By Sister Dana Van Iquity
Sister Dana sez, “Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers and daddies out there; with congratz to dads and grads!”
Mayor Ed Lee invited the public to the HARVEY MILK SPECIAL STAMP DEDICATION in City Hall’s Rotunda. A giant rainbow flag rolled back to reveal a huge replica of the official “forever” Milk Stamp. Inspirational speeches were given by such luminaries as Rosemarie Fernandez, vice president of Employee Resource Management, US Postal Service; Milk’s campaign manager and current co-founder of Harvey Milk Foundation, Anne Kronenberg; State Attorney General Kamala Harris; Supervisors David Campos and Scott Wiener; with closing remarks by Stuart Milk, Harvey’s nephew and co-founder of Harvey Milk Foundation. San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus sang brilliantly.
THE RICHMOND/ERMET AIDS FOUNDATION (REAF) held their HELP IS ON THE WAY 20 kick-off party at the Nespresso store on Grant Avenue where we met the beneficiaries of this year’s gala (Abzyme Research Foundation, Aguilas, AIDS Legal Referral Panel, and Positive Resource Center), munched some tasty appetizers, enjoyed great wines with the REAF label, and special entertainment by Jason Brock. We also heard about the upcoming “One Night Only” cabaret with the cast of Once on June 30th at Club Fugazi.
MARRIAGE EQUALITY USA presented SAN FRANCISCO AWARDS at Chambers Eat & Drink and Phoenix hotel to U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker (Retired), famous for ruling on August 4th, 2010 that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional “under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses;” to The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) for advancing the civil and human rights of LGBTQ people and their families through litigation, legislation, policy, and public education since it was founded in 1977 – having been actively involved in a number of marriage equality cases, including the current cases Kitchen v. Herbert in Utah, Pareto v. Ruvin in Florida, and Courage v. Wyoming in Wyoming; and to Arnold & Porter LLP, preeminent international law firm that provided huge pro bono support to the California marriage case that won at the California Supreme Court in 2008.
A&PI WELLNESS CENTER presented their 7TH ANNUAL BLOOM GALA at Metreon, with Bishop Yvette Flunder, the passionate founder of City Refuge UCC and Arc of Refuge, presenting their very first BobbieJean Baker Memorial Award to Miss Major, devoted transgender advocate, activist, and instigator, having fought from the first days of the Stonewall riots and serving as executive director of TGI Justice Project. Receiving the Diva Award was Juanita MORE! as a renowned drag performer, fashion muse, and fantastic fundraiser.
SAN FRANCISCO LESBIAN/GAY FREEDOM BAND put on a festive MUSIC AND WINE BENEFIT at Tom and Jerry‘s famous Christmas Tree House, where we welcomed their new Artistic Director Pete Nowlen, who is also Director of Bands at UC Davis. The event featured superb entertainment by the Emperor Norton Flute Ensemble, Clarinet Buffet, Fog Horns Brass Quintet, Brassavola Brass Quintet, Dixieland Dykes +3, and David Korn, operatic vocalist.
CALAMUS FELLOWHIP, believing spirituality is a holistic experience encompassing the whole of our reality (faggot-focused spiritual discovery), presented the second iteration of SERVICE, a faerie-generated community event combining the best of comradeship, sexy times, ritual space, nourishment, naked men, and beer at the 14th Street House. Led by the esteemed Doctor Manifesto, we dove deep in a journey that brought intimacy and connection through a unique ritual experience including social interaction and humbling foot-washing stations. Another Service is anticipated in two months. calamusfellowship.org.
QUEERBODY.COM presented “Get More of the Sex that You Want!” at Magnet. We joined Josh and Sam of Queerbody.com for an evening of talking about relationships. Some of the topics we discussed were Fearlessness in the face of rejection, Rewiring your brain to say “Yes” to what you want, The two things you HAVE to know for more satisfying relationships (the phrases “Yes please and No thank you), and Flipping the brain switch to make getting what you want automatically easier.
Building bridges between Eastern and Western LGBTQ communities, a delegation of THE SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE from San Francisco, Paris, and Berlin will travel to China to be part of SHANGHAI PRIDE 2014 from June 13th to June 21st. Shanghai Pride has been China’s largest and most influential LGBTQ festival since 2009. It is organized to promote tolerance, create awareness, and celebrate unity and diversity through its events. Through a cross-cultural exchange, the participants will share know-how and experiences to understand how LGBTQ activism has improved the legal and social environment in the West – and how this could be applied in China.
CUMMING UP!
