Author: David Hyman

It has been noted that it can be hard to plan major events in our community without running the risk of clashing with another major event that appeals to the same target audience.

Of course, this is somewhat inevitable:  there are only 52 weekends per year, and they aren’t making any more of them.

But we thought it might be helpful for people to have a place to record and quietly share their their tentative plans and schedules, even before they are ready to

Kinky and Queer Events Planning Tool

Name of Event	Location	Target Audience (#, region, population)	Date (rule, tentative/fixed, actual 2023, 2024)
Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District Anniversary Party	SOMA	200, San Francisco Bay Area, full kinky/queer community	First Saturday in May, somewhat flexible, 5/6/2023
Golden Dildeaux Award Ceremony	SOMA	200, San Francisco Bay Area, full kinky/queer community	Mid April, flexible, 4/22/2023
Up Your Alley Street Fair	SOMA	10,000s, regional appeal, gay men and all kinksters	Last Sunday in July, fixed, 7/30/2023
Folsom Street Fair	SOMA	100,000s, national appeal, all kinksters	Last Sunday in September, fixed, 9/24/2023
Bearrison Street Fair	SOMA	5000, mostly local appeal, bears, gay men, body-positivity	Saturday, late October, flexible, 10/14/2023
SF Pride	Market Street, Civic Center	100,000s, LGBT and supportive folks	Last Sunday in June, fixed, 6/25/2023
Lazy Bear	Guerneville	1000s, bears and other gay men	Late July / Early August
Sisters’ Easter	Dolores Park	1000s, diverse	Easter Sunday, fixed, 4/9/2023
–	–	–	–

“go public” with the details.

We are therefore listing our own major “regularly-scheduled” events, and some other events that we know about.  And we invite other agencies to submit their information (by writing to web@sflcd.org ).

Note:  This is NOT intended to be an authoritative calendar for the world’s kink events.  It is simply a handy planning tool, allowing planners to check for any obvious conflicts before they commit themselves.  We hope it is helpful.

Kink Is My Superpower, a multi-media project from Divine Deviance, highlights the honesty, freedom, and strength of kinksters who have found our way out of the shadows and live proudly and openly.

They exist to help others tell their stories, share their experiences, and celebrate the superpowers they have discovered in kink, through films, books, calendars, and social media.

They are now developing an exciting book and documentary project about kink called Kink Is My Superpower.

These folks are inviting kinksters, whether of the 24/7 or occasional bedroom antics variety, to complete a very brief survey to help inform their project.

Click on “Take Survey” on their site, or go directly to the survey.

The San Francisco Leathermen’s Discussion Group has now finished accepting applications for its Mentoring Program.

Pups, kinksters, leather folks, gearheads, fetishists and others have explored and deepened their spicy side in a safe and trusted way with the Leathermen’s Discussion Group since 1996.

The mentoring program is for male-identified people to explore kink/fetish sexuality, community, and relationships, at any stage of their journey.

The mentoring program began with an orientation meeting in late January, will complete the matching process by mid-February, and will continue through September.

Learn more here.  You can also contact the Mentoring Program Director, Richard Sprott, if you have any particular questions.

Folsom Street – the organization that produces the Folsom Street Fair and the Up Your Alley Street Fair – is in the process of relocating its operations into a new facility.

The new Folsom Street Community Center will be located at 1286 Folsom Street, adjacent to the Azúcar Lounge, near 9th Street, right in the heart of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District.

The new space is about 2500 square feet, slightly larger than their old digs on 9th Street.  The ground floor features a spacious central area with a handsome new floor, high ceilings, ADA facility, and a roll-up garage entry that can open directly onto the footprint of the Fairs.

Additional upstairs office space will be used by the Austin Law Group and TASHRA (The Alternative Sexualities Health Research Alliance), providing for both the legal and mental health needs of our community.

The new space will be available for meetings, munches, parties, classes, and other events as soon as January, with a grand opening anticipated in mid-February.  Several organizations have already booked events there, including the Young Leathermen’s Discussion Group, the Society of Janus, Boba Munch,  the Yellow and Black Group, and the SF Canine Unit.

Our entire community welcomes this exciting addition to the Cultural District footprint.