Annual · each February
Hearts on Main
Downtown Rochester · Rochester, NH
Hearts on Main returns to downtown Rochester each February. 2026 dates will be announced soon. Last held February 1, 2025.
Hearts on Main is Rochester Main Street's Valentine's season tradition: wooden hearts painted red with a custom message for your sweetheart, displayed in downtown Rochester businesses and around Central Square from February 1 to 15. Hearts are $25 each, and daily Love Clinics run February 1 through 14 for decorating your own.
Hearts on Main is the Valentine’s season tradition on the Rochester Main Street calendar: buy a wooden heart, put your message on it, and find it hanging somewhere downtown among the shops and restaurants around Central Square.
How Hearts on Main works
Each heart is 12 inches wide by 10.8 inches tall and painted red, with a custom message of up to 25 characters for your sweetheart. They are $25 each, and every one is hung randomly for the season: inside downtown businesses and around Central Square, February 1 through 15. Strolling downtown to find your own heart is half the point.
You can have your message added for you, or decorate the heart yourself at a Love Clinic. The clinics run daily from February 1 through 14, and you can pay online or cash at the clinic. After the hearts come down on the 15th, yours is available to pick up and keep.
A Valentine’s tradition for downtown
February is the quiet stretch of the downtown year, and Hearts on Main puts reasons to walk the district right back into it: a treasure hunt for your own heart, a photo stop on Central Square, and a warm excuse to duck into the shops and cafes that host the display. Downtown businesses can sponsor or host hearts as well, which keeps the whole forest of red hearts growing each year.
When it returns
Hearts on Main returns each February. The next season’s dates, Love Clinic schedule, and purchase link are posted on this page as soon as they are confirmed. Want a heads-up, or want your business in the display? Get in touch and the Promotion Committee will follow up.
Hearts on Main: your questions answered
When is Hearts on Main in Rochester NH?
Hearts go up on February 1 and come down on February 15, displayed inside downtown businesses and around Central Square. The next season's dates and clinic times are announced on this page each winter as soon as they are confirmed.
How much does a heart cost and what do I get?
$25 buys a wooden heart 12 inches wide by 10.8 inches tall, painted red, with a custom family-friendly message of up to 25 characters. You can send the message in and have it added for you, or decorate the heart yourself at a Love Clinic. Hearts are hung randomly around downtown, so part of the fun is strolling the district to find yours.
What is a Love Clinic?
A daily drop-in session, February 1 through 14, where you paint and decorate your own heart. You can pay cash at the clinic or online. Clinic times and locations are posted each year when confirmed.
Can my business host or sponsor a heart?
Yes. Hearts hang inside participating downtown businesses as well as around Central Square, and sponsorship opens each winter. Contact Rochester Main Street through the contact page to join the display.
When do I get my heart back?
Hearts come down on February 15 and are available to pick up at a later date that Rochester Main Street announces. Plenty of people leave theirs on display for the full two weeks first.
Page updated August 4, 2026.
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