By Sister Dana Van Iquity-
Sister Dana sez, “So it’s only just over a week after the year changed, and you have already broken your New Year’s resolutions. Why not be a little easier on yourselves and take my handy dandy ‘New Year’s Resolution Solution’?! Follow your Sister Dana and repeat: ‘I hereby resolve to be the best me I can be.’ It’s unbreakable!
And once again, please say along with me: ‘This year bettah be bettah!'”
I was blessed to have been able to enjoy the sacredness of everyone and the light within each of us at the QUEER CHRISTMAS EVE INTERFAITH SERVICE IN THE CASTRO. Gathered in Harvey Milk Plaza, we sang, we recited, we had hot chocolate and cookie communion, and gave hygiene kits to the those in need. This is a yearly event that should be enjoyed by everyone every year.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to be named Chair of the Senate Housing Committee,” says Senator Scott Wiener. “I am extremely grateful to our President Pro Tem, Senator Toni Atkins, for the confidence she has placed in me. California is grappling with an unprecedented and severe housing shortage of 3.5 million homes. This shortage undermines our state’s economic, climate, and equity goals. Too many Californians are struggling with housing. Too many people are being evicted or otherwise displaced.” He added, “We have a solemn obligation to fight for California’s future by taking bold action to address our housing crisis. Much work lies ahead to make up for years of inaction, and that work needs to happen at both the local and state level.” Let’s hear it for “San Francisco Values”!
WE ARE ONE was a glorious evening of fellowship, wine, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and live entertainment around the grand piano with pianist Paul Hogarth as we raised funds for the communities that survived the Northern California fires. We joined hosts Empress Pollo De Mar and Emperor Leandro Gonzales, RAINBOW WORLD FUND founder Jeff Cotter, and John Newmeyer in his gorge home. Special guests were Absolute Empress LI Emma Peel, Breanna Elyce Sinclairé, Andrew Hirst, Bare Chest Calendar Mr. November 2019, and Mr. SF Eagle Manny Ojeda in a lovely Pacific Heights mansion.
It is with tremendous delight that we SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE announce the recipients of our fall SATURNALIA 2018 GRANTS RECIPIENTS. The Sisters tend to support under-funded, small organizations and projects providing direct services to under-served communities. The majority of these organizations and projects receive little, if any, government or mainstream funding and may be in the early stages of development. The recipients and their mission are as follows:
United Streets Direct Care: Providing haircuts and direct care to unhoused neighbors in the Bay Area; ABO Comix Collective: Working to amplify the voices and raise money for imprisoned LGBTQ+ people through various artistic mediums; The Gubbio Project: Building community through Sacred Sleep, where homeless guests are provided with a safe, clean, beautiful place to sleep on the pews of otherwise empty churches, Monday through Friday; Red Light Legal: Providing sex worker-led legal services and advocacy education to those most marginalized and vulnerable to violence in the sex industries; Rainbow Street: Working with local activists to provide shelter, food, clothing, health care, and psychological support to vulnerable queer, trans, and GNC people in the Middle East and North Africa; GLBT National Help Center: Supporting the LGBT and questioning community through peer support hotlines, online chat, resources, and more; Queer Rebels Production: A Queer and Trans People of Color intergenerational performing arts organization, producing a yearly 2 day performance festival as part of the NQAF; East Oakland Burrito Roll: Getting together once a month to prep, cook, and deliver burritos and water to those in need in the East Bay community; Humboldt Queer Dojo: California queer dojo raising funds for Judo mats and student loaner uniforms; Driveway Follies Marionette Magic: New, inclusive Halloween marionette theatre; The Visibility Project: Blending visual and performance arts, community archiving, and free artistic educational opportunities to lift up the stories and histories of LGBTQ Asian Pacific Americans; Ethical Slut Presents: Interactive classes for the Bay Area’s sex positive community, teaching consent and communication skills; In Lak’ech Dance Academy: Co-creating a community of queer and trans dancers to celebrate resilience, nurture collective strength, and heal from oppression; and Mattachine: A Serialized Story In Queer History: a podcast detailing U.S. LGBTQ liberation from 1920 to Stonewall.
For my New Year’s birthday celebration, I was delighted to be a greeter nun/selfie poser along with Sister Amor in our fanciest NYE habits during the NEW YEAR’S EVE GAIETY show at Davies Symphony Hall. This festive gay event featured the San Francisco Symphony accompanying proudly queer vocalists Jane Lynch, Cheyenne Jackson, opera star Breanna Sinclaire, drag performance artist Thorgy Thorg mugging it up while actually playing gorgeous violin and viola, glorious co-emcee Peaches Christ with handsome co-emcee and conductor Edwin Outwater, the very humorous, naughty Varla Jean Merman singing her disgust at finding “yellow snow,” HomoPhonics men culled from the SF Gay Men’s Chorus to give us lively a cappella and dance, Kylie Minono as a very large New Year’s baby, and seven other Sisters doing a NYE toast. For the finale, the entire cast along with us audience members did a faux countdown to a not-yet New Year’s Day.
