The San Francisco Chronicle is proud to welcome its 2022 class of summer interns. Starting Monday, June 13, these standout students will be working on big stories across departments and coverage areas. The interns come from eight colleges and universities and represent disciplines including reporting, video, audio, photography, editing and audience. 

Let’s meet the journalists and their assignments:

Stanford University graduate student Chasity Hale interns with the The Chronicle’s Race & Equity team this summer. 

Courtesy of Chasity Hale

Chasity Hale  
Race & Equity 

Chasity Hale is a journalism master’s student at Stanford University, where she also received her bachelor’s degree in communication and creative writing. She has interned at NPR Music, worked at the Stanford Daily student-run newsroom, and written for various publications, including the San Franciscan magazine and Peninsula Press. Raised in Miami, Hale is intimately aware of the dangers that climate change poses to coastal cities and is passionate about reporting on the environment through the lenses of equity and justice. She is excited to be joining the Race & Equity team this summer. 

UC Berkeley graduate student Elgin Nelson interns with the Food & Wine team this summer. 

Courtesy of Elgin Nelson

Elgin Nelson 
Food & Wine

Elgin Nelson is the newsroom’s Food & Wine intern. Nelson is from Phoenix, Ariz., and is in his second year at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. His studies include longform narratives and photojournalism surrounding the arts. Before graduate school, Nelson interned at VinePair, a digital publication that covers the alcohol beverage industry. He also interned at Firelight Films, where he worked as a research and production intern.

Stanford University undergraduate Emma Talley returns to The Chronicle’s Metro team after interning in 2021.

Courtesy of Emma Talley

Emma Talley
Metro 

Emma Talley is returning to the newsroom’s Metro team this summer. Talley is a rising junior at Stanford University studying communication. She spends almost all of her free time serving as editor in chief of the Stanford Daily. Talley previously worked with The Chronicle’s Metro and Breaking News teams as an intern during the spring and summer of 2021, covering breaking news and education.

Santa Monica College student Ethan Swope interns with The Chronicle’s Visuals team this summer.

Courtesy of Ethan Swope

Ethan Swope 
Visuals 

Ethan Swope is a photojournalist and documentary filmmaker in the San Francisco Bay Area covering local and international news including the war in Ukraine, immigration in Mexico and Lebanon, wildfires in California, and civil unrest in the United States and the Middle East. He strives to tell stories that make an emotional impact. Swope has been on assignment for the Associated Press, Getty Images, Bloomberg and The Chronicle. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Time magazine and international news outlets. The White House News Photographers Association named Swope the 2022 Student Photographer of the Year. He is the recipient of multiple recognitions from the College Photographer of the Year contest, including 2021 College Photographer of the Year Silver. Swope is a Dean’s Honor List student at Santa Monica College where he is studying film production for an associate degree with the intent to transfer. He is thrilled to join The Chronicle this summer and work alongside the talented photojournalists whom he has long admired. 

Northwestern University undergraduate Kikue Higuchi interns with The Chronicle’s Sports desk this summer.

Joshua Hoffman

Kikue Higuchi 
Sports 

Our new sports intern writes: “While I am currently in Chicago, studying journalism at Northwestern University, I was born and raised in the East Bay. I have always been a fan of Bay Area sports; although I haven’t been to a Warriors game since Steph Curry joined the roster. Remember when tickets were only $26? 

“I spent the past three months working remotely with the CNN Sports team, assisting the desk with newsgathering and writing digital articles. At CNN, I had the opportunity to gain experience reporting on some of the biggest events in sports, including the Winter Olympics, March Madness, the Masters and the NFL Draft. At Northwestern, I work with the athletic communications department as an assistant. I write game stories and features for NUSports.com, with a focus on field hockey, women’s basketball and women’s lacrosse. I also handle social media for the same sports, so I got to live-tweet Northwestern field hockey’s win in the 2021 NCAA Championship game! 

“I’m super excited to be back in the Bay Area for the summer after suffering through yet another Chicago winter and even more thrilled to be working with reporters I read all the time!” 

Sacramento State University graduate Jordan Parker interns with the The Chronicle’s Breaking News team this summer.

