San Francisco's queer seniors are reeling from the pandemic, as many continue struggling to find financial respite — for some, even sustenance — amid shelter-in-place. But a live-streamed drag show in support of them this coming Friday aims to offer both levity and monetary relief.
Those who make up our city's LGBTQ nightlife are as inventive as ever. Zoom and Twitch are now conduits for their creativities; philanthropic ventures, like the SF Queer Nightlife Fund (QNF), have been erected to raise fiscal support for furloughed and laid off nightlife workers. And a new joint venture from the QNF, Tenderloin (TL) Museum, and Openhouse — SF's largest senior living facility dedicated to LGBTQ seniors — is bringing a digital drag show to the masses in honor of queer elders.
May 22: Join us for Live Drag for our LGBTQ Elders and celebrate those who made the world a better place for the LGBTQ community. https://t.co/5Ni2Qg92pG
— Tenderloin Museum (@TLMuseumSF) May 16, 2020
RSVP here: https://t.co/V55Ui7jeWy pic.twitter.com/v8uijU1Url
On Friday, May 22, the three organizations will present Live Drag for our LGBTQ Elders, a live (and live-streamed) drag show where staple Powerhouse entertainers like Dulce De Leche, Per Sia, and Princess Panocha will perform in the courtyard of Openhouse. The event, too, will be virtually hosted on Zoom and Twitch by the maven-and-mother herself, Juanita MORE!, allowing the performances to be safely watched by LGBTQ seniors and the general public.
“When we demonstrate to our community that elders matter, it makes all of us better;" says Karyn Skultety, the executive director of Openhouse. "Younger LGBTQ [generations] live better lives when they are connected to the elders who helped create the world they live in today. An opportunity to financially support drag performers who have lost income due to the crisis, as well as bring visibility and safe, in-person entertainment to LGBTQ elders, Live Drag for our LGBTQ Elders is an opportunity to reflect upon — and unify with — intergenerational LGBTQ community members."
Generations of Love: ‘Why I’m Still Here,’ a Conversation With Al Comedy - I encourage you to help Al out, as his primary source of income is in nightlife & with the closure of bars & events due to Covid-19 he is also affected. Venmo @Al-Cromedy https://t.co/nxCCbFAmm4
— Juanita More (@juanitamore) May 4, 2020
Put on in tandem with other celebrations for what would be Harvey Milk's 90th birthday, the show will kick off a series of happenings to pedestal his legacy.
Openhouse is encouraging those who can to donate — between "$9, $90, or $900," a numerical nod to Harvey's 90th — to the Live Drag for Our Queer Elders fundraiser. As of this article's publishing, the organizers have raised just over $1.7K of their $9K goal; the fundraiser is set to end Saturday.
For more information on the performing queens and the Live Drag for Our Queer Elders fundraiser, visit their Facebook Event page here. The QNF recently announced a second round of fundraising to disperse more single-installment grants for affected SF nightlife workers.
Curious minds — and those wishing to extend a financially sound olive branch — can scroll over to sfqueernightlifefund.org for more details.
Related: SF Queer Nightlife Fund Launches to Bring Financial Relief to the Community
Image: Facebook
