LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District

Save the Date: San Francisco to Step Out – Gear On for LeatherWalk 2024 in SOMA on Sunday, September 22

We are thrilled to announce that LeatherWalk 2024 will take place on Sunday, September 22! Mark your calendar, sign up to receive updates, and join us for this annual fundraiser and celebration organized by the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District with production support from our Community Partner, Do Good Stuff.

This year, LeatherWalk is more than just a march. It is an exciting opportunity for community members to help raise $22,000 to support the District’s Leather Legacy Landmarks initiative, which honors the enduring legacy of vital SOMA businesses and venues that have served the community since the 1960s. The District plans to install 77 plaques at historic locations, enabling all to appreciate SOMA’s vibrant past. Key plaques will be featured on the District’s guided walking tours, new dates coming soon.

Walk Details

• Date: Sunday, September 22, 2024
• Starting Location: City Hall, Polk Street Steps
• Time: Gather at 11:00 AM, Program at 11:15 AM, Step Off at 11:30 AM
• Ending Location: SF Eagle Plaza for the Leather Pride Fest
• Ending Time: Approximately 3:00 PM

Gear On. Step Out. Give Back.

Celebrate Our Community — Gear On: Get your Gear On and join fellow leather, kink, and queer community members to celebrate our vibrant heritage, foster community spirit, and encourage authentic self-expression.

Be Visible — Step Out: Step Out with pride and be visible as we walk to protect our leather, kink, and queer spaces. Revel in community, entertainment, and refreshments at each stop on the route. LeatherWalk begins at City Hall and concludes at Eagle Plaza with the raising of the Leather Pride Flag.

Protect Our Legacy — Give Back: You can also choose to Give Back by fundraising as a Walker or making a meaningful donation. Your support will help fund the installation of 77 bronze sidewalk plaques as part of the Leather Legacy Landmarks initiative. This project protects the heritage of leather, kink, and queer businesses and venues in SOMA, enabling all to appreciate SOMA’s vibrant past.

Walk for Fun!
Walkers can sign up for free, and are not required to fundraise. Simply sign-up, gear on, and step out. Registration for Walkers is expected to open on Friday, August 9, 2024.

Walk & Fundraise — Create or Join a Team!
Walkers are invited to give back and register as Fundraisers.  Join your favorite team to help raise funds for the Leather Legacy Landmarks initiative. Individuals, community organizations, and businesses are encouraged to create teams for friendly fundraising rivalries. Registration for Individual and Team Fundraisers is expected to open on Friday, August 9, 2024.

Fundraising Support from Experts
All fundraising efforts will be supported by the knowledgeable technology specialists at Do Good Stuff who will coach and support Team Captains and Individual Fundraisers to reach their fundraising goals.

Stay Informed
Sign up to stay informed and receive updates about this year’s LeatherWalk as a Team Captain, Walker, Fundraiser, Donor, or Volunteer by submitting your information at www.leatherwalk.org.

Special thanks to Do Good Stuff, our generous Community Partner, for providing technology, fundraising, communications, and event production expertise to help the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District reimagine and launch LeatherWalk 2024 to raise vital funds. For more information, visit www.dogoodstuff.consulting

Save the date and spread the word! We look forward to walking with you on September 22!

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.

Update:

A heart plaque honoring Rachele has been installed in Eagle Plaza. We thought it appropriate to hold the official plaque unveiling during Leather Week.

We are a membership organization; 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.

You could be on the ballot. Now is the time to consider running.

Nominations open on July 3, 2024, and close at 5:00 pm Pacific Time on Friday, August 2, 2024.  

Being a Director of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District means having a voice in the future of our South of Market neighborhood: helping it to thrive during current challenges and remain the vibrant, safe, and uniquely kinky space we all love and enjoy.

For more information, or to nominate yourself, please review the full information on our Nominations Page.

Full information

Nomination Form

We are delighted to have completed the Cultural History, Housing, and Economic Sustainability Strategies (CHHESS) Report of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District.

The Report was presented at a Board of Supervisors Committee hearing  on June 13, 2024, and received a unanimous Committee endorsement.  It was then unanimously approved by the full Board of Supervisors.  The resolution adopting the CHHESS Report was signed by the Mayor on July 3, 2024.

At that Committee hearing, Bob Goldfarb, the Executive Director of the Cultural District, was presented with a Certificate of Honor by Supervisor Matt Dorsey, to recognize Bob’s “unwavering dedication and exceptional leadership” as a “steadfast champion for the city’s vibrant leather community”.

We invite you to read the report in full; however, the contents of the report were also presented at an open community forum on November 29, 2023.  You can view the presentation video, the presentation slideshow, or the presentation slideshow as a PDF.

The CHHESS Report is the result of years of research and community engagement, and the Board extends its thanks to everyone who took part in creating it, including the organizers and participants in the focus groups and surveys, the research and drafting of the Report’s recommendations, and the extensive work with City departments to make it a reality!

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District is launching the fifth cohort of its Entrepreneur Training Program, a 9-week program to help leather community folk start and build their businesses.

The program is led by Eddie Tang of Above Consulting, a seasoned San Francisco business consultant, and features Zoom-based group sessions and one-on-one consultations.  At the end of the 9 weeks, participants will present their business plan to a panel of local business leaders, experts, and potential funders.  Those who complete the program will each receive a $500 grant to help with their startup costs.

