“Valencia Lights” Official Lighting Ceremony: Friday, May 7 at 8pm
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“Valencia Lights” Official Lighting Ceremony: Friday, May 7 at 8pm
Over 35 Merchants and More than 500 Community Members Raised Money
to Light Valencia Street from 14th to 24th Street
5 May 2021 – San Francisco, CA: If you light it, they will come. Such was the successful reasoning of the Valencia Corridor Merchants Association as they sought to beautify and promote the Mission District avenue that has become a symbol of the area’s resilience during COVID and its recovery as we move beyond it. On Friday, May 7 at 8pm, a ceremony between 16th & 17th on Valencia Street will officially launch the project that has electrified community support – and the neighborhood – with LED ambient string lights stretching all the way to 24th Street. Registration for the lighting ceremony is at the link below:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/valencia-street-lights-lighting-ceremony-tickets-152750225035
“Lighting up Valencia from end to end, from 14th to 24th street, will bring a sense of community and warmth we all need as we re-emerge as a City and come back swinging. It’s a project built by the community and we should all be so proud of that fact. We did this together.” said Jonah Buffa, co-owner of Fellow Barber and President of the Valencia Corridor Merchants Association. “TheVCMA as the group, in service of the merchants, the corridor, residents and neighborhood, really made this happen.”
The lighting of Valencia Street for a ten-block stretch is the first such initiative in the history of the neighborhood, and a direct outgrowth of the COVID-induced Shared Spaces Program – of which the Valencia Street Corridor was the first — which continues on weekends through June 27 when three blocks of Valencia becomes a pedestrian and cyclist only area to encourage retail and outdoor socially distant dining options. Cars are prohibited during this period in the following blocks of Valencia: 16th to 17th; 18th to 19th; 20th to 21st during the following times: Fridays 5pm to 9pm and Saturdays 12pm – 9pm. Vehicular traffic on the cross streets will not be impacted.
To pay for the project, a GoFundMe campaign was launched by the Valencia Corridor Merchants Association and $40,020 was raised to pay for the lights. The campaign link continues at: https://www.tinyurl.com/valencialights
“This project was made possible thanks to the generosity of the whole community, with over 500 businesses and individuals coming together to raise the funds for lights and over 35 merchants coming together to power them,” said Manny Yekutiel, owner of Mannys and Valencia Corridor Merchants Association Board Member. “It is our hope and intention that they serve as a beautiful little beacon to bring back our precious customers and neighbors.”
The ceremony will begin at 557 Valencia street, between 16th-17th streets on the closed portion of the street. The program will include a live Mariachi band (Mariachi Puro Jalisco), a community blessing led by Sister Roma and the Sister of Perpetual Indulgence, and remarks by Supervisor Rafael Mandelman and small business leaders. Light refreshments will be provided.
The Valencia Corridor Merchants Association is a member-operated neighborhood association including merchants in and around the Valencia Corridor. Its mission is to cultivate and beautify the corridor for the benefit of visitors, residents and merchants. Additionally, it endeavors to combine its members voices and views toward the goal of maintaining the unique identity and independent spirit of the neighborhood.