Courtesy of Jordan Parker

Jordan Parker  
Breaking News 

Jordan Parker joins the newsroom as a breaking news intern. He comes to The Chronicle from Sacramento State University, where he just finished his bachelor’s degree in journalism. Parker spent six semesters on his award-winning college newspaper, the State Hornet, where he won two Associated Collegiate Press awards and led the organization to an Innovation Pacemaker award as editor in chief. Before joining the State Hornet, Parker was the sports editor for his Tracy High School’s student newspaper, the Scholar and Athlete. His work has also appeared in the Sacramento Observer and Sacramento News & Review. Despite growing up in California, Parker is a diehard Boston sports fan and will not answer questions about why that makes sense.  

UC Berkeley undergraduate Joy Diamond is The Chronicle’s Next Gen Critics and Arts Intern for the Datebook section this summer.

Courtesy of Joy Diamond

Joy Diamond  
Datebook

Joy Diamond is The Chronicle’s Next Gen Critics and Arts Intern for the Datebook section. Born in Shanghai but raised in Alameda, she considers herself a Bay Area native and is elated to grow as a writer at the very newspaper she has been following for years. Diamond is entering her sophomore year at UC Berkeley, where she is double majoring in English and film and media studies. As an arts and entertainment reporter for The Daily Californian, UC Berkeley’s student-run newsroom, she has served as training manager for the department and held the film and theater beats. Diamond also reviews television, music releases, local concerts and regularly interviews local creatives. Her writing has also been published in Alameda Magazine and the Alameda Sun. She enjoys drinking coffee, sewing, playing music and painstakingly chipping away at a feature-length screenplay. 

San Francisco State University undergraduate Leticia Luna interns with The Chronicle’s Audience team this summer. 

Ivan Chairez

Leticia Luna
Audience 

Leticia Luna is the summer intern in The Chronicle’s audience team. Luna is a Brazilian living in the Bay Area. She is spontaneous and enjoys the outdoors. She likes to engage with her community, which inspired her to become a journalist. A proud Laney Community College Journalism graduate, Luna has experienced life in a newsroom in all stages, from staff writer to editor in chief, at the college’s publication — the Citizen. After her internship at The Chronicle, she will continue to pursue her journalism degree at San Francisco State. 

Stanford graduate Melissa Newcomb interns with The Chronicle’s Audio team this summer. 

Courtesy of Melissa Newcomb

Melissa Newcomb 
Audio 

Melissa Newcomb recently completed her masters of journalism from Stanford University, covering issues like education, housing and labor. Her thesis focused on providing a roadmap for women who have experienced sexual assault at a university. A Syracuse, N.Y., native, she is new to the city and is excited to be joining the audio team this summer. In her free time, Newcomb enjoys playing beach volleyball competitively and walking her German shepherd, Winslow.  

Owen Henderson, an undergraduate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is one of this year’s Dow Jones News Fund Multiplatform Editing interns. 

Courtesy of Owen Henderson

Owen Henderson 
Multiplatform Editing Desk 

Owen Henderson is a rising senior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he studies journalism with minors in Spanish and theater, and he will be one of this year’s multiplatform editing interns under the Dow Jones News Fund journalism fellowship. Before his time at The Chronicle, he worked as the digital and production intern for “The 21st” public radio talk show, a correspondent and host for WPGU News, and an anchor for “Good Morning Illini” student-produced morning show, as well as serving as a contributor and digital intern at Illinois Newsroom and as a producer for the University of Illinois Bands’ podcast “One More Time.” When he’s not working, Henderson can usually be found baking bread or hiking. 

Kent State University undergraduate Reegan Saunders is one of this year’s Dow Jones News Fund Multiplatform Editing interns. 

Courtesy of Reegan Saunders

Reegan Saunders 
Multiplatform Editing Desk 

Reegan Saunders will be joining the newsroom as a multiplatform copy editing intern from the Dow Jones News Fund. A rising senior at Kent State University, Saunders is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in print media and photography. Saunders has worked as a general assignment editor and diversity beat reporter for KentWired. They have also worked as a contributing copy editor for Maggot Brain Magazine. In their free time, Saunders loves to write music reviews and interview local bands in the Midwest.

UC Berkeley graduate student Sabrina Pascua interns with The Chronicle’s Investigative team this summer.

Kori Suzuki

Sabrina Pascua 
Investigative 

Sabrina Pascua is the newsroom’s first intern with the Investigative team. She joins the team after finishing her first year at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. There she studies audio storytelling, multimedia production and investigative reporting. She is also a first-generation student and is a member of the school’s inaugural Dean’s Fellowship. This spring, Pascua worked as a reporter for the UC Berkeley Investigative Reporting Program, where she researched labor and sex-trafficking cases. Before attending UC Berkeley, Pascua served as editor in chief of the student-run Mustang News at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and graduated last spring. Pascua is an alumna of the Dow Jones News Fund multiplatform editing residency and a former editing intern for The New York Times. Born and raised in California by two Filipino immigrants, Pascua is inspired to uplift stories from underreported communities like her parents.’  

UC Berkeley graduate student Xueer Lu interns with The Chronicle’s Digital Design team this summer. 

Courtesy of Xueer Lu

Xueer Lu
Digital Design

Xueer Lu is a bilingual multimedia journalist from Wuhan, China. Xueer used to work as a campus fact-checker and data journalist in NJU Factcheck, a student newsroom at Nanjing University. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English in 2020, Xueer worked as a multimedia reporter in Beijing covering business and technology. As she returns to campus for her master’s degree at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, she will be focusing on data journalism and digital design. She’s interested in stories about public policies, social justice and the Asian community.  

And on June 21, we’ll be joined by: 

Stanford University undergraduate Camryn Pak interns with The Chronicle’s Politics team this summer.

Courtesy of Camryn Pak

Camryn Pak 
Politics 

Camryn Pak is a politics reporting intern and a rising senior at Stanford University. She is majoring in American studies with an emphasis in inequality, media and the law. Before working at The Chronicle, Pak served as news managing editor for the Stanford Daily and reported for the Orange County Register. She also interned at the U.S. Department of Justice and hosted podcasts and wrote news articles for GovSight, a nonprofit civic information startup. Outside of reporting, Pak enjoys playing card games, going on morning walks around the city and exchanging music recommendations. 

About The San Francisco Chronicle
The San Francisco Chronicle (www.sfchronicle.com) is the largest newspaper in Northern California and the second largest on the West Coast. Acquired by the Hearst Corporation in 2000, The San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 by Charles and Michael de Young and has been awarded six Pulitzer Prizes for journalistic excellence. Follow us on Twitter at @SFChronicle.

The post Introducing The San Francisco Chronicle’s intern class of summer time 2022 appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

By Gary M. Kramer–

The title of a new film, compartment no. 6, refers to the second-class berth on a train that travels from Moscow to Murmansk. It is a journey of several days, and Laura (Seidi Haarla) a Finnish grad student interested in archaeology, is headed to this arctic circle town to see the petroglyphs. To understand the present, she claims, she needs to know the past. (The film, which is now playing in the Bay Area, is set in the pre-Glasnost era.)

That idea may also be a metaphor for her personal life. She was supposed to make the trip with her girlfriend Irina (Dinara Drukravo), whom she was living with in Moscow, but Irina canceled at the last minute. Laura is unhappy to be making journey alone—and even unhappier when her compartment mate on the train is Ljoha (Yuriy Borisov). The young Russian man, who is headed to the port city to work in mining, is drunk and verbally abusive when Laura first meets him. Laura tries to change compartments, but that is not possible. However, through a series of interactions, the two strangers come to a detente.

Compartment no. 6 is, thankfully, not an opposites-attract love story—Laura’s sexuality assures this—but it does show how these two lonely strangers on a train make an unexpected connection. Director Juho Kuosmanen—who cowrote the screenplay, an adaptation of Rosa Liksom’s novel—concentrates on the shifting balance of power between these two characters, and that is what makes his film so engrossing.

