3 posts tagged “2007”
Last year's theme for the Castro decorations was blue and bronze, with big blue ribbons on the palms down Market Street, and the community tree done up in blue and bronze decorations. It was unusual and dramatic, and definitely bore the imprint of a gay, urban sensibility.
It's like when your midwestern Mom sees your silver and black tree, or Tibetan-themed creche, or origami peace crane garland, and says, "It's really lovely honey -- I feel like I'm in a museum!"
This year, the decorations are a much more traditional red. Red ribbons encircle the trees on Market, and candy-cane up each parking meter. The community tree (returned to its traditional location at the Bank of America ATM plaza) is covered in red balls and topped with a huge red bow.
It's certainly nice to see the neighborhood prettied up like this, and I believe that the decorations are thanks to the Merchants of Upper Market and Castro (MUMC), so many thanks to them! But I have to admit that I miss the drama of last year's blue and bronze.
I'm guessing that it is much easier for stores to join the decorating scheme this year, so that's a point in this red's favor. Have you tried to buy blue and bronze ribbons and decorations lately? Not so easy.
Anyway, that's just nitpicking. The 'hood looks great, and I'm sure the procrastinating gays (also known as "all gays") will be out in force this weekend. Enjoy the season and happy holidays all!
OK, I'm back from my travels and any fear that my blog would become obsolete was assuaged by all of the new signs, new construction, and general all-around flux going on in the neighborhood. The big wheels of Castro commerce keep on turnin' and the proud Marys keep on buyin'.
And speaking of Pride, our Pride season has come and gone, and much like the prom photos which finally got mailed back to you a month and a half later, here is my Pride album of stores dolled up in their Gunny Sax prairie dresses, big, chunky, plastic, triangle earrings, and elbow-length, finger-less gloves. (Oops, can you tell what decade I went to the prom in?) Feel like a proud mom sending your child off for a night of chaperoned groping, wondering how they all just grew up so quickly...
Speaking of grown ups, Twin Peaks injected a little collagen into its rapidly thinning lips by stuffing its front windows with pink balloons for Pink Saturday. Puffy!
Also on Pink Saturday, the street party feuled up on booze, booze, booze, sold directly to the crowds out of store windows. This is the sort of thing which has brought Halloween down like a chain-saw to the knees, so I hope that the intense booze-hawking doesn't ruin Pink Saturday as well. I'm all for the businesses making a profit where they can, but again, Halloween is a sobering example (literally).
In these pics we see The Bar doing some discreet price gouging (smooth!), A. G. Ferrari trying to class it up by selling beer *and wine* (antioxidants!), and La Tortilla keeping it real with a 25% discount for good ol' American beer (patriotic!).
This picture is for commenter Troy who chastised me for not having better beefcake photos in my Sidewalk Sale post. Here, All-American Boy draws a crowd with go-go dancers. I'm not really sure that this is the welcome that the Dyke March organizers were hoping for at the end of their parade route, but the crowd sure didn't seem to mind.
Flags are the traditional decoration, and here Moby Dick and the HRC Store were acting extra flaggy all month.
Cliff's can always be counted on for a great window (or 5) and this one does not disappoint with the parade reinvigorated and reimagined with childlike joy and absent that bitchy jadedness that ails a lot of us. (But what's with Elmo? Everyone knows Bert and Ernie are the gay ones! Oops, there goes that jaded bitchiness I was talking about.)
Best in Show's window looks a lot like the final scene of "Les Miserables" -- if the revolutionaries were gay ... and dogs ... wearing feathered wings.
In-Jean-ious Lounge communicated the rainbow message through the international language of thongs.
Under One Roof made their rainbow with umbrellas. (Umbrellas ... rainbows ... get it?)
And following on the theme of "alternative rainbows," De La Sole featured a subtle rainbow of (fake) field flowers. I'm partial to displays like this that include the rainbow motif without being too obvious about it.
The Edge got a little whirly-twirly to celebrate. At least this display took advantage of our blustering early-summer weather.
While I believe that the influx of visitors rapaciously hoovering up rainbow tchatchkes like Kate Moss in a stall at Hyde is generally good for our local economy, I also worry about the businesses needing to close up because of the Pink Saturday crowds. Here are a couple of signs announcing these Saturday closings. Cliff's also closes on Pride Sunday, but I suppose that is more out of reverance for the gay high holy day.
For the month of June the city lined the neighborhood streets with rainbow flags from almost every pole along Market Street. The photo above shows the billowing "special event" flag competing for space against the regular banner which festoons many of these poles year-round. While the exuberant abundance of rainbows-on-rainbows was welcome and festive, an unfortunate side-effect of this juxtaposition was that the sunbleached (and in some cases quite tattered) regular banners looked pretty dismal in comparison to the flashy visitor flags. After hearing a few locals grumble about Pride and the annoying out-of-town crowds, it was hard not to see a reflection of ourselves in this telling scene.
I hope you all had a great Pride! Don't wait until next year to bring out your festive spirit and your rainbow thong!
Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, so to help you with your travel plans for the remainder of the year I wanted to point out the upcoming events that draw visitors to our frosty burg, so you can either join or avoid the crowds as you see fit.
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San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, June 14-24
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San Francsico LGBT Pride Celebration, June 23-24
Including the Dyke March on Saturday, culminating in the Pink Saturday party in the Castro, the SF Pride Festival on Saturday and Sunday, and the Pride Parade itself on Sunday; -
Up Your Alley, a.k.a. Dore Alley Street Fair, July 29
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Hairrison Street Fair, September 2
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Folsom Street Fair, September 30
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Castro Street Fair, October 7
Finally, don't be fooled by the fog -- bring your sunscreen. See you then!
