Healdsburg lights up rainbow on Memorial Bridge for Pride Month

The Healdsburg Memorial Bridge will be illuminated in rainbow colors throughout June to celebrate Pride Month, the city announced on Monday.

Similar to the Empire State Building in New York, the lights on the Healdsburg bridge have turned into an opportunity for the city to express both solidarity with Ukraine and pride for the LGBTQ+ community.

This month, the colors of the rainbow will be reflected in the waters of the Russian River.

City Manager Jeff Kayy said the colors, which originate from the LGBTQ+ pride flag, “shows a bold statement to the community.”

The City Council’s idea to light up the bridge actually originated leading up to Valentine’s Day when they lit up the bridge with pink and red.

“And it was a hit,” Kayy said.

In March, the city displayed the colors of the Ukrainian flag on the bridge to show solidarity with the country amid the Russian invasion and a humanitarian crisis.

Kayy said there’s been lots of suggestions on future themes and 100% positive feedback from the community.

“I imagine well keep doing this in the future” he said.

If the council does decide to make the bridge’s color-changing display permanent, they will need to vote on a policy and replace the temporary LED lights that are in place, Kay said.

You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8511 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @alana_minkler.