Kinky/Queer SOMA Walking Tour Launches


Join us on our first walking tour: 
SOMA Origins: Bars, Bathhouses and Beyond

Now a world-wide leather/kinky/queer destination, SOMA (South of Market) began attracting leather bars in the ’60’s.  Find out why!

Learn about the raucous exploits of the ’70’s when motorcycles lined the streets outside popular bars.

Hear about today’s bar and clubs and what they used to be, including one on Folsom with a swimming pool.

Sunday, May 21, 2pm

Tour starts at 9th and Ringold, ends at the SF Eagle in time for the Sunday Beer Bust.

90 minutes, no hills.

Free!  Space is limited; advance registration is required.

Register Here

Entrepreneurs Complete Training

As the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District prepares to launch the third cohort of its Entrepreneur Training Program, we thought it would be nice to highlight the folks who completed the 9-week program in Cohorts numbers 1 and 2.

Cohort 1:
Graduated September, 2022

  • Joseph Valliere — Downtown Armor — Rubber gear, ultimately boots and a kink consignment shop.  (facebook, etsy)
  • James Strock — Recreating rubber gear from a new proprietary polymer
  • Jordan Fickel / Patrick Stephenson — BEARPAD  — Art brand celebrating big bodies.  (art, store, instagram)
  • Gloria Polo — Fire Dragon Photography — Leather/Kink photography (facebook, website)
  • Anna Randall and Richard Sprott — TASHRA – The Alternative Sexualties  Health Research Alliance  — improving healthcare services to kinksters (websitefacebook, instagram)

Cohort 2:
Graduated April, 2023

  • Marcos victor de brito puglielli– House of Puglielli — Custom leather design, sculptural, wearble art (website, facebookinstagram)
  • Dr. Zo Marcos Zotigh — Needle Play Acupuncture — Acupuncture Clinic (websitefacebookinstagram)
  • Sumiko Saulson — Mauskaveli — Hand painted wooden paddles, plus jewelry, books and clothing (website, books, facebook)
  • Alejandra Bravo Ducey — Raptrix — Small batch bondage gear for every body (shopinstagramfacebook)
  • Nate Boles — Wylde Honey Productions — Queer erotic artist promotion, production and reproduction
  • Angela Wilson — Cognizant Healing — Intimacy coaching for therapists (website, facebook)
  • Angeli [Daytona] Lata — Murder They Wore — Fetish fashion (website, facebook)
  • Kangcheng Yin — Kuma Club SF –  Gay Bathhouse/Sex Club (facebook)
  • Byrd Bannick — ByrdBeaks — Fabric based queer gear and accessories (websitefacebook)
  • Chris Hughes — Skunkheart — Queer and kinky TTRPG content (facebooklinks)

The District is proud to be able to help leather community folk start and build their businesses.

For more information, or to sign up for Cohort 3, click here.

Anniversary Video

One of the delightful features of our recent “Audacious Anniversary” was the video montage, created by Richard Dupler and played on multiple screens, highlighting recent events and achievements of the Cultural District, along with coming attractions.

You can now view that silent video here.

Audacious Fun!

Three hundred friends of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District enjoyed the free “Audacious Anniversary 5” party on May 6, celebrating the fifth birthday of the District, which was created by the City of San Francisco on May 9, 2018.

The bash was held at the Folsom Street Foundry, the recently-renovated event space on Folsom near 10th Street.  For the first hour, guests enjoyed BDSM demos by The Exiles, ONYX Northwest, and the Service Pups of San Francisco, along with ambient suspension bondage by Twisted Windows. A video montage by Richard Dupler played on multiple screens, highlighting recent events and achievements of the Cultural District, along with coming attractions.

Guests were then welcomed by Cultural District President Bob Brown, who introduced State Senator Scott Weiner, who presented the District with a Senate Recognition Certificate, and San Francisco District Six Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who presented a Certificate of Honor to celebrate our birthday.

MCs Lance Holman and Alotta Boutté introduced dynamic performances by Ryan Patrick Welsh, Alotta Boutté, John Weber with Kippy Marks, and the Om Nom Nom Non-Binary Burlesque X Palace of Trash.  Throughout the event, music was provided by popular local DJ Fawks, and tasty treats by MamaBear’s Kitchen.  The Folsom Foundry bar featured special signature cocktails made with syrups from It’s Simple SF.

Many of the newly selected models for the 2024 Bare Chest Calendar showed off their new “man of the month” sashes, celebrating the Calendar’s 40th year of charity fundraising.  And the crowd was very excited to welcome the brand new Ms. SF Eagle Leather 2023, Nunca Sola.

A highlight of the event was the second annual presentation of the Brazen Runway, in which folks showed off their smutty selves to an appreciative audience, while competing for prizes, which included gift cards from local kink suppliers Mr. S Leather, Leather Etc., Wicked Grounds, and Byrd Beaks. First prize went to Sadyst Payne, second to the newly-sashed Ms. SF Eagle Leather 2023, and third to Rey Onyx.

In the foyer, guests received souvenir pins, and had a chance to purchase kinky merchandise, receive boot and leather care by boy xander, check any unneeded clothing with the SOMA Guardians, or become full voting members of the Cultural District with the help of David Hyman at the Outreach Table.  Cultural District Manager Cal Callahan and Program Associate Reika Faust kept everything flowing smoothly

Below are just a few images from the event, taken by Fire Dragon Photography.  A complete gallery of these images can be viewed here.

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And below are some selected Photos by Gooch; again, the entire gallery can be seen here.

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