LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District

Save the Date: Step Out for LeatherWalk 2024 – City Hall to SOMA on Sunday, September 22

We are thrilled to announce that LeatherWalk 2024 will take place on Sunday, September 22! Mark your calendar, sign up to receive updates, and join us for this annual fundraiser and celebration.

Register today for LeatherWalk 2024!

LeatherWalk is an exciting opportunity for visibility, and fun as community members help raise $22,000 to support the District’s Leather Legacy Landmarks sidewalk plaques initiative, honoring iconic SOMA locations that started serving the community in the 1960s. We plan to install plaques at 77 historic locations. Key plaques will be featured on the District’s guided walking tours, new dates coming soon.

Watch: Sister Roma Invites you to LeatherWalk 2024!

Walk Details

• Date: Sunday, September 22, 2024
• Starts at: City Hall, Polk Street Steps
• Gather at 11:00 AM, Program at 11:15 AM, Step Off at 11:30 AM
• Ends at: SF Eagle Plaza for the Leather Pride Fest
• Ends: Approximately 3:00 PM

Bring Your Kink. Step Out. Give Back.

Celebrate Our Community —Bring Your Kink: Get your gear on (or don’t!) and join fellow leather, kink, and queer community members to celebrate our vibrant heritage, foster community spirit, and encourage authentic self-expression.

Be Visible — Step Out: Step Out and be visible as we proudly walk to protect our leather, kink, and queer spaces. Revel in community! Entertainment, and refreshments stops from City Hall to Eagle Plaza for the raising of the Leather Pride Flag.

Protect Our Legacy — Give Back: Choose to Give Back by fundraising or donating. Your support helps fund the bronze sidewalk plaques in our Leather Legacy Landmarks initiative. 

Registration for Individual and Team Fundraisers is now open!

Walk for Fun!
Walkers register for free, and aren’t required to fundraise. Simply sign-up, bring your kink (if you like), and join the fun!

Walk & Fundraise!
All are encouraged to register to help raise funds for our Leather Legacy Landmarks sidewalk plaques.

Create or Join a Team!
Individual fundraisers, community organizations, and businesses are encouraged to create Teams for friendly fundraising rivalries.

Or Sit and Donate!
Donations are always welcome from the comfort of your home or phone.

Register here!

Fundraising Support from Experts
These fundraising efforts are supported by the knowledgeable technology specialists at Do Good Stuff, who will coach and support Team Captains and Individual Fundraisers to reach their fundraising goals.

Stay Informed
Sign up to receive updates and stay informed. Or register today as a Walker, Donor, Fundraiser, or Volunteer at our LeatherWalk 2024 Home Page, leatherwalk.org.

Additional Info
We have a LeatherWalk 2024 Fundraiser User Guide available, and a page about the History of LeatherWalk, with photo galleries from recent years.  Additional materials are coming soon!  

Save the date and spread the word!
We look forward to walking with you on September 22!

Visit the Safety Forum Facebook event for latest info.   Please join us in this crucial gathering.

Join us for two exciting fun Beer Busts, to celebrate and prepare for LeatherWalk 2024!

Sunday, September 1, 2024
4 to 8 pm
Lone Star Saloon, 1354 Harrison Street
DJ Prince Wolf
Beer / Soda / Jell-o Shots
RSVP on Facebook

Sunday, September 8, 2024
3 to 7 pm
SF Eagle, 398 12th Street
Beer / Soda
Food by Azúcar Lounge
Jell-o Shots / Raffle
RSVP on Facebook

The fifth cohort of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District Entrepreneur Training Program has its first session on Thursday, September 5, at 10:00 am.  This is a nine-week training program where entrepreneurs from new or existing businesses serving the San Francisco leather and kink communities will develop their businesses from the ground up.  Entrepreneur Training Program Facebook Page.  To learn more and apply to join our next cohort please visit https://sfleatherdistrict.org/business/.

The next online Diversity & Membership Committee meeting is set for Thursday, September 5, at 6 pm PDT.   Diversity & Membership Committee Zoom link. Facebook page.  Contact the Committee chair to get on the mailing list for this Committee, or for more info!

There will be a Safety Forum: Community Unity Event on Saturday, September 7, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, at the SF Eagle, 398 12th Street, in San Francisco.  This is a call for our community to unite and stand against violence. We need your support and voices to join the conversation. Let’s come together to show our strength and solidarity.  Stop The Violence II Facebook Page.

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District will host a Beer Bust on Sunday, September 8, from 3:00 to 7:00 pm.  at the SF Eagle.  Enjoy Beer or Soda, delicious food, Jell-o shots, raffle prizes. Join the fun, and help promote LeatherWalk 2024.

The next online meeting of the Communications Committee will be Thursday, September 12, from 6 to 7 pm.  Communications Committee Zoom link.  Facebook page. Contact the committee chair.

The next Play on the Plaza is Saturday, September 14, from 12 noon to 5 pm, at Eagle Plaza (12th Street, between Folsom and Harrison). Vendors! Entertainment! Kink/Leather Gear Swap!  Music! Impact Play hosted by the Queer Leather Happy Hour!  Spanking benches and crosses provided by The Communal Toy .Play on the Plaza info. September 14 event info.