Sister Dana sez, don’t miss these events:
EYE ZEN PRESENTS/SETH EISEN has mounted HOMO FILE, Eisen’s racy, provocative, multi-media performance project (incorporating drama, aerials, live-drawing, puppetry, and live singing) chronicling queer iconoclast Sam Steward – the sexiest professor on campus; seminal tattoo artist, author of pioneering homoerotic fiction, and sexual rebel – at CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission Street, for its final weekend Friday, Saturday, June 13th and 14th, 8pm, Sunday June 15th, 7:30pm. Lively characters include Dr. Alfred Kinsey, Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas, and Thornton Wilder. counterpulse.org.
FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL,13th annual transgender and queer performance festival, Thursday-Saturday, June 19th-21st, 8pm at Z Space, 450 Florida Street. Tickets: $15-$25 sliding scale: ovationtix.com.
THE LESBIAN/GAY CHORUS OF SAN FRANCISCO under the direction of William Sauerland and THE SAN FRANCISCO LESBIAN/GAY FREEDOM BAND under the direction of Pete Nowlen present THE 36TH ANNUAL PRIDE CONCERT: TOGETHER STRONG on Saturday, June 14th, 3pm at the beautiful Kelly Cullen Auditorium, 220 Golden Gate Avenue.annualprideconcert.com.
GAY GREATNESS CELEBRATING LGBTQ CONTRIBUTIONS IN ART AND HISTORY is offered free at Magnet, June 14th, 7-9pm, 4122 18th Street as part of Gay Pride Month, a multimedia presentation by Gregorio Luke. It will celebrate the accomplishments of LGBTQ individuals in art, history, and culture – from Socrates and Sappho, to Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman; from Tchaikovsky to Elton John. magnetsf.org.
FRAMELINE, the world’s largest LGBTQ media arts nonprofit organization, is proud to announce FRAMELINE 38: THE SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL LGBT FILM FESTIVAL. This year’s internationally renowned showcase runs June 19th-29th, with screenings at SF’s historic Castro Theatre, Roxie Theater, and the Victoria Theatre, and in Berkeley at Rialto CinemasÒ Elmwood). With an expected attendance of 65,000, the 11 days will bring together film lovers, media artists, and LGBTQ communities from the Bay Area and all across the globe to behold the best in queer cinema from nearly 800 film submissions, representing more than 30 countries. frameline.org.
PG&E 7TH ANNUAL PRIDE KICK OFF PARTY, hosted by Mark Rhoades, honors the SF LGBT Community Center in support of its cultural and community and youth economic development programs at The Fairmont San Francisco Pavilion Room and Garden Court, 950 Mason Street, Friday, June 20th, 7-11pm. Open bar and hors d’oeuvres. sfcenter.org.
Asian Art Museum opens GORGEOUS, an exhibition with GRIT & GLAMOUR PARTY, Friday, June 20th, 6:30-11 pm, Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street with fierce runway performances of vicious vogue-ing throughout the night, culminating in the main “couture” fashion show from 9-10 pm in the grand Samsung Hall. Featured are works of art and videos including drag queens and drag nuns (me and Sister Roma) talking about what is gorgeous and what is not. asianart.org.
SF GAY MEN’S CHORUS‘s most fabulous Broadway revue ever, DAZZLE: BROADWAY OUR WAY, features popular hits from shows like Avenue Q, Dreamgirls, Fiddler on the Roof, Kinky Boots, Oklahoma, Rent, South Pacific, Sunday in the Park with George, and West Side Story, June 25th, 26th & 27th, 8pm, Nourse Theatre, 275 Hayes Street. sfgmc.org.
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Artist/ filmmaker/photographer EVIE LEDER is showing THE OBJECTS at ASC Projects, 3150 18th Street, #104 (entrance on Treat Avenue), now through June 29th, with a new series of approximately 30 amazing videos, along with a series of detail photographs and video stills of a diverse group of male performers and artists in the SF queer scene – meant as collaborative frames to allow the subjects’ humanness to slowly appear, continuing the artists’ interest in gender, power, identity, and the tensions inherent within the medium of video. For a video taste, browse evieleder.com/objects.
Magnet is exhibiting the beautiful POSTERS OF TODD TREXLER during the month of June. Sadly, Todd passed away unexpectedly on February 9, 2014. Todd made posters for his friends during the 1970s in San Francisco. Some of his friends included the late Sylvester and Divine. He also made posters for The Cockettes, and the NOCTURNAL DREAM SHOW midnight extravaganzas. magnetsf.org.
Sister Dana sez, “Happy Belated (May 17th, 2004) Anniversary to Massachusetts – granting same-sex couples the right to legally marry. Let’s be sure to reflect on the significance of Massachusetts’ role in our nation’s fight for marriage equality!”
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