Laura is justifiably wary of Ljoha when they first meet, and she does not appreciate his boorish behavior. He challenges her perceptions, however, protecting her space when she leaves the compartment (with all her stuff) and asking her if she thinks he is a thief. Trust is also critical in Laura’s relationship with Ljoha when the train makes for an overnight stop. Arriving in a car that appears out of nowhere, Ljoha offers to take Laura on a ride out to see his friend Lidia (Lidia Kostina). Laura lacks a better option, and eventually joins him, leading to a sweet scene between the two women.

Laura is certainly distracted by her tenuous situation with Irina. Her girlfriend does not want to talk to Laura when she calls her at every train stop. The details of their relationship are vague, but Kuosmanen drops just enough clues in the early scenes of the women at a party, or in bed together, to indicate who has control. And much of the film involves Laura losing control to find herself and feel good again.

Laura gets frustrated when she tries to manipulate things to her advantage. When she meets Sasha (Tomi Alatalo), a Finn who boarded the train—and can’t communicate with the implacable conductor (Yuliya Aug)—Laura invites Sasha to stay in her compartment, despite his third-class ticket. It is a power move to upset Ljoha, and it does irritate him, but it also backfires on her. That said, it prompts Laura to give a very moving speech where she provides Ljoha with some context of her life.

The expected bond that develops between these characters provides Compartment No. 6” with its magic. The performances by Haarla and Borisov are so real that one might think they are non-professional actors. (They are not; both have numerous credits, though this is Haarla’s first lead in a feature, and she is particularly ingratiating.) They needle each other in ways that may seem to provoke, but in hindsight, reveal how they express themselves and communicate .

Ljoha has the same insecurities and fears as Laura does, but he internalizes them where she expresses hers. A terrific scene in a dining car on their last night together shows the dynamic of their relationship. While Laura gives Ljoha a picture she secretly drew from him, and asks him to do the same, he denies her request. Whenever they try to find a level playing field, there is an imbalance.

Compartment no. 6 wisely extends the story beyond just the train ride, into Murmansk, and it is seeing how things play out with the characters that makes this film so emotionally satisfying.

Kuosmanen’s film is appropriately claustrophobic—the tight compartment on the train is, of course, a metaphor for the characters’ trapped emotions. In Murmansk, where scenes are shot in the vast, snowy outdoors, it is hard not to shiver at the cold. Viewers practically eavesdrop on the characters throughout the film, and the handheld camerawork creates a you-are-there feeling. The cramped spaces are so vivid that viewers can practically smell what is on screen, which is not a bad thing. The realism here is effective. Like the two central performances, everything feels lived in.

Ultimately, the film shows how these characters connect and grow as a result of knowing one another. In the process, viewers will likely feel that they know these people too, and will be glad that they spent quality time with them.

© 2022 Gary M Kramer

Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” Follow him on Twitter @garymkramer

Published on February 24, 2022

The post New Movie Chronicles the Bond Between Strangers – San Francisco Bay Instances appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Donna pouch –

The Academy’s third annual Legends Awards ceremony was held at the Swedish American Hall last Friday and nearly 200 people came to celebrate and socialize, including Jan Wahl, Gary Virginia, Gareth Gooch, Bill Wilson, and Brian Kent. We cooperate with the dashing Liam Mayclem of television and gastronomic celebrity and Sister Roma, the “most photographed nun in the world” and she is always fun to work with. Paul Miller and Nate Bourg In addition to launching The Academy, you created a group of awards to recognize those who make a difference in the LGBTQ + community. The Exemplar Award was presented by the sparkling Mercedez Munro to the longtime champion of the Asian / Pacific Islander Community Tita Aida. the Diane Jones Solidarity award went to writer, activist and filmmaker Leo Herrerawho accepted by video. The Architect Award was then presented by a talented drag performer Miss Rahni Nothing more to Scott Petersonwho made the powerhouse such a popular SOMA location; his remarks were particularly humble and moving. In between awards, we enjoyed a remarkable variety of musical performances by Russell Deason, Melanie DeMore, and Linda Steinstrasse. Finally, the Legends Archive Award was presented by Terrance Kelly, Director of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir Dr. Tim Seelig, Artistic Director of the SF Gay Men’s Chorus. Tim recently announced his retirement after an exceptional career and particularly significant contributions to this local choir, making him a perfect choice for the evening’s first award. In keeping with previous years, Tim gave one of his favorite conducting sticks, framed by historical photographs and documents, on display at the Academy forever, along with Sister Roma’s headdress and Juanita MORE!‘sneon “Loads of Love”. The awards ended with a hilarious video from Tim and a rousing song by members of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. The guests hiked next to the Academy to an after-party in the Academy with all the award winners, presenters, actors and guests for cocktails and congratulations, as Juanita MORE! made for excellent music.

