By Donna Sachet—
We’ve just emerged from one of the busiest and most satisfying Pride Months of our 30-some years in San Francisco! And we attended or participated in more than our share of events; some might say too many. But what were we going to opt out of? Were we going to miss Rikki’s first year anniversary, the Gay Men’s Chorus’ Pride Concert, Nas Mohamed’s Love Is You, Broadway Bares at the Castro Theatre, REAF’s One Night Only with the cast of Phantom of the Opera, ALRP’s Garden Party at Hot Johnnie’s, Mark Rhoades’ VIP Pride Party, Pride Fashion Runway at Glide Memorial, Transgender VIP Party at the Hilton, the San Francisco Bay Times’ own Pride Kickoff at The Academy SF, San Francisco Opera’s Pride Concert, or the San Francisco Pride Parade itself? The choices were nearly overwhelming, but, as your intrepid social columnist, we did our best to cover them all!
Rikki’s anniversary on June 11 reflected its first year of tireless devotion to the memory of Rikki Stryker and the need for a place for San Francisco’s lesbians and their admirers to gather and socialize. With Christie James as DJ, the party was rocking and kudos go out to owners Sara Yergovich and Danielle Thoe for creating a “living room for lesbians” in San Francisco!
We attended the Gay Men’s Chorus’ Pride Concert with Ralph Hibbs, enjoying the chorus’ salute to Dolly Parton at the Curran Theatre. The music was lively and crowd-pleasing and the setting worthy of this fantastic chorus. They continued to pay tribute to outgoing Chief Executive Officer Chris Verdugo and introduced the new CEO Lane Sugata, whom we got to meet in the lobby while hobnobbing with so many chorus friends. Artistic Director Jacob Stensberg continues to take the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus to new heights!
Later that night, we joined a very diverse group of supporters of Dr. Nas Mohamed, the first openly gay Qatari, for Love Is You at the Old Mint. Love was truly in the air as dance music played, people of all backgrounds and nationalities mingled, and World Cup hype gave way to personal interaction and feelings of unity. Nas himself performed a special number at the height of the party, musically expressing his desire to unify through love. What a special night!
Sunday, June 14, saw the return of Broadway Bares, raising money for the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation (REAF) and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, while delighting a sold-out audience at the Castro Theatre with vignettes reflecting this year’s theme of computer games and characters. Weeks of rehearsal go into the very professional version of the original New York show, complete with fabulous, revealing costumes and impressive dance moves, which ended with personal visits into the audience and prodigious tipping.
The next night, REAF hosted its own event at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre, One Night Only with the traveling cast of Phantom of the Opera, produced by San Francisco’s favorite Christine from Phantom, Lisa Vroman. This was a triumphant return to San Francisco for Lisa, who had appeared in numerous REAF benefit shows and a full house welcomed her back. Various musical solos and group numbers kept us all engaged and the reception afterwards in the lobby was abuzz with accolades.
We were delighted to return to Hot Johnnie’s as hostess for AIDS Legal Referral Panel’s (ALRP) Garden Party, a small, but enthusiastic, get-together for supporters and Board members, featuring a couple of live auctions and a prize for best hat contest. The food was incredible, the guests were generous, and the weather was perfect for a Garden Party.
Mark Rhoades brought back his own VIP Pride Party later that same day and the attendance said it was a great idea. Reflective of his citywide involvement, the guest list was truly VIP and the setting of the beautiful Holbrook House glass atrium was perfect for everyone to reunite and celebrate. We shared the experience with Gary Virginia and caught up with Paula West, Sister Roma, Saul Sugarman, Mark Calvano, Winn Pham, Brent Marek, and so many others.
That brings us to the event of the season, Runway of Pride, second only to Built This City, which was covered extensively in our last column. In 2025, Dr. Nas Mohamed with San Francisco Pride created a fashion show, Threads of Pride, using local personalities as models and local designers to originate their runway looks. The event took place at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and caught many of us by surprise with its professionalism and sheer impact. This year, the show was produced by stylist Antonio Contreras and GLIDE Memorial was the hosting location. We were seated in a pew for the first time in ages with our friend Rusty Best. What a show! Stand-out models included Suzanne Ford, Tom LeNoble, Scott Wiener, Rafael Mandelman, Joel Goodrich, Honey Mahogany, Sister Roma, and the star of the show, London Breed, in a floor length red sequin gown with ruffled neckline!The coup d’etat was the appearance of legendary international model Pat Cleveland dressed in a golden ensemble and finishing the show with a vocal performance that surprised everyone. Surely this event will become a regular part of Pride Month!
Rounding out Pride was the Transgender VIP Party hosted by the downtown Hilton, the marvelous group assembled for the Bay Times Pride Kickoff Party at The Academy SF, partnering with the Bayard Rustin Coalition and Soul of Pride Awards, and a lovely evening of opera with soloists hosted by Sapphira Cristál of RuPaul’s Drag Race, followed by dancing in the lobby with DJ Juanita MORE!
We finished our Pride celebration and spent the last ounce of our energy riding in the double decker bus with the Bay Times team in the Pride Parade and finally relaxing at the VIP Party at the Asian Art Museum. Yes, it was a whirlwind of activities, but we wouldn’t do it any other way.
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, July 18
Studio 456
Q-Bar & Lounge
456 Castro Street
All vinyl disco DJs
5–9 pm
www.qbar-sf.com
Sunday, July 19
San Francisco AIDS Walk
40th annual fundraiser
Join hundreds of walkers
www.aidswalk.net
Sunday, July 19
Roll for Charisma
Game night & performances
Hosted by
Mx. Golden Gate Llewellyn
The Willows, 1582 Folsom Street
4 pm Free!
www.sfimperialcouncil.org
Saturday, July 25
An Evening with
Ms. Imperial Leather
Hosted by Bernadette
The Stud, 1123 Folsom Street
4:30–7:30 pm Free!
www.sfimperialcouncil.org
Donna’s Chronicles
Published on July 16, 2026
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