June 15, 2021 will be remembered as the day California re-opened.  And nowhere is the reopening more welcome than in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco.

The bars that were already open, like Powerhouse and the Lone Star Saloon, are now able to operate without the strict social distancing and mask requirements that kept patrons in their seats and at more-than-arm’s length from one another.

The Hole in the Wall and the SF Eagle are keeping their re-openings “soft”, and not formally announcing a grand reopening date.  But word is trickling out about upcoming events.

Here is what we know so far:

	One of favorite regular events from the before-times, Leather Lounge, resumes June 26 at the SF Eagle. Leather, Gear and Cigars will be welcome on the patio, with free cover before 9:30 for those in gear.
Bearracuda is expected to be a regular first-Saturday’s event at the Eagle, beginning July 3rd.  Doors open 9pm. More info (including accurate price*) is at bearracuda.com.
	Other SF Eagle events include The KINK(dom), a show where kink and performance collide, hosted by Sadie Payne, to be held every first Sunday starting on July 4th.
At the Powerhouse, Scott is planning a range of parties, including Underwear Thursdays.  This weekly celebration of near-nudity is made possible by the trustworthy clothes-check skills of the SOMA Guardians, and launches proudly with Thrust Thirst on June 17.
	The monthly “Stank” parties at Powerhouse are always worth postponing a shower or two for. The first one is Pride Friday, June 25, starting at 10 pm..  $`15 cover.* Art created by Diego Gomez, scents created by 15 months of hibernation.
The Lone Star Saloon happily resumes its weekly Sunday Beer Busts, from 4 to 8 pm. The first one is a benefit for SF PRIDE, on June 20. Expect Jello-shots, hot bears on the patio, and DJ Stefonik rocking with a revamped sound system
Pride Saturday
	“Pride Saturday” (June 26, 2021) should be a very special day. First, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence  present an afternoon of art, music, performance, and dance called “Black, Blue and Pink All Over”. The celebration runs from noon to 6pm, in Dore Alley at Folsom .
That party leads up to the Bare Chest Calendar’s “Investiture in the Alley”, at 6 pm.  It’s live, in person, with “lots of touching”, as Team 2022 is vested. The party then moves into the conveniently-adjacent Powerhouse.  at 7PM! (See also “Leather Lounge’ at the Eagle, above.  Yes, it should be quite a night.)

Expect more news soon.  (Send corrections or additions to Web@sflcd.org.)

*  NOTE:  Do not trust Facebook if it says an event is “free”. This is a known issue.

Please patronize these venues, and all the small, independent, and queer-friendly businesses of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District of San Francisco.

Most of these businesses are struggling to survive, pay off past rent and other debts, employ our friends, and create a safe, vibrant, loving community for all of us.  Please support them in every way:  pay cover charges gladly, obey the rules of the house, tip generously, be good neighbors when you depart, and have a great time!

And take PRIDE in the unique, exciting, decadent world of SOMA!

The next online Walking Tour Subcommittee Meeting is set for Wednesday, June 15, 2021, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.  Join at
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88470691792 or call 1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) and enter Meeting ID: 884 7069 1792..  Help us create an Internet-based Walking Tour of noteworthy past and present locations in our South of Market neighborhood.  View the agenda here.   

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The next meeting of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District Board of Directors will be held on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. As always, all are welcome to attend, and time is reserved for public comment.  ASL interpretation provided if requested ten days in advance. To participate, join Zoom Meeting  here, or call 1-408-638-0968 and use Meeting ID: 847 8906 0820 and Passcode: 972086.  Please contact manager@sflcd.org if you have questions. Minutes of past Board meetings can be reviewed here.

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We host an Erotic Storytelling Hour every other Tuesday, and our next one is Tuesday, June 22, 2021, from 8 to 9 p.m. Come hear some provocative, graphic, sexy, titillating, and funny stories (and more) from selected writers of our community.  

 It’s fun, it’s naughty, it’s online.  Click here or here for more details and Zoom link, and click here to see videos of some of our past evenings!  (Be 18+!) 

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The next online meeting of the Arts and Culture Committee is set for Thursday, June 24, 2021, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Info at Facebook post. Join with Zoom at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89554242702 or call 1 408 638 0968 and use Meeting ID: 895 5424 2702.  We have lots of work to do to plan the next SOMA Second Saturdays event.  The full agenda will be posted soon.  Please contact the committee chair, David Hyman, to get on the mailing list for  this Committee, or for more info!

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The next online meeting of our Diversity and Membership Committee is set for Thursday, July 1, 2021, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Join via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87865884248 , or call 1 408 638 0968 and use Meeting ID: 878 6588 4248.  RSVP is not required.  More info is here, or contact the committee chair, Gene Edmond! We hope you can join us!

