Haight Street Merchants To Install Lights, Hearts To Commemorate Summer Of Love

Haight Street Merchants To Install Lights, Hearts To Commemorate Summer Of Love  Photo: Rick/Flickr
Camden Avery
Published on April 25, 2017

Starting this week, Upper Haight visitors will find two new additions to the streetscape, both set to be installed as part of the neighborhood's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love.

The first is an installation of colored lights in trees up and down the street, paid for with $12,000 raised through the Haight Ashbury Merchants' Association and local businesses. Dozens of businesses contributed to the installation fees, most prominently AmbianceGus'sBen & Jerry'sBooksmithFluevog Shoes, Goorin Bros.Mom's Body Shop, and Roberts Hardware

The lights will start going up April 26 and are scheduled to be fully finished by Friday, April 28. Fees for the work—which has been contracted out to Christmas Light Pros, a company that's done previous Haight installations—will include fees for monthly maintenance and upkeep through the year.

HAMA plans to keep the lights installed over the course of the summer and through this winter's holiday shopping season.

The second installation, "Haight Street Hearts," is set to be a series of hearts with the names of counterculture luminaries painted on sidewalks up and down the street. 

Hearts is a collaboration between Love On Haight and Taking It To The Streets, according to Love On Haight owner Sunny Powers.

"The Hearts will mimic the Hollywood Stars Walk of Fame," wrote Powers in an email shared with merchants, "and pay tribute to all you magical individuals who have made our neighborhood special, as well as celebrate a neighborhood steeped in vibrant history from the 60s to the present day."

To celebrate the lights and heart installations, some merchants will host a "Hearts & Lights Night" Friday, April 28 from 6–8pm. Specific festivities remain to be determined, but the idea is a neighborhood-dedicated art walk of sorts.

So far, Ambiance has announced a 15% off sale and refreshments, and Fluevog will be previewing a special edition women's clog (men's to follow) that hits the shop next month. SF Mercantile will host a chocolate tasting and debuting new local glassware, with a free bag giveaway for purchases of $50 or more.