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SF’s Iconic Rainbow Flag Raising Ceremony (Castro & Market)

Did you know the giant rainbow flag at Castro & Market must be replaced every 3 – 5 months?
By - posted 4/1/2021 No Comment

Flag Raising Ceremony: Avenue Greenlight Initiative To Fund Ongoing Support For Iconic Rainbow Flag In Partnership With Castro Merchants

WHERE: Harvey Milk Plaza on Market and Castro Streets
WHEN: 9:30am on Friday, April 2nd, 2021
WHAT: Flag raising ceremony for iconic Castro rainbow flag

The iconic rainbow flag at Harvey Milk Plaza is a symbol for the Castro community and San Francisco more broadly, and stands as a beacon for progress and equality throughout the world. Due to general wear and tear, the rainbow flag must be replaced every 3 – 5 months, and historically its replacement has mainly been funded privately by local residents, Mr. Tom Taylor, who recently passed away, and his partner Dr. Jerry Goldstein.

With new Avenue Greenlight initiative resources now available to the Castro Merchants Association for use on community revitalization projects, part of their association’s $50K Avenue Greenlight grant will be used to maintain this tradition going forward by purchasing new rainbow flags. At the event, the existing flag will be lowered (to be presented at a later date to the surviving partner of Mr. Taylor, Dr. Goldstein), and a new flag will be raised in its place with support from the community and City leaders.

WHO: In honor of the years of commitment made by Mr. Taylor and Dr. Goldstein to help maintain the rainbow flag, and to announce new Avenue Greenlight resources that will now be used to fund replacement flags ongoing, the following local leaders will be making remarks with “Queen of the Castro” Donna Sachet serving as emcee for this event.

  • Mayor London Breed
  • Senator Scott Wiener
  • Supervisor Rafael Mandelman
  • City Manager Carmen Chu
  • Maryo Mogannam, President of the Council of District Merchants Associations Community Fund
  • Masood Samereie, President of the Castro Merchants

Mr. Chris Larsen, Co-founder & Executive Chairman of Ripple and the Founder of the  Avenue Greenlight community initiative will also be in attendance, as well as Assessor-Recorder Joaquin Torres, and SFPD Mission Station Captain Rachel Moran.

Public health protocols will be strictly followed in accordance with the most recent Order of the Health Officer No. C19-07u.

Avenue Greenlight is a new philanthropically-funded initiative to promote small business economic recovery and community vibrancy in San Francisco. The initiative rapidly deploys private funding to local merchant associations for projects that improve our neighborhood commercial corridors and engage residents. Mr. Chris Larsen, a San Francisco resident and business leader has contributed $1.7 million to launch the initiative in partnership with the San Francisco Council of District Merchants Associations Community Fund (SFCDMACF). All 34 of San Francisco’s diverse merchants associations will individually receive a $50,000 grant allocated from Avenue Greenlight, starting with Castro, Bayview, Chinatown, and Clement Street. Moving forward, grants will be administered in a tiered format to each of the other citywide merchant associations based on equity considerations.

To learn more about Avenue Greenlight visit: avenuegreenlight.com. Read more about the launch of Avenue Greenlight in the SF Chronicle: