Looking for a Kinky Carnaval?

Looking for the “Leather District Kinky Carnaval”?  
We call it
The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District’s
“Keep SOMA Kinky” Arcade
featuring our first-ever
Fetish Runway

We hope you enjoyed it.  Read all about our planning for it here.

It was just our part of the amazing, virtual Folsom Street Fair, hosted by Margaret Cho and streamed worldwide on Sunday, September 27, 2020 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.   (To donate, text Folsom2020 to 345345.)

More info

 

Trash Can Art Appears

We are pleased to welcome some big-bellied residents to the Cultural District:  they are the dozens of new Big Belly Trash Cans installed by the SOMA West Community Benefit District all around the neighborhood, many featuring artwork submitted by our Cultural District on behalf of local leather, kink and queer artists.

Here are pictures of just a few of those trash cans:

Artwork by Crystal Herman, Harrison and 9th, NW Corner; Harrison and 11th, SW Corner; Mission and 9th, SE Corner
« of 12 »

The images below were submitted to the CBD and initially accepted though not used.  We are currently in discussion with the artists and the CBD about possible modified use of these images.

James Hion
« of 4 »

New COVID-related Info

An important announcement has been provided to us, regarding the opening of additional businesses and activities in San Francisco, including indoor gyms, salons, and tourist hotels.  There are strict safety protocols in place; both business owners and customers are urged to familiarize themselves with these rules:

San Francisco:  Requirements for Activities Reopening Today (9/14/2020)

In other COVID-19 news:

There has been a lot posted recently about sex and COVID-19.  We have added some interesting articles, with various perspectives, to our COVID-19 Links page.  You can find these resources here.

Of particularly timely interest, the City of San Francisco has prepared a flyer of information about Air Quality and COVID-19.

Although we will continue to maintain our page of information about businesses open in our Cultural District, the SOMA West Community Benefit District is now offering a very comprehensive list of dining options in the entire SOMA West area, here.   Whether for takeout or socially-distanced outdoor dining, please do patronize these businesses as often as possible, and help our neighborhood to survive these challenging times.  Thanks!

For the Cultural District’s full list of COVID-19-related links, click here.

 

Panel Discussion Announced

On Thursday, September 17, 2020, from 7 to 8:30 p.m, in honor of what would normally be the month of Folsom, the San Francisco Sex-Positive Democratic Club is presenting “BDSM & The Law” – a panel discussion about the legal status of kink. Can we really legally, hit each other with sticks?… and floggers, and canes, and paddles, and OH HOW WE MISS KINKY PARTIES.
Panelists will include Susan Wright of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, attorney Alex Austin , retired Police Captain Randy Kirton, and Wicked Grounds owner Miriam (Mir) Green. The discussion will be moderated by Becca Motola-Barnes, Sex-Positive Dems’ VP Internal Communications.  RSVP and find more info here or here.

Onyx Southwest Event Saturday

Another in the ONYX Southwest “Detention Table Talks” series is set for this coming Saturday, September 19, 2020 from 11 AM to 1 PM, on the topic “Leather Fashion, Iconography & Uniforms”.

Leather gear comes in many shapes and forms, and the assumption that most leather styles came from the military, is part of the mythology of leather dress. Learn what we do and don’t know about the emergence of some of the key styles in the leather scene; followed by a deep dive table talk around the use of uniforms in the broader kink community.
Presenter:
Gayle Rubin
Panelists:
Beacon ONYX
Corso ONYX
Mac ONYX
Master Yito, BLUF
Moderator:
Okodee ONYX
DETENTION is a Kink Educational Series of Table Talks to educate and empower men of color in the BDSM community. ALL are welcome to attend the series.  ONYX Northwest series DETENTION is FREE of charge however, they will be accepting donations and distributing all proceeds to our panelists, interpreters, moderators, and/or supporting charities.
More event info is at https://www.facebook.com/events/368017934209861.  Full info on ONYX Southwest is at http://www.onyxnorthwest.com or
www.facebook.com/onyxnw/