The long illustrious life of the Mission bar Esta Noche, its recent closure and the more recent loss of Club BnB marks a loss of LGBTQ People of Color venues.
Half a century ago, a bedazzled assortment of psychedelically-influenced, collective-living, sexually experimental, and inherently theatrical gay men and straight women forever transformed the Bay Area's cultural landscape. They were The Cockettes.
Nightlife and community gatherings are a big part of queer culture, but all that has gone away. Undaunted, many of the Bay Area's most beloved performers, party promoters and events producers have found a new way to bring their magic to the masses.
The arts and nightlife communities have been hit particularly hard, with venues including Oasis and Manny's in San Francisco and The Alice Collective in Oakland seeing their revenue streams disappear overnight.
Like virtually all performing artists, Lena Hall, best known for her Tony-winning turn as Yitzhak in the Broadway run of 'Hedwig & The Angry Inch,' has had her music and acting career set on pause.
Even though we, as a nation, are going through some very trying times, the winners in these categories, voted for by Bay Area Reporter readers, should inspire you to get your freak on once social distancing becomes a thing of the past.
When the lockdown finally ends and we're able to get out and about to socialize over our vittles once again, this year's Restaurant Besties will be here to help.
With the closure of bars due to Covid-19, reading about which bars are best in the Bay Area according to our readers may be a bit like looking through the window of a candy shop when it's closed.
What would queer San Francisco be without our nocturnal animals, the revelers and entertainers and service stars? Let's raise a glass (make it a double), to this year's Nightlife People Bestie winners.
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Celebrating the past year and with an eye toward the future, let's bring on this year's Bestie-winning events.
Charlotte Coleman's bars grew from the harassment of the 1950s. But the unintended consequence of losing a job was that she wasn't just a bar owner: she had such business acumen that some of her bars still exist till today.
Well, life has sure changed in the past two weeks. COVID-19, also known as the novel coronavirus, has affected all of us dramatically, certainly for the short term.
