For a few decades, the Nor’easters Barbershop Chorus of Mid Coast Maine has been delivering messages of love from Brunswick to Bristol for Valentine’s Day. This year on Monday, Feb. 14 the Chorus will again be divvied up into quartets to present singing valentines.

These valentines include two classic love songs, “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” and “Heart of My Heart;” one long-stemmed red rose, a card and photo opp with the quartet.

Kathy Robitaille, the Nor’easters’ director since 2010, said she’d booked a dozen-plus gigs for this year  – so far. “We always get a bunch of calls from Boothbay area. Right now we have calls booked there and in Southport, Trevett; and in Wiscasset.”

Robitaille said a lot of the calls are repeats, mostly because people love the thrill of sending a singing valentine to their special person. “We sing for women and men of all ages; and this year we will be at St. Andrews singing for the residents.”

The quartets are sharp-dressed men, always in tuxedos, to deliver messages of love to private homes, offices, schools, restaurants, hospitals, or stores. The sender names the place.

Robitaille recalled a delivery at Lincoln Academy a few years ago for the music teacher. They went to her room, but she wasn’t there. One of the men whose children went to school there called the office and found out she was in the auditorium for an assembly.

“We went there and it was full of kids. She’s shocked. We had seven or eight guys. A few others happened to be in the area and free at that time … she’s crying as we’re singing and all the kids were hooting and hollering … it was fun,” Robitaille said. “We’ve talked about that one ever since.”

Sometimes, senders like to arrive with the quartet to present their loves with a dozen roses, chocolates, or some other gift.

To buy a Singing Valentine, contact Robitaille at 207-542-7699 or Kattsy2@yahoo.com. All the Nor’easters are fully vaccinated and will be performing with masks on.

“We’ve taken orders right up to Valentine’s morning,” Robitaille said. “We’ve done a few over the years in the evening, but just a few. We’ve easily had over 20 in one day since I’ve been doing this. The guys love to do it. It’s a lot of great fun!”