Two recent events occurred to friends and acquaintances of the deceased Harry Denton and Michael Pagan an opportunity to collect and share great memories. First, Harry’s Bar on Fillmore Street hosted a weekday happy hour party. Since we have never been to this bar and were rather unfamiliar with this forest neck, we went there a little hesitantly, unsure of our reception. Within minutes of arriving, any fear was gone Gregor August offered us a seat and a cosmo and engaged us in a pleasant conversation. The crowd of exuberant guests hummed with amusing stories about their experiences with Harry Denton. At some point it was time to cut the two cakes, both with suggestive and amusing designs, and sing the birthday song. Somehow we were lifted to the front bar with Liam Mayclem with the blessing of the general manager Charles Johnson and we conducted the chant that ended with a toast to this extraordinary San Franciscan.

Then we met some former Sir Francis Drake Hotel staff and other friends and business associates of Michael Pagan at Harris’ Steakhouse. Once again the conversation turned to the man we honored. We loved spending time with Cassandra Cass, Holotta Tymes, and Robert Carstensenwho all played a vital role in the success of Sunday’s a Drag at The Starlight Room, as well as other familiar faces from the many years doing shows at the hotel. We even got the chance to spend a few minutes with Michael’s sister, daughter, and son-in-law. A big thank you to Scott Taylor for a comfortable setting with a bar, delicious food, beautiful flower arrangements and a slide show with photos. Each of these events was not difficult with ceremonies or speeches, but served an important purpose, bringing together people who have been affected by the loss of two very caring people who touched many lives.

We ended our weekend with the celebration of the Absolute Empress Marlenas Birthday with many of her friends in Patricia’s Green, the small park in the Hayes Valley, directly opposite the legendary Marlena’s Bar. Marlena shone when she received admirers from near and far, courtly and otherwise, when cake was cut and champagne flowed. We talked to emperors John Carrillo, Jacque Michaels, JP Soto, and Bill Bulkley, Empresses Alexis miranda and Emma Peel, Kippy Marks, Carlos Medal, Patrick Noonan, Aldy Albanes-Pearman, Bobby Sleker, Ehra Amaya, Jouke Lanning, and much more. This was an informal celebration for a wonderful community icon. As this pandemic continues to melt, we look forward to many more such events, bringing people back together personally with caution but with boundless joy.

Donna Sachet is a celebrated performer, fundraiser, activist, and philanthropist with over two decades of service to the San Francisco LGBTQ community. Contact them at empsachet@gmail.com

Calendar a / la sachet

Friday 19th November
Winter onesie party
Have fun in your favorite body
DJ Rob Moore
The Lookout, 3600 16th Street
21 clock
For free!

Monday, November 29th
Castro Christmas tree lights
Hosted by Donna Sachet
Music, elected officials, and fellowship
Bank of America, Castro location
6 p.m.
For free!

Thursday December 2nd
Drag queens on the ice
Union Square holiday skating rink
Top drag queens conquer the ice
Special guest Denali from RuPaul’s Drag Race
19 o’clock
For free!

Sunday 5th December
Help is on the way for the holidays XX
Richmond / Ermet Aid Foundation benefits the Open Hand project
Auction & Performances
Brava Theater, 2781 24th Street
6:30 in the evening
$ 45 and more
www.reaf.org

Monday 6th December
Tree of hope lighting
Rainbow World Fund
Origami decorated Christmas tree
Grace Cathedral, 1100 California Street
19 o’clock
For free!
www.rainbowfund.org

Sunday December 12th
Birthday cabaret & celebration
Celebrations of José Sarria hosted by Emperor XLVIII, AN, William Bulkley
Moderation by the Imperial Crown Princess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy
Martuni’s, 4 Valencia street
4–6 p.m.

