By Donna Sachet–
The Grand Ducal Council is to be congratulated on a spectacular weekend, starting with their 50th Anniversary Gala on Friday, September 22, at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. Nearly the entire museum was open for the hundreds of guests, dressed as instructed in camp and royalty, to wander and take in the amazing collection of flora and fauna on display. Even the white crocodile was ready to greet us! Once inside, we were treated to an amazing three-dimensional reproduction of the Grand Ducal seal and a table featuring Grand Duke Kippy Marks’ San Francisco Bay Times articles about each of the 50 reigns. A lavish buffet meal, followed by a short program, took place in the center atrium, where it was announced that the current reign had raised $100,000 for charity. 50th Anniversary Chair Grand Duke Patrick Noonan and his hardworking committee delivered a memorable evening for all.
The following night, the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway’s Emerald Ballroom hosted Grand Ducal Coronation 49, themed Pop Art at the Pushkin Museum, inspiring many colorful ensembles on hundreds of attendees. Grand Duke Gregg Starr & Grand Duchess Kelly Rose pulled out all the stops for a wonderful step-down, including opening remarks and awards from Queen Mother of the Americas Nicole the Great, entertaining command performances, visiting courts from as far as Georgia and Canada, and moving last walks. Even our own Absolute Empress XXXI Cockatielia was decked out in fabulous drag! Our new Grand Duke Rayson Roldan & Grand Duchess Christina Ashton were crowned with all the accompanying pomp and circumstance to great acclaim at an amazingly reasonable hour, allowing everyone to spread across the city to celebrate.
Concurrent with the Ducal activities were the many events surrounding Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, September 24. We segued into Leather for Magnitude late Saturday night and early Sunday morning. Although some might have cautioned us about taking on too much in one weekend, how glad we were that we went to this Brian Kent Production at the long-abandoned car dealership at Market and Van Ness. DJs Morabito, Brady Prince, and Boomer Banks outdid themselves. There was incredible music as well as mood shifts, phenomenal lasers, and other lights, and the stark architectural space with its packed dance floor was gorgeous! Don’t worry; we left shortly before 3 am.
That very morning was our 25th annual Pre-Folsom Brunch, again this year at the lovely home of Briggs Hawley, completed only with the fantastic support of Mark Paladini, Don Ho Tse, Gary Virginia, and Ray Tilton. Photographs all over social media convey the atmosphere much better than any words we could compose here; it was electric! Leather titleholders from far and wide, as well as scores of supportive friends, packed the house for three hours, eating, drinking, and socializing like we haven’t done since the advent of COVID-19. Surprisingly, Ray had set up quite a little speaking program, including Mark Leno, State Senator Scott Wiener, and International Mr. Leather Lenny Broberg, as well as giving us the rarely presented Leather-to-Leather Award. In addition, Ray had privately asked each guest to bring a red rose for us and we were delightfully inundated. Thank you to all who attended and to all who had a hand in making this event such a success!
Usually, after such a conglomeration of events, we take a day or two to recover, but not this time! We co-hosted with our new friend Cream the 73rd annual San Francisco Council of District Merchants Gala at The Green Room of the War Memorial Building, chaired by its President Masood Samereie, attended by Mayor London Breed, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, Supervisors Rafael Mandelman, Matt Dorsey, Myrna Melgar, and Aaron Peskin, and many other city officials, as well as a host of active businesspeople. An air of optimism pervaded the room. This is a group that has not given up on San Francisco and rightfully so. The gala included cocktails and tasty hors d’oeuvres, a short program of awards and recognitions, and wonderfully lively music from Wobbly World. Not to mention incredible views of City Hall and the full moon! What a night!
The next night we caught the always entertaining Varla Jean Merman at Oasis in Stand by Your Drag. Varla’s inventive take on the current political climate against drag and so many other trends was right on point, keeping the audience in stitches and with something to think about as they went home. With colorful costuming, witty rewritten lyrics, and amazing vocal talents and stage presence, Varla is entertainment at its best! We attended with Desmond Perrotto and visited with Matthew Martin, Jonathan Moscone, Matthew Goudeau,and many others.
Friday night was Divas & Drinks at The Academy, probably one of the most historic and memorable of these monthly events, since we were thanking the legion of volunteers who made up the Bay Times SF Pride Parade contingent and honored legendary singer and activist Linda Tillery. Representatives from the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley each presented Mayoral proclamations declaring it Linda Tillery Day! Now that’s historic! But the peak of the evening was sitting in the East Wing of The Academy surrounded by so many well-known local female musicians as they joined Linda in an extemporaneous explosion of music. Dee Spencer, Barbara Higbie, Melanie DeMore, Terrie Odabe, Sharon Washington, and more created a beautiful tribute to Linda and captured the audience in love. Thanks to all who came and participated, including Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson, Commissioner Debra Walker, Edward Wright from the Office of Vice Mayor of Oakland Rebecca Kaplan, Michell Jester, Dr. Marcy Adelman, and so many more. We raised some money to help with Linda’s mounting medical expenses and we reminded her of exactly how important she is to so many people.
And Saturday night, we joined the Imperial Family for the 51st Mr./Miss/Ms./Mx. Gay Pageant at the Hyatt Regency Downtown SOMA. Mx. Gay SF Ashle Blow, Mr. Gay SF Josué Henriquez, Miss Gay SF Rahni Nothingmore, and Ms. Gay SF Bobbee Trans Mooremon all stepped down and after completing all the categories of competition; Mr. Gay Josue Henriquez will serve for another year and our new Miss Gay SF is Nikita Vega. Thank you to the judges and all who supported and attended this long-standing Imperial competition.
We barely have room to mention our final event: the Castro Street Fair! Suffice it to say that the perfect weather, packed crowds, and busy Castro businesses made for a very happy Sunday. What better way is there to usher in the Fall Season and the gradual, but unavoidable, revival of the neighborhood? Get out there and see for yourself!
Donna Sachet is a celebrated performer, fundraiser, activist, and philanthropist who has dedicated over two decades to the LGBTQ Community in San Francisco. Contact her at empsachet@gmail.com
Saturday, October 7
Jerry Roberts Celebration of Life
Lenny Broberg & Audrey Joseph host
Eagle Tavern, 12th & Harrison
2 pm
Free!
Saturday, October 7
Love Shack: Empress Take-Over
Hosted by Cockatielia, Alexis & Chablis
Drag show & surprises
Beaux, 2344 Market Street
4:30–7:30 pm
Free!
www.sfimperialcouncil.org
Sunday, October 15
Emperor Steven Dorsey’s Sock Hop
Open show, food, surprises, collecting new socks
Benefiting SF Night Ministry
Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, 133 Turk Street
4–7 pm
Free!
www.sfimperialcouncil.org
Saturday, Oct, 21
Krewe de Kinque fundraiser
Benefiting Rainbow Honor Walk
Midnight Sun, 4067 18th Street
4–7 pm
Free!
Donna’s Chronicles
Published on October 5, 2023
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