The SF LGBTQ+ Calendar provided by Bernal Connect is a platform for sharing events and meetings.
However, a few organizers are yet to finalize the dates for their 2024 events, and some particulars have been modified. Therefore, verifying the upcoming event details with the respective organizers is recommended.
Upcoming Events | Bernal | Family | Film | Free | Food & Drink | Home & Garden | LGBTQ | Sports
SF LGBTQ+ Event Calendar 2024
Feel free to email updates and corrections or add event dates.
SF LGBTQ+ Event Calendar 2024
Feb
- Pride in Panels: SF Queer Comics Festival is a premiere showcase of San Francisco Bay Area LGBTQIA+ queer comics creators in a groundbreaking, inaugural gathering. Celebrate the remarkable vitality of the San Francisco Bay Area queer comics scene – never before as dynamic and diverse as it is right now. There will be riveting panels at the top of every hour (see schedule below), maker workshops, and an exhibition hall of over 100 LGBTQIA+ cartoonists, including such prominent creators as Maia Kobabe, Ed Luce, Ajuan Mance, and Trina Robbins. This is a 100% free event for all. Feb 18, 2024
Mar
- International Transgender Day of Visibility – TDoV is a day to show your support for the trans community. It aims to bring attention to the accomplishments of trans people around the globe while fighting cissexism and transphobia by spreading knowledge of the trans community. Unlike Transgender Day of Remembrance, this is not a day for mourning: this is a day to be empowered and get the recognition we deserve! Mar 31, 2024
Apr
- Day of Silence – GLSEN’s Day of Silence is a nationwide day of action where students across the United States commit to silence, raising awareness about the silencing impact of anti-LGBTQ+ bullying and harassment in educational institutions. By choosing not to speak, these students amplify the voices of those who have been silenced and demonstrate solidarity with their LGBTQ+ peers. This powerful event encourages participants to reflect on the need for inclusive and safe school environments, prompting discussions and inspiring change to help end discrimination and prejudice against LGBTQ+ students. Apr 15, 2024
- Dining Out For Life – Dining Out For Life is an annual dining fundraising event raising money for community-based organizations serving people living with or impacted by HIV. Apr 2024
May
- National Queer Arts Festival – Established in 1998, the National Queer Arts Festival (NQAF) has hosted over 800 unique events featuring over 2,300 LGBTQ+ artists. Renowned participants have included Bill T. Jones, Alice Walker, Robert Rauschenberg, Meredith Monk, Adrienne Rich, Marga Gomez, Justin Chin, Thom Gunn, Cherrie Moraga, and Dorothy Allison. In addition, the festival often serves as a launching pad for emerging artists. Recognized as North America’s largest queer arts festival, NQAF continues to celebrate and uplift the LGBTQ+ artistic community. May through July
Jun
Pride Month has its roots in the Stonewall riots, which took place in June 1969. The Stonewall Inn, a popular queer bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village, was frequently subjected to police raids and harassment due to discriminatory laws and attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community at the time.
On the night of Jun 28, 1969, when the police raided the Stonewall Inn, the patrons resisted arrest and fought against the officers. This spontaneous resistance sparked several days of protests, demonstrations, and clashes between the LGBTQ+ community and the police. The Stonewall riots are often considered a turning point in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
A year later, in June 1970, the LGBTQ+ community in San Francisco organized the city’s first official Pride parade and celebration. The march occurred on Polk Street, followed by a “gay-in” picnic in Golden Gate Park. This event was a commemoration of the Stonewall riots and a way to bring visibility to the LGBTQ+ community and their fight for equal rights.
Since then, Pride Month has expanded and been recognized internationally, with celebrations, marches, and events occurring throughout June in various cities worldwide. Pride Month serves to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, honor their history, raise awareness about LGBTQ+ rights, and advocate for equality and inclusion.
The Mercury News has a roundup of Pride celebrations in other parts of the Bay.
- The Pink Triangle – For 24 years, Patrick Carney’s epic Pink Triangle was laid out on canvas atop San Francisco’s Twin Peaks. The acre-sized symbol, crafted lovingly by thousands of volunteers through the years, was a beautiful annual notice that Pride weekend had arrived.