Tuesday and Wednesday, December 14th & 15th
Donna Sachets Songs of the Season
Presented by Brian Kent
Advantages of the holiday cabaret PRC
Feinstein’s at Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason Street
8 p.m.
$ 25 and more
www.prcsf.org

Published on November 18, 2021

The post Donna’s Chronicles: The Academy’s third annual Legends Awards – San Francisco Bay Occasions appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

From Donna Sachet–

No Pride Parade? No celebration in the community center? How could we celebrate SF Pride? This community has once again proven that it can! The last week of June coincided with the modified opening of the city after over 14 months of COVID-related restrictions and our LGBTQ + community was ready to celebrate SF Pride!

On the evening of June 23, the Rainbow Honor Walk hosted the second of its Rainbow Reels series, highlighting people who have bronze plaques in their honor on the sidewalks of the Castro neighborhood by having a group at home watch relevant films. The first Rainbow Reels last December focused on Divine with the film I am divine. That evening two films were shown, No Secret Anymore and One Wedding and a Revolution, each offering unique insights into the life of. Offer Phyllis Lyon & Del Martin. Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors Barbara Tannenbaum hosted a lively discussion Marcia Gallo, The films were followed by a rapid auction and thank you gifts were sent to donors. All in all, the Rainbow Honor Walk has paid well-deserved attention to Phyllis Lyon & Del Martin, and supportive donors have helped raise funds for future bronze plaques.

Don’t miss the Castro Walgreen Community Windows, now with the Rainbow Honor Walk and a big thank you to the longtime and ongoing donor Allan Baird. Without financial support like his, this project to honor LGBTQ + people could not continue.

The following night, June 24th, the San Francisco Bay Times and The Academy hosted the second Divas & Drinks event, this time live and in person at the Academy. This relatively new private club was founded by Nate Bourg and Paul Miller offers a well-appointed, intimate space for private gatherings, from book club reunions, wine tastings and cocktail parties to larger events like this one designed to highlight the women’s community at Castro. Two teams faced each other in a playful Name That Tune game, moderated by this columnist and with the help of DJ Rockaway, with Team Olivia taking home the award. Every luxurious and comfortable room at the Academy was filled with happy celebrations, suddenly stripped of masks and social distancing, stepping out onto the spacious deck with heated seating areas and fire pit and enjoying nibbles from Noe Valley Bakery, Extreme Pizza and Kokak Chocolates, and mixed cocktails a Bacardi representative Liz Thyken and curated by Bacardi VP Heide Freyer.

The show stopper of the night was Mayor’s appearance London breed! Obviously relaxed and comfortable in this club atmosphere, she stayed long after the official program and enjoyed conversations and cocktails. SF supervisors were also present Rafael Mandelmann, SF Pride Grand Marshals Melonia green, melora green, and Clair Farley, and Dion Lim from ABC-7 news. We met up with a variety of friends including Openhouse founder Dr. Marcy Adelmann, The creators of Pink Triangle Patrick & Hossein Carney, Derek Barnes, SF commissioners Debra Walker and Andrea Shorter, Kate Brown by Dykes on Bikes, Beth Schnitzer from spritz public relations and of course Betty Sullivan and Jennifer Viegas the San Francisco Bay Times. The invitation to the Divas & Drinks of the evening was: “Where are all the women in the Castro?” Well, that evening they were in the academy and had a great time!

We happened to be back at the Academy for An Evening with Donna Sachet the next night. As COVID restrictions relaxed, it just seemed appropriate to have an intimate evening with friends, and so we did. The Academy provided and brought a blackjack table, cocktails, and nibbles Russell Deason to play the in-house piano. Needless to say, singing followed. Andrew Hirst began with his savvy voice applied to Broadway show tunes.

After some pleading, we put the crowd in the piano room and sang some of our favorite songs and shared personal stories. Were among the cozy crowd Cicero Braganca & Russ Fischella, Jeff Doney & Adam Their, David Hone, and too many others to name. In the end, it was the perfect, low-key evening with close friends and new acquaintances to share memories and create new ones.