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The next online Land Use Committee Meeting is set for Tuesday, June 8, 2021, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm. Zoom into the meeting here. More info is here, or contact the committee co-chairs.

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The next online meeting of the Communications Committee is set for Thursday, July 8, 2021 from 7:00 to 8:00 pm.  Join via Zoom here    More info is here, or contact the committee chair,  Bob Brown! 

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We sent out our June newsletter recently.  Did you get it?
If not, view it here (link coming soon), then sign up to get it monthly here.

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YOU  are now eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations.  If you live in San Francisco, visit https://sfhealthnetwork.org/covid-19-vaccine/ for up-to-date info, including drop-in and appointment-only vaccination sites.

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Do you own or manage a building or business in our Cultural District?  Does it have some history relevant to our queer and kinky communities?  Do you want to learn more about it?  Look here.  

And while we have your attention, building owner/manager:  Would you like a mural on your building?  We would like to make it happen for you!   Decorate The Streets

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Have you seen Justin Hall’s  “Marching Toward Pride” poster series?  They were installed in the bus stops along Market Street as part of the 50th Anniversary of the San Francisco Pride celebrations, and they illustrate six moments of SF LGBTQ history, each one colored to represent one of the six colors of Gilbert Baker’s original rainbow flag. You can view them all at Justin Hall Awesome Comics, and read the 49 Hills article about them (including an interview with Justin) here.  

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The city is moving slowly but surely towards a major upgrade to Folsom Street.  Read about it here.    

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Another queer and kinky street fair is coming to town next fall.! The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and the Bears of San Francisco have submitted a permit application for a Bearrison Street Fair on Saturday afternoon, October 23, 2021, at and around the corner of 11th and Harrison Streets. Learn more details at their web site and their Facebook page.  They also invite your participation on one of their planning teams. Join a team at https://forms.gle/dh8ornvA14heyoki9.

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If you just learned about San Francisco’s LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District…. Welcome!

Please explore below for information about the Cultural District.  If you are not already receiving email from us, please click here to be kept informed about our meetings and activities.

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Threats to our South of Market businesses and institutions can arise quickly, and may require a quick community response.  Sign up here to join our SOMA Action network.

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Want to keep up with all our upcoming Board and Committee meetings.  They are all on our Calendar, or check out our our new Events page!

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We are actively seeking community input on ways to preserve and improve our special South of Market neighborhood.  We invite you to submit your own ideas, suggestions, and thoughts on a number of important topics: 

Give us your Input!

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Do you have opinions?  Sure you do, but we mean specifically do you have opinions about SOMA and kink and the future of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District?    Please share your opinions using our Community Input form! 

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If you have not yet seen it, please read our Statement of Solidarity, and consider what you personally can do to fight racism, injustice, and abuse of police power.

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SF Catalyst is expanding to better serve leather, queer, and kink organizations and individuals!  But it will need your help. Find more details and donate to ensure SF Catalyst remains a thriving community space here.

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A Governance and Legislation Committee meeting will be scheduled shortly. Please contact the committee chair, Bob Brown, to sign up, or for more info!

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The next meeting of the Board of the Friends of Eagle Plaza is scheduled for Wednesday, July 14, 2021, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm.

To be added to the “Friends of Eagle Plaza” mailing list, click here.  To make a donation to the Friends of Eagle Plaza, click here,  To stay up to date, like and follow them on Facebook.  To learn more about the Plaza’s design, construction and stewardship, click here or write to info@eagleplaza.org. 

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The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District
Folsom Street
and the SOMA West Community Benefit District
present 

SOMA Second Saturdays!

IN THE STREETS!

on Folsom Street, between 9th and 10th Streets
including on Dore Street, south of Folsom

July 10, 2021
12:00 pm to 5:00 pm

 A safe, fun afternoon with
Queer Art, Kinky Crafts,
Local Artisans, Fun Vendors,
Clubs and Organizations

Enjoy beverages indoors or outdoors at the Powerhouse

FREE!

To join the organizing team or ask questions,
please contact manager@sflcd.org.

Event subject to weather, city guidelines, etc.

Organizations, and Vendors:  Apply Here for A Booth 

Volunteers Needed!
Please contact manager@sflcd.org to sign up! 

 

There is a petition to save Azúcar Lounge’s Parklet:
https://www.change.org/p/city-of-san-francisco-save-az%C3%BAcar-lounge-s-community-parklet

More info is on the Azúcar Lounge Facebook Page.

We believe this issue will also be discussed at the SOMA /West Community Benefit District’s Neighborhood Identity Committee Meeting on Tuesday June 22, 2021, from 6pm – 7pm (PDT).  You can join the Zoom Meeting at  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7408417062?pwd=QlNHendZa3hyV0ExVTBBOTJON0F0QT09 (Zoom Meeting ID: 740 841 7062, Passcode: 334441).

