The Best Bay Area Events for 6/20-6/26
By Jerucifer, Arts & Events Editor
WE MADE IT! It is officially San Francisco Pride Week! So many amazing things to check out, and great ways to participate in activism for the community too! Whatever you do this week, it is sure to be covered in glitter, and tbh, that is my favorite! Can’t wait to get out there and take up space with my fellow queers! Here’s what I’m most excited about for the week of 6/20..
Our Partners’ Events
A Return to North Beach, 1957 (w/ special guest, Broke-Ass Stuart!)
6/24 | Savoy Tivoli | 1434 Grant Ave, SF | 8 pm | free
ArtHouseSF.org brings you back in time to Beat era North Beach, where poets and jazz musicians made literary history with an electrifying combination of art forms. An hour of poetry and jazz celebrates the medium that made North Beach internationally famous, the only organization working to keep artists living in San Francisco, and the re-opening of the beautifully restored, 117-year-old Savoy.
This Week’s Giveaway
We Wanna Give You a Pair of Registrations for any Volo SF League!
This Week’s Events
Tuesday, 6/20
Infinite Pride
6/20 | Oasis | 298 11th St, SF | 7 pm | $20-50
The critically acclaimed SF Neo-Futurists present INFINITE PRIDE, our annual Pride benefit show featuring 30 of our favorite queer plays performed in 60 of our favorite queer minutes. Join us Tuesday 6/20 at Oasis AND/OR on Wednesday 6/21 at El Rio for this race against the clock, featuring original plays that are tender and titillating, silly and sweaty, laugh-out-loud-funny and big-feelings-sad.
Dating with Dhaya – Pride Edition
6/20 | KQED Commons | 2601 Mariposa St, SF | 7 pm | $20
Looking for someone to love … or to laugh with this Pride?
Comedian Dhaya Lakshminarayanan is back to play matchmaker for one local KQED fan while subjecting contestants to hilarious rounds of revealing questions and some gentle roasting as they vie for a date. Will sparks fly onstage? Will our love-seekers load-up the U-Haul? Will it even matter when you’re laughing that hard? After the show, stick around for a singles mingle and find your own match made in queer heaven!
Strut Queer Open Mic
6/20 | Strut | 470 Castro St, SF | 7-9:30 pm | free
San Francisco has a long, beautiful history of being the home to some badass queer open mics, and we are brining you the brand-new STRUT QUEER OPEN MIC! Hosted by two local, queer, SEPCTACULAR darling writers and performers CYNTHIA IN PUBLIC, and MATTHEW BELD!
Activity: Zinething
6/20 | SF Public Library, 3rd Floor Paley Room | 100 Larkin St, SF | 6 pm | free
Founded in 2001, San Francisco Zine Fest seeks to advance the do-it-yourself ethos by fostering community throughout the Bay Area. In our annual festival and its accompanying panels and workshops, we celebrate and support independent writers, artists and creators, allowing them to share their work with an ever-growing audience in exhibitions and public events.
Wednesday, 6/21
Head Trip: Doggie Diner Movie Showing
6/21 | Savoy Tivoli | 1434 Grant Ave, SF | 7:30 pm | free
Head Trip is a full length documentary film featuring the Doggie Diner Dogheads on a cross country trip to New York City, in collusion with San Francisco’s own punk rock bicycle club Cyclecide. Presented as part of the premier event Films With Friends sponsored by Those Guys Presents and the Telegraph Hill Dwellers. Look for the lone 10 foot tall Doggie Diner Head parked out front.
Pride Warmup
6/21 | SafeHouse Arts | 145 Eddy St, SF | 6:30 pm | $25-45
Queer Cat Productions’ Pride Warmup is a celebration and screening of Rise, a queer ritual of remembrance, conducted by Rawiyah Tariq, directed by Rawiyah Tariq and Michelle Segura, and featuring Jasmine Robinson (she/they) as Earth, Raven Malouf-Renning (they/them) as Air, Jes “Mojo” DeVille (they/them) as Water, Christina Michelle (she/her) as Fire, and Rawiyah Tariq (they/them) as Aether.