Later at the Edge bar in the Castro, they showed a video of Mariah Carey singing the Happy Birthday song, the deejay having announced it was Sister Dana’s birthday at the stroke of midnight, and everyone in the bar sang to me—along with Mariah on the big overhead screens. HBD2SisterD!
The monthly CASTRO ART WALK sponsored by CASTRO MERCHANTS continued on Thursday evening, January 3, from 6 to 9 pm (and then continues every first Thursday evening, same times). https://www.castroartwalk.com/
Newz you can uze:
MUNI Metro Underground Trains will again be replaced by Shuttle Buses later nights on most weekends in January. Late night weekend service at Castro and Church Metro Stations will be affected. The escalator at MUNI’s Church Street Station between outbound track-and-fare gates levels is closed for renovations until about March–April 2019. Meanwhile, use stairs or the elevator. I’ve been assured that the escalator’s popular Rainbow LED Lights will return when work’s done!
FilmSF, the City office that coordinates permits and logistics for location filming, says that a major new feature film production from CBS Films will be in the Castro all day on Thursday, January 17, near Castro–19th Streets, and again for three days on January 23–25 near Sanchez and 16th Streets. As an extra benefit for San Francisco, the film’s entire production will be based here in the City, bringing significant economic benefits. If you are based in the affected areas, but are not contacted by the producers at least a few days before the schedule, for more information contact manijeh.fata@sfgov.org or call her at 415-554-5142.
Sister Dana sez, “Spoiled cry-baby Trump would not sign onto Congress’s temporary budget plan unless it included his fascist/racist Wall—meaning the country was shut down with over 420,000 employees working without paychecks and 380,000 sent home. Appalling and reprehensible!”
Sister Dana sez, “Not even Trump’s stupid Wall can keep you away from ‘migrating’ to these upcoming events!”
The very first art opening of 2019 at Strut on 470 Castro Street promises a great list of queer visual artists that are going to help celebrate the queer community, promote sexual health and bring us all stellar queer art! For the month of January, STRUT is exhibiting the work of Jessalyn Ann Ragus-Glasgow with TAROT EROTIQUE. Ragus is a Psychedelic Erotic Artist living in the Haight district of EssEff. Through her artwork she explores sexuality and eroticism and mixes it with the metaphysical, botanical, and religious/female iconography. Her work references womxn/queer issues and experiences, her own personal experience as a queer womxn, and life in the City. Using Psychedelic Erotica she hopes to eliminate the stigmatization around sex and sexuality by approaching eroticism in sweet, mind-altering and humorous ways that invite everyone to the party. This event showcases a selection of framed prints from her Tarot Erotique Deck. The deck includes 78 original collages born by combining queer imagery with the beauty of sex. https://www.strutsf.org
A ROYAL AFFAIR BENEFITTING REAF is January 12, 4–7 pm at Beaux, 2344 Market Street. REAF’s focus has always been, and continue to be, to support AIDS services until there is a cure. REAF has also expanded its focus to support programs that provide food for the needy, programs that support homeless and disenfranchised youth. https://www.facebook.com/events/1194900043983952/
THE IMPERIAL BEAUX-ARTS WINTER BALL will be held on January 13, 5–10 pm at the Folsom Street Foundry, 1425 Folsom Street. The 2019 ICP Ball will honor the historical tradition of the San Francisco Tavern Guild’s Beaux Arts Ball and the founding of the IMPERIAL COUNCIL in 1965. On this 54th anniversary, this will be a formal affair uniting all corners of the LGBTQ communities of San Francisco. Black Tie, Leather, Winter White, Crowns, Gowns, Vests and Sashes. The evening will be a charitable event benefiting TRANS LIFELINE and AGUILAS/EL AMBIENTE. https://bit.ly/2SI7HLB
THE WOMEN’S MARCH is happening in SF on Saturday, January 19. This year’s theme is #TruthToPower and celebrating the #WomensWave. The rally is from 11 am–3 pm at Civic Center Plaza.
Sister Dana sez, “There are 17 different investigations into Trump’s corruption. Hey, c’mon now, can’t we round that up to an even twenty?! Or forty?!!”
Recent Comments