Castro’s first-ever night market was good, not great
The two-block SF market had all the right ingredients — dancing, tarot reading, and food trucks. It just needed to be bigger and gayer.
Given Castro’s long reputation for throwing some of the wildest parties in America, its first-ever night market needed more sizzle. I could tell you the 2-block bazaar had it all, and yeah we had outdoor dancing, tarot reading, and your typical long lines at food trucks, alongside equally expected political flyer pushers. I just wish it also had the bicep show like this year’s Castro Street Fair or costumed revelry like Halloween.
Read the latest and see photos of Castro Night Market by Courtney Muro
When SF goes formal: The black-and-white ball at Fort Mason
It’s not often you get an OG society moment complete with dress codes, along with a feeling of wealth that’s literally wall to wall — and it’s especially rare in San Francisco. In a city known more for its casual charm and tech-driven lifestyle, a recent soirée at Fort Mason Center delivered a black-and-white ball that would have made Truman Capote proud, even if some attendees broke the rules.
Read the latest about the SF Fall Show by Katie Sweeney
‘One to One’ documentary offers a deeper look at John and Yoko
In One to One, we see a recreated world John and Yoko inhabited over an 18-month period in 1971–1972 following the Beatles’ breakup. Their film is a portrait of two artist-activists who aimed to influence their politically turbulent times before eventually retreating to a more domestically quiet life (skipping over their temporary separation in 1973–1974). It premiered recently at Vogue Theater as part of SF Doc Stories.
Read the review by Laura Stein
Cleve Jones’ 70th served up many drag queens, leather daddies, and activists
Cleve Jones is a name synonymous with resilience, community, and the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. I don’t know someone else in the Bay Area whose influence for queer people has been so impactful in recent memory, and I think his effect was evident at his 70th birthday on October 11th. The glitzy night at Hibernia Bank was billed as a party, but many times it felt more to me like a public television special that showcased local LGBTQ+ community leaders.
Read the latest by Saul Sugarman
What we’re doing this week
It’s Halloween
Technically Halloween is 10 days away, but much of the partying will happen this weekend. We’ve published a Halloween 2024 guide and a Castro Halloween is coming back story. But we’d be remiss to also not specifically mention Glow in the Streets because frankly, Comfort & Joy told us we really ought to. As the pitch goes, this is the group’s sixth iteration of the Halloween event, and it’s got phantasmal fashion, immersive art, and bewitching drag performances.
WHEN: Mainly Oct. 26 and 27, and more events on Oct. 31 throughout the day on all days
WHERE: All over SF, check our guide
Bay Area artist Tauwoo album release party with Emily Afton
Rickshaw Stop presents the co-headlining album release party for Tauwoo — who is an Oakland-based songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist — and Emily Afton, with support from Dani Offline. Doors open at 7 pm, tickets are $17 in advance and $20 at the door, and the event is all ages. Tauwoo will perform songs from his new album Disquiet, while Emily Afton will celebrate the release of her new album Circaa, including the singles "Make," "Free," and "Running Out of Time."
He’s offered TBI readers a discount code for $15 advance tickets with the code “TauTon”
WHEN: Thursday, October 24, 2024, 7 pm
WHERE: Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell Street, San Francisco
What’s on our mind
We keep content mostly fun and light at The Bold Italic, but the future of the Bay Area interests us, too. Here’s what we are thinking about in local news. Brought to you by GrowSF.
SF’s comeback summer is here to stay
San Francisco’s lifeblood this year has been our street fairs and block parties; We’ve experienced electric Downtown First Thursdays, tons of night markets and dance parties, outdoor boozy antics and massive raves. While doom-loop naysayers constantly say our city is dead, it’s hard to remember a time post-pandemic as alive for San Francisco as 2024. Crime rates also fell, and the number of people who died from accidental overdoses took a nosedive recently, too.
Is this upward swing permanent? We think so.
“There’s a lot more everything than there used to be,” Steffen Franz, the technical director of Illuminate, told the SF Standard. He later added: “It’s people not only believing our city is making a comeback, but it should be the amazing hub of art in our country.”
We’ve still got a lot to focus on heading into the November election and beyond. As the SF Chronicle noted, we are still grappling with empty offices, budget deficits, and lagging tourism. It’s a slow recovery, but the best way to keep our upward momentum going is to put the right leaders in charge.
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