Leather Week 2022

Are you visiting San Francisco for Folsom Street Fair? Consider arriving as early as your budget will allow.

Are you local?  Then you probably want to get all the fun and kinkiness you can out of the Folsom Fair “season”.

Here are a few ideas to help you make the most of the week before the fair, better known as Leather Week!

The Mr. SF Eagle Leather 2023 Contest: Meet & greet the contestants at the SF Eagle on Friday 9/16 from 7-9PM; the contest starts at 5 pm on Saturday 9/17.  Congratulations to our community’s newest titleholder, Mr. SF Eagle Leather 2023, Mark Hankins Jr.

San Francisco Bootblack 2023 Contest: The San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance has postponed their Mr. and Mx. SF Leather contests until the spring, but the Bootblack contest is a free event at the Folsom Community Center from 6 to 10 pm on Friday 9/16.  Best wishes to one of our community”s many excellent bootblacks, Boy Xander.

LeatherWalk 2022 and Leather Pride Fest:

Due to the rain and threats of high winds, etc., LeatherWalk 2022 was postponed, and the Leather Pride Fest was scaled back.  Our thanks to everyone who turned out at City Hall, and to those who braved the elements to enjoy a Sunday in SOMA. 

The MPX Vaccine Pop-Up did happen, with over 100 folks receiving vaccinations.

The Leather Pride flag will be raised once reliable good weather is projected.  

Plans for rescheduling LeatherWalk 2022 are in the works.  Watch for news.

It’s fun, politically important, and a great way to get to know the neighborhood! It starts at 11 am on 9/18 on the steps of San Francisco City Hall and visits all your favorite SOMA venues, including OasisPowerhouse / Hole in the Wall / Azúcar Lounge, Leather Etc./Wicked Grounds / Cat ClubMr. S Leather, the Ringold Leather History Alley, and the Lone Star Saloon. 

The last stop on the Walk is the SF Eagle and Eagle Plaza (Harrison and 12th Street).  If our timing is right, we will arrive just in time to assemble for the official raising of the Leather Pride Flag, and the celebration that is…

Leather Pride Fest.

The 3rd Annual Leather Pride Fest will feature live performances by Mission Delerium, Diesel Dudes, Kah Liberation, DJ Russ Rich, and more!  It’s a day long event of celebration and community-centric bonding. with booths featuring local non-profit organizations and merchants, a stage full of entertainment you won’t want to miss, and beverage booths throughout.  Step into the SF Eagle for its classic Sunday Beer Bust.

You like parties? We got parties. Some are just hot dance & cruise parties – often very expensive and with no play.  Others, like Prime on Friday, 9/23 and the New Breed party on Saturday 9/24, both at  Club Six, offer dancing on one level, and sex downstairs.

Check out the Andymatic Folsom Street Fair Party Guide 2022  for info on all the many other parties happening before, during and after the Folsom Street Fair.

Puppies and handlers will be interested in the Pound Puppy party at the Folsom Community Center, from 4 to 6 pm on 9/17.  The pup-curious can learn more at The SF K-9 Unit website

For something special, don’t miss the Mr. S Leather Geared Up Alley Party, on both Friday and Saturday, 9/23 and 9/24, from noon to 6 pm. Not having a liquor license, the popular leather store can serve free beer in their private back alley space and let folks have fun. Frankly, you can probably get away with more sex in the sunlight there than at the FSF itself! While there, you can buy some gear to wear to the Fair!

All the SOMA bars will be hopping all week long. The parties at Powerhouse, with names like “Fetish”, “Dirty Alley”, “Black Brown and Kinky” and “Lick It”, should be a lot of fun. The Lone Star Saloon, the SF Eagle, and the Hole in the Wall are always good for sleazy fun.

Transform 1060 will have a number of events that week, including a Naked men’s party on Monday, Fist Buddies on Tuesday, Unleashed on Thursday, the LUST Queer Play Party on Friday, and the 15 Association’s Men’s BDSM Party  on Saturday.  On Sunday, if you aren’t at the Fair, you could be at CumUnion.  Full info on all of these is on the Transform 1060 calendar,

Remember that Wicked Grounds has fun and fascinating educational programs year-round; a stop there — if only for coffee and conversation — is a memorable part of any visit to San Francisco,

Another venue that is open daily but seems a bit more inviting during San Francisco’s queer and kinky celebrations is Eros, San Francisco’s 18+ Queer Sex Club, located in the old Bulldog Baths building,

More events can be found on the many local community calendars listed here.

Play safe, and have a great Leather Week!

Juanita: 30 Years of MORE!

If you enjoyed her headline appearance at the Cultural District’s Audacious Anniversary party, you will want to check out Juanita: 30 Years of MORE!, an exhibition that highlights and celebrates the groundbreaking and radical work of San Francisco drag icon, Juanita MORE! 

Juanita: 30 Years of MORE! will be on view at the SFAC Main Gallery in the War Memorial Veterans Building from September 30 through November 12, 2022, and will feature a curated selection of photographs, posters, over 40 original commissioned artworks, and dresses that offer a rare glimpse into Juanita’s extraordinary and fabulous life, representing just a fraction of the thousands of objects from her personal archives. 

The Opening Reception will be on Friday, September 30, from 6:00 to  8:00 p.m., at the SFAC Main Gallery, 401 Van Ness Ave, Suite 126.  It is free and open to the public.  

LeatherWalk 2022 is Almost Here!

 

LeatherWalk will happen rain or shine!
(Umbrellas are optional.)

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District is proud to continue the tradition of the popular community event LeatherWalk, on September 18, 2022.

LeatherWalk 2022 will once again start at San Francisco City Hall and will visit some of our favorite places and watering holes along the way. The event will culminate in a celebration at the annual Leather Pride Fest at Eagle Plaza, presented by the SF Eagle.

The event is free, but accepts donations to benefit the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District, a unique San Francisco institution dedicated to keeping our South of Market neighborhood queer and kinky.

Join us on the steps of City Hall at 11 am, and receive your free commemorative LeatherWalk 2022 pin.  We step off at 11:30.  Full schedule and other details are here, or follow us on Facebook or FetLife, to be kept informed.

Plaques

One of the goals of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District is to make the history of the neighborhood more visible and accessible.  We are working on a number of projects — leather-themed crosswalks and pole banners, for example — which require lengthy planning and permitting through various City agencies and departments. 

One of our most challenging projects is to install plaques — durable graphic displays on buildings or sidewalks — that tell the story of important locations.  Two of those plaques are soon to appear on buildings that are undergoing renovation.  The plaques will be installed and maintained by the building owners, as a condition for their construction permits.

The first to be installed will be this plaque, to go on the building at 367 12th Street, overlooking Eagle Plaza:

Next will be this plaque, at 323 10th Street, the former site of the beloved Stompers Boots.  For more history and imagery of Stompers, visit the website maintained by Larry Faulks at https://southoftheslotsf.com.

The Cultural District continues to research and catalog the sites of SOMA that are part of our community’s identity and heritage.  We will let you know when these plaques are installed, and when others are planned.

You can support this effort by donating to us.