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