Serial Mom
6/21 | Balboa Theater | 3630 Balboa St, SF | 7 pm | $16-18
Are those pussy willows, Dottie? With our diverse strand of films exploring motherhood, we couldn’t help but include one of queer cinema’s most unforgettable matriarchs, Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner in a performance so funny you end up feeling like one of her unfortunate victims)! Apologies to Joan Crawford! There’s no better way to see the funniest of John Waters’ later films than with an audience (trust us!).
TILT: A Celebration of Light and Music on the Summer Solstice
6/21 | Grace Cathedral | 1100 California St, SF | 7:30-9:30 pm | $45-75
Celebrate the solstice at Grace Cathedral with TILT’s dazzling live performances, glowing liquid light show, and an incredible finale you won’t want to miss. Come early to enjoy summery cocktails and bistro bites at The Warm Up pre-concert party. TILT is also a different angle on music, an intimate concert in celebration of light, taking place in the marvelous ambiance of Grace Cathedral on the longest day of the year.
Thursday, 6/22
The Lover’s Revenge Ball – SF Pride Week
6/22 | Public Works | 161 Erie St, SF | 9 pm | $22-30
Hosted by the ICON Gorgeous Jack Gucci
Special Guest Judges: ICON Meeka Alpha-Omega & LEGENDARY Twiggy Garçon
Beats by DJ Spiider Ebony
Preshow by Blossom, Ashlee Basquiat, DJ Align
RUCKUS & RUMPUS REVIVAL F*CK, America!
6/22 | Oakland Metro Operahouse | 303 Castro St, Oakland | 7 pm | $20
Come join us for a wild night of circus, comedy, burlesque, hip hop, and interactive contests!
Pussy Function! Qing Qi & Friends
6/22 | Crybaby | 1928 Telegraph Ave, Oakland | 9 pm | $10-20
The summer is fast approaching and the inner hot girl has been melting in all of us. The year is 2023 but you long for the carefree party energy of 2006. Buns Out, Ones Out, locs shaking, everybody dancing and you’re elbowing your way to the middle of the dance floor because this is your jam! Debut those moves you’ve been practicing in the mirror all winter at the sexiest party of the Summer. A dance floor packed with beautiful women and back breaking sounds curated by the Bay Area’s hottest femme Dj’s, with a pole performance by the legendary Princess Tee, sexy gogo’s and live rap sets that will bring all the hoochies to the front. The lineup is exclusively bringing that black girl magic but the party is open to all. Qing Qi and Friends presents PUSSY FUNCTION! Where the Hyphy women meet.
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Friday, 6/23
SF Trans March
6/23 | Dolores Park | 18th St-20th St & Dolores St, SF | 6 pm | free
Calling all members of the vibrant trans and gender non-conforming community, allies and advocates! We are thrilled to announce the 20th Annual Trans March! It’s time to unite, celebrate our diversity, and continue the journey towards equality and inclusivity for all. This year marks a milestone in our journey as we come together for the 20th time to honor the resilience, strength, and beauty of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. Join us as we raise our voices, stand in solidarity, and march proudly through the streets of San Francisco.
Julie Crothers: Holy Crap
6/23-6/25 | ODC Theatre | 3153 17th St, SF | 3 or 7:30 pm shows | $15-40
Through embodied storytelling, an unsettled cast of church characters, and a handful of queer little pop numbers, Julie Crothers’ evening-length one-guy-show, Holy Crap, is a story of coming out, of coming of age, and of coming together with all the parts that make her whole. In an attempt to investigate the things she came to believe about goodness, value, purpose, and meaning within a deeply evangelical culture, she invites audiences to experience the difficulties and delights of deconstructing a conservative Christian upbringing and all the sticky bits it leaves behind. Following the structure of a typical white southern megachurch service and running 60 minutes, Holy Crap sheds light on what it means to question, to reimagine, and to allow yourself to be constantly becoming.
