Stokely Baksh

Sure, mushy Valentine’s Day cards are nice, but nothing speaks volumes like a newsy Valentine’s Day card from The Banner. Send one to your special Maryland bae, your AI companion (that’s a thing now) and your mom. It’s the third year in a row we’ve been doing these, so make sure to check out previous cards from 2024 and 2025. And if you’re looking for love or friendship, Charmed, our missed connections series, is popping up at Ottobar’s Dyke Night at 10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14.

It would be understandable if you forgot about Valentine’s Day this year. Quite frankly, it’s been the longest two weeks of February in the history of Februarys. But don’t fret. Wow your sweetheart with these Baltimore-themed Valentine’s Day cards. Looking for something more traditional? Check out these cards from last year. Or, if you are looking to dishonor your nemesis this year instead, you could name elephant dung after them (thanks to the Maryland Zoo!). For rats, love is always in the air.

Off U.S. Route 1 in Howard County, in the shadow of new townhomes and industrial-style apartments, a stone wall hides a forgotten little park. The lawn here is pockmarked with depressions where, year after year, the bronze plaques are sinking deeper in the dirt. These are the graves. There’s not much else. A battered old house, a collapsed barn, watchful stone buddhas. A black cat creeps through the tree line (honest). Stephen King might have written about this place.