is an ancient tradition in China, and on this Valentine’s Day it now begins in Lovelock,” Hunt said.  “We don’t know of another lovers lock like this in the United States, so it appears Lovelock has a unique addition to the community’s attractions.”

After addressing people gathered for the dedication ceremony, Hunt joined her fiancé, Las Vegas entertainer Dennis Bono, and affixed an engraved heart-shaped lock to one of the chains.  Lovers Lock Plaza is situated in a scenic park behind the historic Pershing County Courthouse, one of only two round courthouses in the United States, built in 1919 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 
“Lovers Lock may seem to be all about hearts and flowers, but it’s really about dollars and cents,” Bommarito told the crowd.  “Its purpose is to attract more visitors to Lovelock and the revenue they bring to the community.  Couples who stop to lock their love will stay a while and experience the other attractions.”  Bommarito, who also is engaged, locked his love on one of the chains with fiancée Susan Wang.

Bommarito got the idea to create a Lovers Lock in Lovelock after a member of the NCOT staff from China saw a sign for Lovelock and told him about the Chinese custom of locking one’s love at the Great Wall, the Yellow Mountains and other places.

 
“It seemed to be a perfect fit for Lovelock,” Bommarito said.  NCOT and the Lovelock/Pershing County Chamber of Commerce created Lovers Lock to draw more visitors into the picturesque town of fewer than 2,400 people, 93 miles east of Reno on Interstate 80.


 

To promote the new attraction, billboards just erected on Interstate 80 near Lovelock advise motorists: “Don’t let love pass you by” and urge them to take the next highway exit and lock their love.  Locks are available at many businesses in Lovelock.

NCOT is helping Lovelock build a new marketing campaign around Lovers Lock that includes a national ad featuring various attractions along Interstate 80.  The campaign also will offer cards for Lovers Lock visitors to tell their story and a Web site, www.loverslock.com, which will publicize them.  Future plans envision adding new promotions and more features to Lovers Lock Plaza.

            “We think it will need more chains to hold all the locks that are going to be added,” Bommarito said.