Wiener, Center Confident in Pink Saturday Plans

As San Francisco elected and nonprofit officials prepare for this June's Pink Saturday party, email exchanges with San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener's office show some trepidation toward this year's event.

But in interviews this week, Wiener and the head of the nonprofit now working on the festival expressed confidence the party would be a success.

Following years of concern about violence, in February the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence decided to end their oversight of the street party, which the group had managed for nearly two decades.

The Sisters' announcement threw into doubt the future of the festival, which draws thousands of people to the Castro the night before the city's LGBT Pride parade.

Last week, though, Wiener announced that the LGBT Community Center had agreed to oversee Pink Saturday this year, with help from the city. It is not clear whether the Sisters, which own the Pink Saturday name, will allow it to be used this year.

Shortly after the Sisters announced their withdrawal, and before the community center's involvement was announced, Daniel Bergerac, who lives in the Castro and serves as president of the Castro Merchants business group, wrote to Wiener to share his concerns.

"While I think having another organization taking over the celebration is a great idea, I'm concerned that the clock for this year has run out," wrote Bergerac in a February 17 email, which the Bay Area Reporter obtained through a public records request. "I would hate for the new event organizer to be set up for failure. For a first time at bat organization to successfully pull off an event this big, to me, is asking for failure."

Bergerac, who co-owns Mudpuppy's Tub and Scrub on Castro Street, recommended canceling this year's Pink Saturday and keeping the streets open, "something akin to Halloween," only with more police presence.

The Castro's streets used to be closed off each Halloween, but that was stopped in 2007 after that party raised increasing safety concerns.

If Pink Saturday were called off this year, Bergerac said, having heavy police visibility in the neighborhood would "cut back on out-of-town visitors and trouble makers coming next year."

In response, Wiener told Bergerac, "Let's chat. I don't think this is realistic. There's going to be a much larger crowd than Halloween. I don't see it working if the streets are open."

Not only does the annual Dyke March, held early in the evening of Pink Saturday, lead up to 10,000 people into the Castro, but the Pride-sponsored celebration that day in the Civic Center also wraps up around 5 p.m. and many of the attendees then head for the city's gayborhood.

City officials are also bracing for a larger-than-normal turnout for Pride weekend this year due to the U.S. Supreme Court expected to rule sometime in June on whether to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.

Asked in a phone interview Monday, March 23 about Bergerac's comments on the possibility of failure, Wiener, whose District 8 includes the Castro, said, "I'm not concerned, because I know that the center is going to put together a great team to manage the event, with people who are experienced with large events." The nonprofit is "not going to do this on its own" and it will "have the full support of the city, so I'm not concerned about failure," he said.

Rebecca Rolfe, the community center's executive director, also expressed confidence.

"We're not worried about failure," said Rolfe in an interview Tuesday, March 24 when asked about Bergerac's email. "We are deeply committed to making this event successful, and we would not have agreed to do it if we didn't think that that was possible. We really appreciate the opportunity to work in partnership with many excellent community-based organizations and partners."

In an interview Monday about his comments to Wiener, Bergerac said, "I feel a little bit better knowing there is so much city backing behind" the event, "but it is still very much a concern for me."

Similar to remarks he made last month, shortly after the Sisters announced they were withdrawing from Pink Saturday, Bergerac said, "Whether or not there is a planned event, people are genetically programmed to come into the Castro" on the night before the LGBT Pride parade. "I would much rather have controls in place than no controls in place."

He said planned to meet with Rolfe Wednesday to learn more about the plans for this year.

"I also want to offer the help of the Castro Merchants association to assist them in any way we can" to ensure the event's success, said Bergerac.

Wiener's emails also show he heard from Lisa Williams, a former board president of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee, who suggested she could help with Pink Saturday.

In a February 17 email to Wiener, Williams said she was "very disappointed" that the Sisters had withdrawn from Pink Saturday, but "I have good news that could put the silver lining in the cloud. I'd like to introduce you to my new company Pride Festival Nation." (The company's name is actually Proud Festival Nation.)

She said she and a partner "have extensive experience providing logistics, management, production, and sponsorship support" for Pride and other large festivals, and she'd also met with the Sisters about this year's event.

"We would like to sit down with you to discuss the Pink Saturday event," Williams told Wiener, referring to her company.

In response, the supervisor told her, "We're in conversations and will let you know when we know more."

Wiener told the B.A.R. that he's connected Williams with Rolfe, and "I'm sure they're talking."

Williams said she told Rolfe Monday she's "interested in being the event producer."

The center's "in conversation with a couple of folks" about being the event producer, said Rolfe, "but we have not made a decision."

She couldn't share any information about who the candidates are but she said planners hope to pick someone "within the next week."