- Queer Women of Color Film Festival – Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (QWOCMAP) promotes the creation, exhibition, and distribution of new films and videos that increase the visibility of queer women of color, authentically reflect our life stories, and address the vital social justice issues that concern our communities. San Francisco, CA; Jun 14-16, 2024
- Drag Queen Bingo: The Queens’ Balls – Drag Queen Bingo is back! Great prizes fit for a queen. A costume contest, raffle, laughs, and more. 21+. Advance tickets are highly encouraged. TBD
- Giants LGBT Night – Join the San Francisco Giants in celebration of the Bay Area’s rich LGBT culture at Oracle Park with a baseball game, pre-game party, a ticket to the evening’s Giants game, and a limited-edition gift, with partial proceeds supporting local LGBT-focused non-profits. TBD
- Fresh Meat Festival – The wildly-popular FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL of trans & queer performance is returning to Z Space for a LIVE and IN-PERSON 5-day FESTIVAL! All programs will have ASL Interpretation for Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences. TBD
- Frameline – San Francisco International LGBT Festival – Established in 1977, the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival is the world’s longest-running, largest, and most renowned LGBTQ+ film exhibition event. With an impressive annual attendance of over 60,000 people, this community event is the most prominent and well-attended LGBTQ+ arts program in the Bay Area. The festival showcases diverse and thought-provoking films and serves as a vital platform for celebrating and supporting LGBTQ+ voices in cinema. Jun 19-29, 2024
- Trans March – The San Francisco Trans March is San Francisco’s largest transgender Pride event and one of the largest trans events in the entire world. It’s always the Friday of Pride weekend, and thousands of people attend. TBD
- Castro Family Pride Block Party – Featuring Drag Show, Petting Zoo, Free photos with the Castro Unicorn, Storytime, and the “Drag Performance of the Year Contest”! TBD
- Dyke March – Held annually during Pride weekend in June, the San Francisco Dyke March is a political and community-based event that brings together thousands of lesbians, queer women, and their allies in unity, activism, and celebration. TBD
- San Francisco Pride – Boasting over 200 parade contingents, 300 exhibitors, and more than 20 stages and venues, the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration and Parade is the largest LGBT gathering in the United States. This monumental event highlights the importance of racial and economic justice within the broader LGBTQ+ community. By bringing together people from diverse backgrounds, the celebration fosters unity and solidarity in the ongoing fight for equal rights and social justice for all members of the LGBTQ+ community. June 29-30, 2024
Jul
- Up Your Alley – Up Your Alley is an event tailored for genuine enthusiasts and not for the faint-hearted. It’s where leather daddies dominate the streets of San Francisco’s South of Market district. This gathering caters to diverse interests, including rubber, sportswear, biker gear, skinheads, punks, and muscular, hairy men. It is widely regarded as one of the filthiest events in the United States. Whatever your scene, you’ll likely find a place for it at Up Your Alley. Positioned in front of the legendary Powerhouse bar, the event attracts nearly 15,000 leather aficionados and fetish enthusiasts who engage in BDSM play across more than 50 adult vendor spaces. TBD
- Lazy Bear Weekend – Lazy Bear Fund, Inc. puts on one of the world’s largest and most successful bear gatherings. Lazy Bear Week is our annual signature event. For over 25 years, we have entertained thousands of guests in Guerneville, California, in the heart of Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. Attendees enjoy pool parties, dance parties, campfires, live entertainment, and amazing DJs. Most Lazy Bear Week revelers stay in local lodges, campgrounds, and cabins or avail themselves of any options in nearby towns and cities. Jul 29 – Aug 5, 2024
Lazy Bear 2023
Sep
- Folsom Street Fair – Folsom Street is dedicated to creating a secure, welcoming, and inclusive atmosphere for the kink, leather, and alternative sexuality communities, emphasizing equity for BIPOC and LGBTQA2I+ individuals in all aspects of their work. They are grounded in the struggle against gentrification and displacement in San Francisco, on unceded Ohlone territory, and across the globe. Their mission is to unite, empower, and validate the community by providing support, resources, education, advocacy, visibility, and celebration. Folsom Street firmly believes in sexual liberation and the right to pleasure as essential to the broader liberation movement. TBD
Oct
- Castro Street Festival – The Castro Street Fair, a vibrant community street festival, was founded by Harvey Milk in 1974 to support various local non-profit organizations. This lively event occurs in the heart of San Francisco’s historic Castro District, known for its strong LGBTQ+ presence and cultural significance. Featuring live music, arts and crafts vendors, food stalls, and other entertainment, the Castro Street Fair brings together people from diverse backgrounds to celebrate unity, acceptance, and pride. Join the festivities and contribute to a meaningful cause by participating in this annual gathering that continues to uphold Harvey Milk’s legacy and support the community. Oct 6, 2024
Nov
- Transgender Day of Remembrance – Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance held on Nov 20, dedicated to honoring the memory of transgender individuals who have tragically lost their lives due to acts of anti-transgender violence. This solemn event serves as a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggle against discrimination and prejudice faced by the transgender community. By commemorating the lives lost, TDOR aims to raise awareness, foster unity, and inspire action toward creating a more inclusive and accepting society for transgender people.
SUPPORTING EQUALITY THROUGH FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT
We aim to financially empower the LGBTQI community through employment, entrepreneurship, and commerce. And we need your help. First and foremost, know where you spend your hard-earned Queer dollars. Do the companies you buy from support equal rights for all? Or do they promote discrimination by calling it Religious Freedom? Do they support diversity in the workplace? Do they promote gender equality? There is tremendous power in how we spend our money.
Buy LGBTQ and support your local community. Yeah, I get that it may be cheaper on Amazon, but if you want to continue to see queer bookstores and other mom-and-mom businesses – you have to support them. Queer businesses support Queer causes – it’s that simple. And they need you.
Get involved. Support local legislators who support equality—demand procurement opportunities for certified LGBTQI businesses. Organize, protest, boycott – whatever it takes – because we have no intention of returning to the closet.
Supporting LGBTQ+ individuals to live fully and authentically
Here are some ways to offer that support:
- Educate yourself: Learn about LGBTQ+ issues, terminology, and history. Understand the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community and educate yourself on how to be an ally.
- Listen and validate: Give LGBTQ+ individuals a platform to share their experiences and be open to learning from them. Validate their feelings and experiences, and be empathetic and understanding.
- Use inclusive language: Be mindful of your language, and strive to use gender-neutral or inclusive terms. For example, use people’s preferred names and pronouns and apologize if you make a mistake.
- Challenge stereotypes and assumptions: Question and challenge stereotypes and assumptions about gender and sexuality, and avoid generalizing about the LGBTQ+ community.
- Advocate for policies and laws: Support and advocate for policies and laws that protect the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and work to dismantle systemic barriers that disproportionately affect them.
- Create safe spaces: Promote an inclusive and welcoming environment where LGBTQ+ individuals feel safe and supported physically and online.
- Be a visible ally: Show your support for the LGBTQ+ community by attending events, wearing pride symbols, and speaking out against discrimination.
- Offer resources: Share information and resources related to the queer community.