News Briefs: Dyke March to hold volunteer party

The San Francisco Dyke March will hold a volunteer appreciation party and fundraiser Saturday, August 16, from 2 to 5 p.m. at The Stud, 1123 Folsom Street.

A flyer noted that the Dyke Tea Dance will celebrate the success of this year’s Dyke March, which was held June 28, and thank those who volunteered during the event.

The party will feature DJ Lady Ryan and be hosted by Aïma the Dreamer. There will be drink specials, the flyer noted.

Tickets start at $11.49 and are available here. Dyke March volunteers get in free with a confirmation code; volunteers should email [email protected] .

Overdose prevention trainings
The San Francisco Entertainment Commission and Department of Public Health will team up again with drag artists to host overdose prevention trainings at events in the nightlife community. The trainings coincide with Overdose Awareness Month in August and come ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31.

At the events, attendees will learn how to recognize a fentanyl overdose, how to use naloxone (Narcan) nasal spray to reverse an overdose, and find information on other trainings, education, and how to access naloxone.

Free naloxone will be available at the upcoming trainings on a first-come, first-served basis, according to a news release.

The first event will be held Saturday, August 16, from 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Oasis, 298 11th Street, during Nicki Jizz’s “Reparations: Sinners Juke Joint” drag show. Advance ticket purchase is required at sfoasis.com/reparations. Tickets start at $12.98.

The second event is Daytime Realness at El Rio, 3158 Mission Street, on Sunday, August 17, from 2 to 8 p.m. Hosted by Yves Saint Croissant, DJ Carnita, and Stanley Frank Sensation, the show will feature drag performers Persia, Misterrr, Loma Prietta, and Ka’lonji Moschino.

Tickets, which are $15-$20, can be purchased in advance or at the door. For more information, go to elriosf.com.

There will also be a panel, “Overdose Prevention After Dark,” Wednesday, August 20, at 6 p.m. at The Stud, 1123 Folsom Street. The event is free and for those aged 21 and over.

Co-presented by the Entertainment Commission and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, attendees will hear what drag queens, venue owners, DJs, bartenders, and other workers in nightlife are doing to educate the community on the risks of a fentanyl overdose and how to use naloxone.

Panelists include Maria Davis, co-owner of The Stud, owner of St. Mary’s Pub, and an industry representative on the Entertainment Commission; Kochina Rude, a drag queen and harm reduction advocate; Joseph Pred, founder of Mutual Aid Response Services; and Dylan Rice, project and communications manager at the Entertainment Commission. Marke Bieschke, publisher and arts editor of 48 Hills, will moderate.

 
Bolingbroke exhibit in SF
Following gay artist and leatherman Richard Bolingbroke’s death last year, his husband and loved ones are opening an exhibition of his works at the Hunters Point Shipyard, where Mr. Bolingbroke had a studio for 35 years. “Richard Bolingbroke: A Life in Pattern and Bloom” features a collection of his large-format floral watercolors.

“Many were painted quietly over the years in our shared life together and were never exhibited during his lifetime,” his husband Steve Gaynes wrote in an announcement. “They offer a deeply intimate view of the beauty Richard saw in everyday things – flowers, vases, patterned fabric – and they represent his most inspired period as an artist.”

There will be an opening reception Thursday, August 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Shipyard Gallery, 451 Galvez Avenue. Light refreshments will be served.

Additionally, the gallery will be open to the public on the following Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m.: August 30, September 6, and September 13. On that final day at 2 p.m., Gaynes will be giving a talk about Mr. Bolingbroke’s life and work, along with others who knew him from different parts of his journey – as a painter, activist, and friend.

Gaynes noted that all of the artwork in the show will be available for purchase and stated that this is one of the last opportunities to collect Mr. Bolingbroke’s work. Proceeds will go toward honoring his legacy, Gaynes stated.

Mr. Bolingbroke died December 28. He was 72.

In addition to his painting, one of Mr. Bolingbroke’s projects was assisting transgender queer artist Craig Calderwood with their huge murals for Harvey Milk Terminal 1 at San Francisco International Airport, as the Bay Area Reporter noted in an article last year.

The upcoming exhibition is presented in collaboration with Shipyard Trust for the Arts, the nonprofit that supports the working artists at the shipyard.

To RSVP for the opening reception, click here.

Dignity/SF to host lecture
Dignity/San Francisco, the local chapter of Dignity USA, an organization of LGBTQ+ Catholics and their allies, will present the third biennial Kevin Calegari Lecture Saturday, August 9, at 5:30 p.m. at Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church, 1329 Seventh Avenue. The event is free and open to the public.

This year's lecturer is Lisa Fullam, doctor of divinity and professor emerita of moral theology at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara. Fullam is the author of "The Virtue of Humility: A Thomistic Apologetic," as well as articles published in National Catholic Reporter. Her talk is entitled, "The Practice of Joy in the Work of Resistance," asking how do people live the joy of discipleship in a time of upheaval that can help sustain them in resisting forces that oppress and restrict them.

Calegari (1958-1995), for whom the lecture series is named, was a visionary leader and lay theologian of the LGBTQ Catholic movement. He was president of Dignity USA in the early 1990s and helped transform Dignity from a religious self-help organization into a powerful, media savvy, progressive social justice movement, an announcement stated. 

SF court leads easier effort to contest traffic tickets
A successful pilot program launched in San Francisco to provide people with an easy, convenient option to contest their traffic tickets is now available to expand to other trial courts, according to court Executive Officer Brandon E. Riley.

“Launched in mid-December, this pilot program is proving to be a popular choice for people who want to contest their traffic ticket from home or any other convenient location,” Riley stated in a news release. “This online option is another way the court is making it easier and less expensive for people to conduct court business without having to pay for parking, child care, and travel to a courthouse.”

The online Trial by Declaration tool is currently available in San Francisco and Nevada counties, with 10 additional courts planning to add the option later in the year, the release noted. The new option builds on the court’s existing Ability to Pay program and is part of the Judicial Council of California’s MyCitations initiative.

The MyCitations initiative is now available statewide, stated Blaine Corren of the JCC. It allows defendants to look up their traffic citation remotely, answer some questions, and submit a request to the court for a reduction in the amount owed.

People can use the new tools if they’ve been issued a ticket for an infraction violation(s), want to contest the ticket (plead not guilty) and conduct the trial online, the due date to take care of the ticket has not passed, and the ticket does not say a person must appear in court.