Four cohorts of this program have now graduated, and the fifth will began on Thursday, September 5, 2024.

If you wish to apply for this program, please complete this application form.   Click here for full info!

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District always needs volunteers, but during the high season (June – September) the need is intense.

• We can use all kinds of help with our Play on the Plaza events, on the second Saturday of each month.
• We will have information tables or booths at all the major events:  at the Dore, Folsom and Bearrison Street fairs, and at beer busts, art shows and other occasions.
• 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!

There are a large number of parties and other events in SOMA in advance of Up Your Alley.  We encourage you to visit Andy Wibbel’s Up Your Alley/Dore Weekend Party Guide 2024 now, and keep your eye on the Folsom Street Facebook feed for updates!

The next SOMA Walking Tours will happen on Sunday, July 21, starting at 12:00 noon.  For full info and to register, visit our SOMA Walking Tours page.

The next meeting of the Arts and Culture Committee is scheduled for Thursday, July 25, from 6 to 7 pm.  Arts and Culture Committee Facebook page.  Please contact the Committee chair to get on the mailing list for this Committee, or for more info!

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District will have a booth at the infamous “Up Your Alley” Street Fair on Sunday, July 28, from 11 am to 6 pm. Stop by our booth and tale a kinky selfie! Up Your Alley is presented by Folsom Street.

The next online Diversity & Membership Committee meeting is set for Thursday, August 1, at 6 pm PDT.   Diversity & Membership Committee Zoom link. Facebook page.  Contact the Committee chair to get on the mailing list for this Committee, or for more info!

The next online meeting of the Communications Committee will be Thursday, August 8, from 6 to 7 pm.  Communications Committee Zoom link.  Facebook page. Contact the committee chair.

The next Play on the Plaza is Saturday, August 10, from 12 noon to 5 pm, at Eagle Plaza (12th Street, between Folsom and Harrison). Vendors! Entertainment! Kink/Leather Gear Swap!  Music! Pup Mosh with the SF K9 Unit!  Impact Play hosted by the 15 Association!  Spanking benches and crosses provided by The Communal Toy .Play on the Plaza info. August 10 event info.  Facebook event.

The next online meeting of the Land Use Committee Meeting is set for Monday, August 12, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Land Use Committee Meeting Zoom Link. Facebook page.  Contact the committee chair.

Join us for Candidates Night , to meet the folks running for seats on the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District Board of Directors, on Tuesday, August 13, starting at 6 pm.  Online voting will open at the conclusion of the Candidates Night event, and will remain open for roughly 6 days. Facebook event. Candidates night Zoom link.  Full information about the election.  Candidates Statements.

The next meeting of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District Board of Directors will be Wednesday, August 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. As always, all are welcome to attend, and time is reserved for public comment.  ASL interpretation provided if requested ten days in advance. To participate, use the Board of Directors Meeting Zoom link, or call 1-408-638-0968 and use Meeting ID: 847 8906 0820 and Passcode: 972086.    Facebook page.  Draft agenda (link coming soon).  Minutes of past Board meetings. Please contact manager@sflcd.org if you have questions.

With the community and the District preparing for Up Your Alley Fair, we are cancelling the July Erotic Storytelling Hour. The next Erotic Storytelling Hour is set for Thursday, August 22, at 8 pm PST.  Come hear some provocative, graphic, sexy, titillating, and funny stories (and more) from selected writers of our community, hosted by award-winning author Sumiko Saulson. It’s fun, it’s naughty, it’s online.   Erotic Storytelling Hour information page.  Facebook Page.  Zoom link, Videos of some of our past evenings!  (Be 18+!)

The Fundraising Committee meets as needed.  Please contact the Fundraising Committee chair to get on the mailing list for this Committee, or for more info!

A Governance and Legislation Committee meeting will be scheduled when needed. Please contact the Governance and Legislation Committee chair to sign up, or for more info!

We send out a newsletter each month, right before our Board Meeting.  Do you get it?
If not, view a recent newsletter, then sign up to get it monthly.

Speaking of newsletters, the SOMA West Community Benefit District does a great one, highlighting events — both social and political — affecting our part of the City.  Subscribe to the SOMA West Community Benefit District newsletter.

San Francisco has ten Cultural Districts, each supporting a unique aspect of the City’s cultural mosaic You can learn about the San Francisco Cultural Districts Program, and subscribe to a Cultural Districts newsletter, published quarterly by the Mayor’s Office of Housing & Community Development.

We keep adding links to our Resource Guide page.  Use it!

Threats to our South of Market businesses and institutions can arise quickly, and may require a quick community response.  SOMA Action network sign-up link.

If you have not yet seen it, please read our Statement of Solidarity, and consider what you personally can do to fight racism, injustice, and abuse of police power.

The next meeting of the Board of the Friends of Eagle Plaza is scheduled for Wednesday, September 11, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm.  You can be added to the “Friends of Eagle Plaza” mailing list.  You can make a donation to the Friends of Eagle Plaza. You can like and follow them on Facebook.  You can learn more about the Plaza’s design, construction and stewardship on the Friends of Eagle Plaza website, or you can write to info@eagleplaza.org.