LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District

The Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District participated in both the Oakland Trans March and the Oakland Pride Parade this year.

The inaugural Trans March Oakland was on Saturday, September 7, 2019.  

The Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District had a contingent of more than 20 people when it stepped off at the 10th Annual Oakland Pride Parade, on Sunday morning, September 8, 2019, and more leather folks joined along the way.

Thanks to Norm Lynde for the pictures!

Because so many folks visit our South of Market neighborhood from the East Bay — including many who have moved there from San Francisco in recent years — we are pleased to be extending our Cultural District outreach to the queer community there.  We look forward to future area-wide adventures in leather!

At the Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District Community Meeting on August 21, 2019, nine individuals were elected as the initial Board of Directors, and Bob Goldfarb was elected President.  At the Board’s meeting, on August 24, 2019, the remaining officers were elected.  The full Board list is thus as follows:

• Bob Goldfarb (Bob.Goldfarb@sflcd), Three years, President
• Bob Brown (Bob.Brown@sflcd), Two years, Vice-President
• Eric See (Eric.See@sflcd), One year, Secretary
• York Ng (York.Ng@sflcd), Two years, Treasurer
• David Hyman (David.Hyman@sflcd), Three years
• Erik Will (Erik.Will@sflcd), Two years
• Gayle Rubin (Gayle.Rubin@sflcd), Three years
• Stephan Ferris (Stephan.Ferris@sflcd), One year
• Steve Gaynes (Steve.Gaynes@sflcd), One year

 

The Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District is looking for a small office in the SOMA area.  This would be a place of operations for staff and community leaders to work out of.   We are looking for: 

• 300-500 square feet
• 1-2 workstation setup
• ADA-compliant / wheelchair accessible
• Access to a conference or meeting room for our monthly Board meetings
• Some storage space
• It would be nice to have access to a kitchenette & bathroom
• Mailing address would be nice
• Location within (or near to) our Cultural District is important.  That is roughly bounded by Howard, 7th, Street, and Highways 101 and 80.  (The actual District map can be viewed here.)

We are hoping to find either a low-cost or donated space.  An otherwise vacant storefront would be ideal, as it would increase our visibility and accessibility by the local community.  We would be happy to look at subleases or coexisting with other organizations.  

If you have information about a possible location, or would like more information or to discuss, please contact land-use-chair@sflcd.org.

On August 18, 2019, Sunday Streets SOMA once again transformed Folsom Street from Essex to 10th Street into open pedestrian space, including a Leather Hub between 8th and 10th Streets where the Leather Community got to show off!

There were booths for the San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance and our own Cultural District, music by Fingersnaps, a puppy mosh with the SF K9 Unit, a bondage demo by VIncent, books and toys from Wicked Grounds Kink Cafe and Boutique, ring-toss with the Golden Gate Guards, and, of course, the Victory Party for the new Mr. SF Leather 2020 and San Francisco Bootblack 2020, with cake and bubbly provided by the Leather Alliance.  It was a great way to end SF Leather Pride Weekend!