Author: David Hyman

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District is a membership organization, and our members elect our Board of Directors and our President. Three Board seats (each for a three-year term) and the Board President (for a one-year term) are elected each year.

If you are eligible to vote (that is, if you were a member of the Cultural District as of May 25, 2024), you should by now have received an email from “Opavote Voting Link” with a link to your ballot.  You must submit your vote no later than 5 pm on Monday, August 19, 2024. 

Before voting, you are invited to read the Candidates Statements.  Also, here is a video recording of the Candidates Night, held on August 13, just as voting began:

 Full information about our elections process is on our Website.

Thank you.

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!

To assist you in planning your Up Your Alley parties, we always rely on the easy-to-read guide from our friend Andy Wibbels.

You can also access it at http://andymatic.com/dore

Access the full guide at http://andymatic.com/dore.  Have a great weekend!

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.