“Keep SOMA Kinky” Arcade at Up Your Alley

We hope you participated, and had fun. 

Look for us again at the FOLSOM STREET FAIR.  

If not, see below for info about what you missed…. 


Are you already at Up Your Alley?  Then 

Click here to enter the KEEP SOMA KINKY Arcade!

(Open Sunday, 7/26/2020, 11 am to 6:00 pm PT)


It’s the last Sunday of July, and that means it’s time for UP YOUR ALLEY!

And this year its in YOUR Alley!

Dance naked with the folks of Joie de Vivre, cruise via Recon or Nasty KinkyPigs, browse through a 3D vendor mart, enjoy DJs, Dancers, Demos, and…

Visit the 100% Interactive, 100% Kinky, 92.5% fun:

“Keep SOMA Kinky” Arcade

(Why only 92.5% fun?  Well, we have one Zoom breakout room set aside for serious discussion and opinion-sharing about the future of our neighborhood and community.)

So enter at 

UPYOURALLEY.ORG

and look for us in the “Cruise / Play” Area.

(If you have already entered the fair, great!  Click here to enter the Arcade.)


Sign Up to Volunteer!

View “Teaser” Video

Go to the Fair!


The Arcade Experience

When you enter the arcade via Zoom, you will be welcomed into the “Keep SOMA Kinky” Lobby, where the Host will make light banter with all guests.  Feel free to chat with other guests via public or private text chat.    From time to time, the Host will launch a round of:

SOMA Trivia:  Guests answer questions to earn points:  One point for a True/False question, three points for Multiple Choice, or five points for Jeopardy-style.  Keep going until you get one wrong.  The points you’ve earned will be remembered, and the high score each hour wins a prize!

Of course, you can’t win unless you’ve given your name and email address (via private chat) to our RoomMaster, who also can help you select and enter any of our currently-open Kinky Rooms.

At any given time, we might have available:

KSK Discussion:  A serious room, hosted by kink community leaders, where we discuss topics like “SOMA after Covid”, “BDSM and BLM”  or “A Leather Community Center?”  We want your opinions!

BDSM Demos:  Living-together couples (or individuals, or pods of any size) demonstrating their favorite ways of playing.   Questions or suggestions from guests MAY be responded to if you ask nicely.

Porn Riffing:  A volunteer will screen-share classic or specially-favorite kinky porn, with the sound off, and invite guests to join them in “riffing” (a la MST3k) with snarky comments or dialog.

Private Play:  Feeling submissive?  Negotiate with a dominant-looking stranger in the Lobby, then ask the RoomMaster to transport you both into a private Consent Cubicle, where you will be expected to obey their orders.  (Keep it safe, sane and consensual, people!)

You can leave and return to your assigned Breakout Room as often as you like.  (Or ask the RoomMaster to reassign you to a different room.)  Stay as long as you like, unless we get close to 100 people in the Arcade, in which case you may get booted out.  Thanks for playing!

Sound like fun?  It will be! Please RSVP on our Facebook EventAnd while you are there, invite your friends!
As you know, Up Your Alley is going virtual this year, with an interactive multimedia online festival on Sunday, July 26, 202, from 11 am to 6 pm.  There will be stages with music and gogo dancers, a cruising area, a vendor space, and so on.

And somewhere in the “Edutainment” midway you will find the “KEEP SOMA KINKY” Arcade, created by the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District, staffed by volunteers like you!

Sign Up to Volunteer!

View “Teaser” Video

Go to the Fair!


Volunteers needed:

Sign Up to Volunteer!

Optional Volunteer Practice Sessions: 
Saturday, 7/25/2020
Starting at 2:00  and 6:00 p.m., and lasting as long as needed.

To participate, join the Zoom Meeting at
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89666872534?pwd=emxyM2s0alBCUnpOR1FyVUJBM3I1UT09
You can also call in at 1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) and enter Meeting ID: 896 6687 2534, Password: 949928 if you just want to chat.
Additional Practice Sessions can be scheduled on request.

We need volunteers to act as a Lobby Host and QuizMaster.  Lobby hosts will greet guests as they enter, and host the SOMA Trivia Quiz.  Hosts should be relatively glib and friendly, and at least a little familiar with SOMA history and leather culture.   

We need volunteers to act as a RoomMaster.  RoomMasters should be experienced with Zoom Breakout Rooms, private chat, and other Zoom features.

We need Discussion Leaders for the KSK Discussion Room.  Each leader should sign up for a specific one-hour time slot and a specific topic, so we can announce schedules online.  (Additional co-leaders may be assigned to some discussions.)  Volunteers will be given co-host status before entering the room, so that they can mute unruly guests, etc.  Volunteers should be good listeners; if they are opinionated and/or well-known and respected in the community, even better.

We need BDSM demo volunteers.  We are particularly looking for couples or pods who are already playing together during Shelter in Place.  Individuals who can do creative scenes alone, and couples who are capable of demoing BDSM without violating SiP safety, are also welcome.  You can do an erotic / kinky encounter, a skill-share session, or anything in between.  Timing is flexible:  while we would like folks to commit to a specific time block, volunteers need to simply enter the Arcade and identify themselves to the RoomMaster, who will give them co-host status, create the Breakout Room for them, and after a few minutes begin to admit guests into that Room.

We need volunteers to act as Porn Riffing hosts.  Volunteers should have a fair amount of suitable porn on their computer, and be comfortable using Zoom to screen-share it.  Porn used should NOT be recent, modern, commercial porn where our showing it might violate copyright:  Older, even vintage kinky porn would be ideal.  A slideshow-style display of still images would also work.  Ideally the volunteer should be capable of riffing on the porn, at least sufficiently to get guests doing it.