Thanks for supporting this important local business.

As reported in the  Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco Democrats have elected city native Honey Mahogany as the first transgender and first Black chair of the local party. The first trans person in the U.S. to chair a local Democratic Party, Mahogany is now one of the party’s highest-ranking transgender officials in the state and country.

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District congratulates Mahogany, who is also chief legislative aide for our District Supervisor Matt Haney, part of the Stud cooperative, a co-founder of the Transgender District, and a long-time friend of our community and organization,

The local queer and kinky community has been working over the past year to help protect the San Francisco Eagle Bar by having it designated an historic landmark.

On May 19, 2021, the Historic Preservation Commission voted, 7-0,  to recommend to the Board of Supervisors Landmark Designation of the San Francisco Eagle Bar as an individual Article 10 Landmark.  The matter now goes back to the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor for a final ok.

Many letters and emails of support for this designation were received by the Commission, and several folks also called into the hearing to endorse the action.

Thank you for your help!  Please consider joining our Save SOMA Action Network now, to be kept informed when we need you again.

It appears that someone posing as our Board President, Robert Goldfarb, is sending out emails asking people to buy gift cards and send pics of the cards with the code exposed.

This is a common type of scam.  No one associated with the Cultural District would ever ask anyone to do such a thing or wire money or anything of the sort.

If you’re getting these emails, please delete them.

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District’s leadership is deeply pained by the racist violence which continues in this country.

We stand in solidarity with Black and Brown people and their allies worldwide who are peacefully expressing their outrage at racism, injustice, and abuse of police power.

We stand in solidarity with the protesters engaged in powerful actions to demand justice, accountability, and systemic change.

Only by standing together will it be possible to put an end to the senseless brutality we have witnessed for too long.

The Leather and LGBTQ communities have a long history of collective strength in times of crisis and now we invoke that strength to call for freedom and fairness for all oppressed communities.

We call on the entire community to work together to dismantle ingrained systems of inequality wherever they are found.  It will be a long journey to the end of institutionalized racism, but our community will act with strength, purpose, and solidarity until we see that day.

Black Lives Matter.

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Community members have encouraged contributions to some of the organizations listed below.  Although the Cultural District has not reviewed these suggestions, and cannot specifically endorse them, we do urge our community to support the hard work of achieving safety, freedom and fairness for all oppressed communities.

• • National Bail Fund Network
  • Bay Area Anti- Repression Committee Bail Fund
  • People’s Breakfast Oakland
  • San Francisco’s Transgender District Fund
  • Anti Police-Terror Project
  • The Bail Project™ National Revolving Bail Fund 
  • Protest & COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund for Community Bail & Bond Funds 
  • Minnesota Freedom Fund 
  • Reclaim The Block
  • Black Visions Collective
  • Transgender Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project
  • Center for Black Equity

Other Lists of Resources:

• • SF Queer Nightlife Fund
  • Northstar Health Collective
  • Website Planet: List of Black-Owned Businesses

Hi.  Thanks for your interest in the “LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District”, created by the City of San Francisco to honor, support, and protect the unique and special culture that has flourished in the South of Market area.

We encourage anyone with an interest in the leather or kink community to learn about this project, and participate however they can.

There are lots of ways to get informed and involved:

• Read this brief introduction.
• View our brochure.
• Visit our “About us” page.
• Become a Member of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District – or at least get on our mailing list – to be notified of meetings and other events, join a committee, or volunteer your skills.
• Attend one of our semi-annual  Membership Meetings.
• Attend (as a guest) one of our monthly Board Meetings.
• Consider joining one of our important Committees, including the Arts and Culture Committee, the Communications Committee, The Governance Committee, the Land Use Committee, or the Diversity and Membership Committee.   
• Share your opinions about our community’s needs, and our organization’s priorities, either using one of our open surveys, or by participating in a Focus Group or personal interview. 
• Read the Resolution as approved by the Board of Supervisors, and signed by the Mayor on May 9, 2018, here.
• Read the Vision and Mission Statements for the Cultural District here.
• Read our full organizational Bylaws, here.
• See a list of our current Board of Directors, here.
• View a map of the Cultural District here.
• Check out our calendar of Cultural District meetings and events, here.
• Like and follow the SF LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District on Facebook.  
• Join our Group on Fetlife.
• Follow @sfleatherdist on Twitter or Instagram.  
• Write to our group’s elected President, Robert Goldfarb, using the email address president@SFLCD.org or more generally to info@SFLCD.org.  

Let’s see what we can do to make this happen, and make it happen right!