NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – After seeing so much trouble going on around the world, around the country, and even in our own city, a local writer and glitter enthusiast decided to spread love in a unique way.
News with a Twist Reporter Kenny Lopez found some love letters hanging in trees on Esplanade Avenue and Royal Street.
One tree at a time, Katie Fike is spreading love with her “Love Letters In Trees.”
“I’m just a girl trying to spread magic around, in the city I love so much. I want to create a little moment of magic in a day for someone. If they are having a great day, then these love letters can heighten it, but if they’re having a bad day, they can make it better,” Fike said.
Katie writes poetic phrases, decorates the cards with lots of glitter, and weather-proofs them with sealant. These little love letters can be found in neighborhoods throughout New Orleans, and on each tree, they all say something a little different.
“The phrase on the letters correspond to the places I put them. Right now there are love letters on trees in the Lower Garden District, Bywater, Marigny, and French Quarter,” she said.
Katie carefully chooses the trees where she places the love letters.
“It’s a process of practicality and location and how they relate to the phrases,” she said.
Each letter is signed “Home.”
“I sign every one of them with home because this is my home. I’ve never found a place that my heart chose for me until New Orleans. There’s a lot of heartbreak here, but there’s a lot of beauty. That beauty wouldn’t be the same if there wasn’t that little bit of grit,” Fike said.
These are Katie’s love letters to the city and for the city.
“Every day this city makes me fall in love because of some little quirk that I stumble upon. It’s like a private moment between me and my city. You really build a relationship with the place you call home,” she said.
Her private thoughts area on display for the public to feel.
“Once you create art and put it out there, it’s no longer just yours. Love is at the root of it,” she said.
After the police officers were shot in Baton Rouge, she said she went up there and placed several special love letters on the trees there.
If you’d like to check out more of her love letters, follow Katie on Instagram at “Love Letters In Trees.” Please use the #LoveLettersInTrees when you take photos of the letters.
