Afternoon View - Castro Street Fair

Castro Street Fair 1976

The 38th annual Castro Street Fair is this Sunday and the San Francisco GLBT Historical Society has posted the below archival footage from 1976.

SAN FRANCISCO: Catholic Church Bans Drag Queens From Sobriety Function

The new pastor of the Castro's Most Holy Redeemer Church has banned drag queens from performing at the gay sobriety fundraiser held there for the last two years. Via the Bay Area Reporter:

For the past couple of years the Castro Country Club has held its event in the church's social hall and had drag queens as entertainment. As a statement issued by the country club's board of directors explained, the new no-drag-queen policy at the church is simply unacceptable. "The Castro Country Club had planned to hold our third annual Harvest Feast on October 20, 2012, at Most Holy Redeemer Church, where we have held this and other events in the past," the directors said in a statement. But that changed when the club was notified by the church last week that they would not be able to hold the dinner if any drag queens were part of the program, the board said. "In previous years, we have had Ivy Drip and Heklina, both well-known entertainers and community fundraisers, serve as emcees of the event, and we felt we could not in good conscience abide by the church's new policy," the board said.

The new Archbishop of San Francisco is Salvatore Cordileone, the so-called "father of Prop 8," but it's not yet apparent if the drag ban comes from his office. (Tipped by JMG reader Mark)

BREAKING: GetEQUAL To Close Down Castro & Market In ENDA Protest

GetEQUAL plans to close down the intersection of Castro and Market streets in San Francisco this afternoon in a protest over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's inaction on ENDA. The group similarly shut down the Las Vegas strip in August during Netroots Nation. Today's action is scheduled for 5pm local time. Via press release:

"We pay taxes, contribute to the economy, and create American-paid jobs that provide products and services world-wide. Yet we continue to be treated unequal and Speaker Pelosi has the power to bring us one step closer to being fully-protected American citizens - and workers," said Dan Fotou, a California GetEQUAL supporter and participant in today's rally. "As Speaker Pelosi and other members of Congress are out campaigning to keep their jobs, they should know we have every intent of continuing our campaign to keep our jobs, too. Speaker Pelosi has said that 'our impatience is justified' - but what isn't justified is the unfulfilled promises she continues to make to the LGBT community. It's time for Speaker Pelosi to do the right thing and schedule an immediate vote on ENDA."

"GetEQUAL has promised that, as long as people's lives and livelihoods are at stake, we will not stop standing up for those LGBT workers in dozens of states across this country without a voice, without any job security," said Heather Cronk, managing director of GetEQUAL. "With the launch of our 'ENDA Summer' campaign, we told politicians that while they are back home campaigning to save their jobs, we intend on reminding them that their employment isn't the only one on the line. Millions of LGBT workers punch a clock every single day unsure if today's timecard could turn into tomorrow's discriminatory pink slip. The time to pass ENDA is now."

Another protest is underway at this writing in the offices of Rep. Chris Carney (D) in Pennsylvania. Zach Ford has more and photos of the sit-in.

Momentarily Self-Affirmed

Earlier this month at the Castro Street Fair, I stepped on the Self-Affirmation Scale. It worked. I immediately had a corn dog and another beer.

A Good Day For A Fair-y

A cloudless sky and temps in the 80s brought a horde of happy homos to the Castro Street Fair today. Ah, San Francisco summer. I've run into tons of people I knew when I lived here, some of which only remembered me by my old Manhunt screenname. I love my people.

Down in the Sugar Valley section of the fair, where you could whack-a-mole celebrity Scientologists and perform other pop culture-related antics, I ran into drag superstar Peaches Christ, whose name still makes me laugh all these years later.