Button Making, E-waste Jewelry, and Open House
6/23 | Noisebridge Hackerspace | 272 Capp St, SF | 4-7 pm | free
In SF for Pride weekend? Hanging out at Dolores Park on Friday for the Trans March? Looking to (re)engage with your creative pursuits? Come by and visit Noisebridge, SF’s long-running hackerspace!
Tour our shared workshop and meet other queer artists, hackers, and makers! We’ll have stations for making buttons and e-waste jewelry, some light refreshments.
Pride in Gotham
6/23 | The Hibernia | 1 Jones St, SF | 7 pm | $75+
Attend Gotham’s biggest soiree of the year, filled with the familiar faces of the city’s elite.
Enter the marble halls of the historic Hibernia Bank in your black-tie best (or Gotham cosplay) for a champagne reception and live music. But just when Bruce Wayne takes the stage, news breaks of a massive breakout from Arkham, and the night takes a turn toward chaos.
In a first-of-its-kind immersive theater cosplay soiree, explore the underground vaults of the Hibernia where Gotham’s notorious villains have prepared a party you will never forget.
Saturday, 6/24
BONG-O BINGO PRIDE on Pink Saturday
6/24 | Mission Cannabis Club | 2441 Mission St, SF | 6-9 pm | $15
Calling all unicorns and rainbows! BONG-O BINGO will be celebrating Pride! Kick off your Pink Saturday with DJ Dank, Brandelicious, Thee Pristine Condition and Pup Pickles for a rainbow-colored night of drag, bingo and cannabis prizes with every round.
SF Dyke March
6/24 | Dolores Park | 18th St & Dolores St, SF | 5 pm | free
The San Francisco Dyke March is excited to march with you at 5pm on June 24, 2023 at the intersection of Dolores Street and 18th Street in San Francisco. We look forward to seeing you there!
We are 100% volunteer-run and we NEED our community (that’s right, YOU!) to make this and future Dyke Marches happen. Whether you want to come to a few meetings to help shape our vision, sell some raffle tickets at a fundraising event, or be a safety monitor on the day of the March (or none/all of the above!), we would LOVE to have you play any part you’re interested in making the Dyke March happen.
Sarah & Vinnie’s Not So Secret Drag Show
6/24 | August Hall | 420 Mason St, SF | 12:30 pm | free w/ RSVP
Not So Secret Drag Show, featuring special live performances by Princess Panocha & Kochina Rude!
Polyglamorous Pink Block
6/24 | The Great Northern | 119 Utah St, SF | 12 pm-3 am | $40+
The block is BACK! Spend Saturday of Pride weekend with thousands of your queer pals at the party that sits at the intersection of work and serve, underground and universal, chill and rave. We are proud to present this event that is distinctly Bay Area and couldn’t happen anywhere else. Join us for the fiercest installment ever of our day-to-night pride party. Five stages indoors and out, packed with local and national talent during the day, moving inside to keep the party going all night. Snag a ticket for day, night, or both!
World Folk Jam – Summer Solstice Festival
6/24 | Congregation Sherith Israel | 2266 California St, SF | 2pm-2am | $0-144
The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year. It has been celebrated in many ways globally since ancient times. At this gathering we honor diverse traditions of ritual, reverence, reverie and revelry.
Sunday, 6/25
People’s March & Rally + Fern Alley Music Festival
6/25 | Polk St & Washington St, SF | 11 am | free
For the fourth consecutive year, activists and community leaders Alex U. Inn and Juanita MORE! will be leading the People’s March & Rally – Unite to Fight! on Pride Sunday, June 25, on Polk Street in San Francisco. The event will begin with a rally at the corner of Polk and Washington Streets in San Francisco, then march down Polk Street – the same route as the first Gay Liberation Protest, which occurred on Saturday, June 27, 1970. The march will end at Fern Alley for a celebration of culture and community with DJs, performers, and artists’ booths.
