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Oakland Black Pride has a slate of in-person and virtual events planned throughout June, including a pub crawl and kickball tournament. Community arts space SOMArts will offer a Pride Kickoff Party on June 23, highlighting the work of queer Black artists and featuring an art party with DJs on its back patio. “It’s a celebration of who we are, and in San Francisco we can do it better than anywhere else,” he said.įortunately, some of that will still be happening in person. Peterson regards Pride as a unique time of year, when people just seem happier, the city gripped by a special energy. Even though it’s now decades later and many things have changed, it’s still necessary to have spaces for LGBTQ+ individuals to feel safe, seen and understood.
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Peterson knows this firsthand: growing up in Minnesota, he clung to spaces that were accepting of LGBTQ+ identities.
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Having a truncated Pride two years running is a loss for the LGBTQ+ community. That leaves two film screenings in conjunction with the Frameline Film Festival at Oracle Park on June 11–12 and a Black Liberation Event in conjunction with the African American Art & Culture Complex on Juneteenth. Billed as “the best version of what is possible at this time,” there will be no centerpiece Pride parade, and the planned Pride Expo-which would have replaced the annual street celebration in the Civic Center-has been cancelled due to the uncertainty surrounding changing COVID restrictions. The main Pride celebrations are going to be muted this year. People march during the San Francisco gay pride parade in San Francisco, California on June, 24, 2018. While some in-person celebrations are still happening this year, 2021 will be a year of adjustment for LGBTQ+ artists, performers and events presenters, for whom June is typically the busiest month of the year. Though businesses will be able to operate at 100% capacity come June 15, Peterson was reluctant to promise a party that might not come together. The bar is weighed down by a sizable debt, and requirements like table service and masking have dulled its dive bar vibe. Over a year of the pandemic has left its mark on Powerhouse and its manager. “It would be nice to see everybody smile,” he said, adding, “I’m not even sure if we’ll be able to do the Folsom Street Fair in September.” Several uncertainties hung in the air: Would Pride celebrants be ready to party in a crowded space after a year of distancing? And would tourism return to San Francisco? Then there were masks-after suggesting that California will lift its mask mandate on June 15, the governor clarified that may not be the case for all indoor activities. It’s been nearly two years since Peterson and his patrons have been able to celebrate Pride in proper style, with cruising, a wet underwear contest and, of course, lots of dancing and mingling.Īlthough Governor Gavin Newsom announced a plan to remove most COVID restrictions on June 15, Peterson was wary and decided not to plan a big event. Hings have changed.” These were the resigned words of Scott Peterson, general manager of San Francisco’s leather and cruise bar Powerhouse.