The next meeting of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District Board of Directors will be Wednesday, September 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. This is our Annual Meeting, and will welcome our newly-elected Board Members and new President.  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, use the Board of Directors Meeting Zoom link, or call 1-408-638-0968 and use Meeting ID: 847 8906 0820 and Passcode: 972086.  Facebook page.  Draft agenda (coming soon).  Minutes of past Board meetings. Please contact manager@sflcd.org if you have questions.

LeatherWalk is September 22, 2024.  

The next meeting of the Arts and Culture Committee is scheduled for Thursday, September 26, from 6 to 7 pm.  Arts and Culture Committee Facebook page. Zoom link.   Please contact the Committee chair to get on the mailing list for this Committee, or for more info!

The next online meeting of the Land Use Committee Meeting is set for Monday, October 14, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Land Use Committee Meeting Zoom Link. Facebook page.  Contact the committee chair.

The Fundraising Committee meets as needed.  Please contact the Fundraising Committee chair to get on the mailing list for this Committee, or for more info!

A Governance and Legislation Committee meeting will be scheduled when needed. Please contact the Governance and Legislation Committee chair to sign up, or for more info!

We send out a newsletter each month, right before our Board Meeting.  Do you get it?
If not, view a recent newsletter, then sign up to get it monthly.

Speaking of newsletters, the SOMA West Community Benefit District does a great one, highlighting events — both social and political — affecting our part of the City.  Subscribe to the SOMA West Community Benefit District newsletter.

San Francisco has ten Cultural Districts, each supporting a unique aspect of the City’s cultural mosaic You can learn about the San Francisco Cultural Districts Program, and subscribe to a Cultural Districts newsletter, published quarterly by the Mayor’s Office of Housing & Community Development.

We keep adding links to our Resource Guide page.  Use it!

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

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.

The next meeting of the Board of the Friends of Eagle Plaza is scheduled for Wednesday, September 11, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm.  You can be added to the “Friends of Eagle Plaza” mailing list.  You can make a donation to the Friends of Eagle Plaza. You can like and follow them on Facebook.  You can learn more about the Plaza’s design, construction and stewardship on the Friends of Eagle Plaza website, or you can write to info@eagleplaza.org.

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District always needs volunteers, but during the summer, the need is particularly intense.

• We can use all kinds of help with our Play on the Plaza events, on the second Saturday of each month.
• We will be hosting two beer busts in September, promoting LeatherWalk.
• We will have information tables or booths at major events: including the Folsom Street and Bearrison fairs.
• Other ways to help include sitting on one of our standing Committees, or being available at short notice for special projects.
• Please check out our Volunteer Opportunities and Signup page, join our Volunteer Notification Mailing List, or write to manager@sflcd.org!

The SF Recreation and Parks Commission has voted unanimously to name the new park to be built at Natoma and 11th Street Rachele Sullivan Park, the name proposed and advocated for by the LEATHER District!.

The new 1/2 acre park, located just a few feet north of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District, will include a half-basketball court, fitness area, children’s play area, and tables and seating throughout.  It is being designed to serve the entire community, of all ages and levels of ability.  A highly visible arts component will be included. The City has budgeted $12,775,000 for the park; construction should start next summer, and it hopes to be open to the public early in 2027.

We have been advocating for the park to be named after Rachele, one of the founders of our Cultural District and a prominent figure in SOMA’s Filipino community. 

The Commission hearing on July 18 included a presentation on the naming process by Erica Waltemade of the SOMA West Community Benefit District,  and moving statements from several of Rachele’s family members.

Other speakers included Cultural District Board Member David Hyman, and Cultural District Manager Cal Callahan, who served on the park’s naming committee and was important in consolidating community support for honoring Rachele in this way.

Letters of support from Supervisor Matt Dorsey, Folsom Street, Soma Pilipinas, the Transgender District, the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, the Cree First Nations, and us, along with the Commission’s own staff report, were clearly important to the Commissioners.

After a careful review of the process, and with heartfelt acknowledgement of Rachele and her family. the Commission’s vote was unanimous.

Read about the Commission hearing in the Bay Area Reporter, and learn more about the Park Project on the Rec & Park website.

Update:

A heart plaque honoring Rachele has been installed in Eagle Plaza. We thought it appropriate to hold the official plaque unveiling during Leather Week.

We are delighted to have completed the Cultural History, Housing, and Economic Sustainability Strategies (CHHESS) Report of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District.

The Report was presented at a Board of Supervisors Committee hearing  on June 13, 2024, and received a unanimous Committee endorsement.  It was then unanimously approved by the full Board of Supervisors.  The resolution adopting the CHHESS Report was signed by the Mayor on July 3, 2024.

At that Committee hearing, Bob Goldfarb, the Executive Director of the Cultural District, was presented with a Certificate of Honor by Supervisor Matt Dorsey, to recognize Bob’s “unwavering dedication and exceptional leadership” as a “steadfast champion for the city’s vibrant leather community”.

We invite you to read the report in full; however, the contents of the report were also presented at an open community forum on November 29, 2023.  You can view the presentation video, the presentation slideshow, or the presentation slideshow as a PDF.

The CHHESS Report is the result of years of research and community engagement, and the Board extends its thanks to everyone who took part in creating it, including the organizers and participants in the focus groups and surveys, the research and drafting of the Report’s recommendations, and the extensive work with City departments to make it a reality!