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Community Corner

Raise the Bear Flag on Sonoma's Big Day

They call it the Bear Flag Revolt in Sonoma, and no one questions the term. More than a protest, not quite a revolution, the events of June 14, 1846 are burned into the collective memory of the town, when a tipsy group of 33 American settlers and mountain men arrested the Mexican general, declared an independent nation and raised a flag emblazoned with a bear and a star.

That’s the general gist of it, anyway, and that’s what’s re-enacted at roughly the same date ever year, sometimes falling on Flag Day and sometimes not. This year it’s June 15, this Saturday, when Sonoma digs deep into its appetite for bear-flag patriotism, barbecued chicken and craft beers with a midday celebration in the plaza.

The event starts at 11 a.m. with the memorial flag-raising at the site of the Bear Flag Revolt memorial in the northeast corner of the Sonoma Plaza. Local Parlor #111 of the Native Sons of the Golden West do the color honors for not just the Bear Flag, but flags from the many periods of government in the region. Eat your heart out, Texas: there are at least seven flags to have flown over this valley, if you count Mexico, France, Russia, Spain and the British Empire, as well as the United States, which moved in and took over a scant month after the Bear Flag Revolt.

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NSGW also organizes and throws the barbecue party, complete with chicken and cole slaw, hot dogs, and a wide assortment of microbrews until 4 pm. The theatrical re-enactment of the history of early Sonoma with George Webber starts at 1, in Grinstead Amphitheater.

Among the exhibitors, keep an eye out for the booth from the Bear Flag Museum of photos, badges, pins and of course flags from their collection. BackTrax will again provide the dance-friendly music.

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Weather this weekend is projected to be around 80° on Saturday, a little breezy maybe, no chance of rain. On what is shaping up to be a very busy weekend in Sonoma, this one is a must.

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