Alfresco Sundays Twilight Cabaret
6/25 | Alfresco | Otsego btwn Ocean & Onondaga, SF | 6-9 pm | free
Celebrate Pride under the stars in the Excelsior at Alfresco Sundays Twilight Cabaret!
ENVY! a Queer Pride Party!
6/25 | El Rio | 3158 Mission St, SF | 3-9 pm | $30
ENVY! a Queer Liberation Pride Party!
Wanna spend pride sunday surrounded by all the thots, enbys and coolest queers?! Well Envy is back at El Rio, bringing you all the sickening drag performances, queer dance floor and cruising dance floor vibes!
Pride Pop-out Benefit Party
6/25 | Good Good Culture Club | 3560 18th St, SF | 11 am-2 pm | free
Good Good Culture Club and Liholiho Yacht Club are joining forces to throw a pride pop-out benefit party. With 100% of the proceed donated to PFLAGSF.
SF Pride Parade 2023
6/25 | Embarcadero & Market St, SF | 10:30 am | free
This year’s theme is LOOKING BACK AND MOVING FORWARD. Our Pride Celebration will be June 24th and 25th. The Pride Parade will be on Sunday, June 25th, going down Market Street from Embarcadero to the Celebration at Civic Center.
Monday, 6/26
Fleurs de Villes PRIDE
6/26 – 7/4 | SF Mint | 88 5th St, SF | 11 am | $31
Join us for the U.S. premiere of Fleurs de Villes PRIDE – a fresh floral celebration of joy and inclusivity at The San Francisco Mint, created by some of San Francisco’s favorite florists, open from June 16th through July 4th.
In partnership with San Francisco Pride, Fleurs de Villes PRIDE will showcase a series of fresh floral mannequins inspired by San Francisco’s LGBTQIA+ icons and trailblazers, including drag legend Heklina, visionary activist Harvey Milk and “Queen of Disco” Sylvester to name but a few. Admire the historical grandeur of The San Francisco Mint as you visit stunning salons and regal ballrooms bursting with blooms including floral rainbows, chandeliers, hearts and angel wings celebrating the diversity and beauty of the Pride community. This
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
6/26 | Alamo Drafthouse | 2550 Mission St, SF | 6 pm | $23
Scott Pilgrim just met the girl of his dreams…literally. But in order for them to date, he must defeat her seven evil exes – a rogues’ gallery that includes an infamous skateboarder, a vegan rock star, and fearsome identical twins!
Featuring an all-star ensemble cast that includes Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Chris Evans, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jason Schwartzman, and more, SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD is a video game player’s dream come true, featuring wit, action, and groundbreaking visuals.
“Closets are for Clothes” – A Staged Reading of Short Plays
6/26 | Strut | 470 Castro St, SF | 7:30 pm | free
This anthology of seven short pieces explores some of the most important moments of coming out: maybe bondage is the way to personal freedom, what to do when your 70 year old mother comes out, what happens to all those girlfriends “in Canada” when men come out, and so many more! Join us for a night of heart, hilarity, and celebrating being ourselves out where everyone can see! Closets aren’t for lives; they’re for clothes.
Monday Night Hubba
6/26 | DNA Lounge | 375 11th St, SF | 8 pm | $10-15
Monday Night Hubba is the perfect way to start your week sexy: with cocktails, tease, comedy and a more intimate experience than Hubba’s big monthly extravaganzas! Each Monday night is a fun-filled, shimmering showcase of local, national and international burlesque and variety talent — and a chance to see the most dazzling debuts before they hit it big!
Rad Upcoming Events
6/28 | Bethany United Methodist Church | 5th Annual Drag Show Fundraiser to Benefit Trans Heartline
6/29 | Koret Auditorium, SF Public Library | Remembering Club Q
6/30 | RVCA SF Art Gallery | Space Claw
Don’t forget to check out our Big Bad List of Rad Ongoing Events right here!
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