All volunteers need to be comfortable knowing that screen-capture or recording by guests of their participation is possible.  Volunteers are urged to dress interestingly, and to provide suitable real or virtual backgrounds for themselves.   This will be an adult (18+) space, so self-censorship is not required.  

Volunteers who sign up using the link below will receive emails with details of how to log on and enter the Arcade.   Additional materials for volunteers are available here:

      • Tips for Volunteers
      • Scripts for Lobby Hosts (QuizMasters) and RoomMasters

If you would like to volunteer, please click here:

Sign Up to Volunteer!

If you have problems with the Volunteer Form…
Or if the slot you want is full…
Or if you have questions or concerns…
Or have ideas to suggest…
Or want to discuss details of your participation…

…Please contact David Hyman directly via
email (arts-chair@sflcd.org),
phone or text (1-415-652-6790), or
Facebook (facebook.com/davidhyman415).  

 


Submit Your Questions!

Oh yes, we also need questions for the trivia quiz.  They can be True/False, Multiple Choice or Jeopardy Style (Answers/Questions), and they can cover SOMA history and geography, our clubs and bars, artists, musicians or other important people,  movies, culture, BDSM practices and safety, etc. etc.  Send me as many as you can.  Please be sure to include the answers.  

//

Teaser VIDEO Script:

(carnival music under)

Step right up, folks and enter the “Keep Soma Kinky” Arcade.  Fun for everyone over 18.  Play a game of SOMA Trivia and win a prize!  Watch a live BDSM demo from the comfort and safety of your own computer.  Join a serious discussion about the future of our neighborhood!  Make like Tom Servo and riff on some classic kinky porn!  Or, if you’re really daring, hook up with a total stranger and enter a Consent Cubicle for a  one-on-one  lesson in obedience!   It’s all free, brought to you by the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District.  It’s the “Keep SOMA Kinky” Arcade!  Step right up!

Ferris wheel footage courtesy of Videvo
Music “Circus Tent” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Letter to 1560 Folsom Developers

See and sign the letter here.

A major construction project bringing in 700 new residents is planned for 1560 Folsom Street, the site of Action Rentals and 3 auto shops that wrap around Oasis.  This is the very heart of the entertainment area in the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District.

We need your help to ensure that the developer acts to mitigate the gentrification that these new residents will bring with them.  We have been in discussion with the developers.  We need more than the developer’s token offers. Now is the time to make the leather & LGBTQ community’s strength heard.

Save our nightlife! Save SOMA for the kinky and queer!

Please sign the letter of support at the link below.  Thank you.

See and sign the letter here.

HPC to Present Resolution on Racial and Social Equity

San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission’s resolution on racial and social equity is coming before the Planning Commission on July 15th, at 12:30 pm.  They have asked for our support.  Please send comments by email and speak (remotely) at the hearing if you like.

The resolution acknowledges the most recent instance of violence inflicted on the Black community through the murder of George Floyd, and  calls for centering the Historic Preservation’s work program and resources on racial and social equity. You can read the resolution in its entirety here 

If you feel led to share your experience, knowledge, and guidance, please participate in the hearing, or send written comments to the Commission as detailed below.

Hearing is next Wednesday, July 15th beginning at 12:30 p.m.   You can listen to the broadcast live at https://sfgovtv.org/planning or Cable Channel 78, or watch it on replay at https://sfgovtv.org. 

The Commission strongly encourages interested parties to submit their comments in advance of the hearing, via email to commissions.secretary@sfgov.org.   There is also a public comment toll-free number, (888) 273-3658 / access code: 3107452 .

More information on and the contact information for the Historic Preservation Commissioners can be found at https://sfplanning.org/historic-preservation-commission.  For questions or comments, please contact CPC.equity@sfgov.org,  Shelley.Caltagirone@sfgov.org, Claudia.Flores@sfgov.org or call 415-558-6473.   For more information about the Planning Department’s Racial and Social Equity work, please visit their website at: https://sfplanning.org/project/racial-and-social-equity-initiative.  

Artists Roster (older version)

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District is compiling a roster of artists and and artisans in all media – including craftspeople, performers, musicians,  writers – who live, work, exhibit or perform in the District, or whose creative work reflects the culture of the queer, kinky and/or leather community.

View our catalog here (if you are age 18+):

LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural Catalog

Artists in all media are urged to submit their contact information, a description of their work, and additional materials for inclusion.

Artists may choose to simply be listed by name, with basic contact information, or include either samples or links to samples or pages displaying their work.  In some cases we may prepare a separate page featuring their work.  We will be able to present graphic or video files in all standard Web-friendly formats, subject to any technical or legal limitations.  (So please submit nothing involving human trafficking or children, and nothing violating anyone else’s copyright, reputation, or privacy.)

This LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural Catalog will be available to all visitors to our Web site (ages 18+), and we expect it will be used to recruit artists and performers for a variety of exhibitions, events, commissions and other projects.  Artists are welcome and encouraged to share the link to their featured page.  We believe this may be particularly useful for artists who wish to display their adult or leather-themed work separately from their other public portfolios.

Graphic artists are encouraged to take appropriate precautions (e.g. steganographic fingerprinting, watermarks, lowered resolution, etc.) to prevent the graphic samples on our Web site from undermining the value of their original artwork.

Please write to arts-chair@sflcd.org if you have problems with the form, need to submit your materials in a different way, or to discuss.