Saturday, June 26th, was the long-awaited appointment of Gary Virginia & Donna Sachets 23rd Annual Pride Brunch! Although this was the second annual virtual event and we missed personal camaraderie, this year’s theme, “A Taste of SF Pride” took visitors on a fun tour of the San Francisco neighborhoods of special relevance to the LGBTQ + community, punctuated by video footage from SF Pride Grand Marshals and other special guests including Mayor London Breed and Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Musical entertainment from the SF Lesbian / Gay Freedom Band and Kippy brands, a moving tribute to longtime supporters Tom Taylor, and a photographic review of 22 previous Pride Brunches rounded off the program. After all was said and done, over $ 33,000 was raised for the People’s Republic of China and this popular tradition continued.

You may have had the opportunity to watch the program on Saturday, June 26th, or afterwards on YouTube. In fact, four generous sponsors bought a King Suite at The Palace Hotel one Friday night and watched the Pride Brunch from their room the next morning before checking out. She and other premium ticket holders received delivered gift bags and DoorDash delivered brunch of their choice while they participated in a lively silent auction for excursions, dinners, gourmet baskets, and other items.

We accompanied our co-host Gary Virginia to an official viewing party in a dear friend’s beautiful Castro house! The decor was over the top, the food plentiful and tasty, the drinks galore, and the company exceptional, including the former SF Pride President Michelle Meow & Tookta, current SF Pride President Carolyn Wysinger, Briggs Hawley, Don Ho Tse, Eric Bernier & Mike Proctor, Ernie Hong & Fred Siegel, Deana Dawn, Joe Mac, Khmera Rouge, Kevin Lisle, Tyler Nelson, and Ralph Hibbs. What a great way to see the end product of months of preparation and work surrounded by a diverse group of good friends!

We ended our SF Pride weekend as we had for many years Juanita MORE!“infamous Pride party on Sunday June 27th. Over the course of 10 hours or more, some sort of SF Pride Parade marched through this sprawling space, pumped up by great music and excellent camaraderie, including Sister Roma, Celso Dulay & CJ Knight, Julian Marshburn, Suzan Revah, Dulce de Leche, Mutha Chucka, Christopher Vasquez, Acting emperor Mr. David Glamamore, and much more. We later heard that the event raised significant funds again, this year over $ 110,000 for the Imperial Council and Queer Nightlife Fund. What a fitting way to underline that this is indeed a resilient, courageous gathering of like-minded people who refuse to be handicapped by cancellations, pandemics, or other adversity!

With all that behind us, we can only imagine what an incredible SF Pride Parade & Celebration awaits us next year! But not without your commitment! Think about getting more actively involved in the planning and running of SF Pride, volunteering to help your favorite organization find its place in the celebrations, and don’t even think about heading out to town next June because SF Pride 2022 is going to be phenomenal!

Donna Sachet is a celebrated performer, fundraiser, activist, and philanthropist with over two decades of service to the San Francisco LGBTQ community. Contact them at empsachet@gmail.com

Calendar a / la sachet

Friday July 16
Investiture of the Imperial Court in San Francisco San
The incumbent Emperor Mr. David Glamamore & the incumbent Empress Juanita MORE! The establishment of the Court of More is MORE!
Coronation of the new Imperial Crown Prince & Imperial Crown Princess
Oasis, 298 11th Street
19:30 o’clock
$ 35-55
www.imperialcouncilsf.org

Friday 23rd July
Divas & drinks in the Academy: get gold
Hosted by the San Francisco Bay Times and the Academy
Japan Olympics opening ceremonies, beverage specials curated by Bacardi VP Heather Freyer, DJ Rockaway, former Olympians, Japanese food and culture, local women’s softball team celebrations, and more to be announced.
The Academy SF, 2166 Market Street
6 p.m.
$ 10
https://www.academy-sf.com/

Published on July 15, 2021

The post Donna’s Chronicles, No Satisfaction Parade? – San Francisco Bay Instances appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.