Leslie Ewing, a longtime Bay Area community leader and AIDS advocate, will mount the first show of her cartoons at Rockridge Cafe in Oakland.
Ewing, a lesbian, has served in many leadership roles over the years, including at the old NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt (now part of the National AIDS Memorial Grove, with which she is also involved), the old AIDS Emergency Fund (now part of PRC), Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, Lyon-Martin Community Health, and the 1993 March on Washington, D.C.
Ewing is also the former executive director of the Pacific Center for Human Growth, the oldest LGBTQ community center in the Bay Area. She retired from that position in 2019.
A news release noted that during all of this Ewing has drawn cartoons. In 2020, she drew the political op-art for the Bay Area Reporter's end of the year Political Notebook column. "I've been a cartoonist all my life, going back to childhood," Ewing said at the time.
Now, Ewing is bringing her art to the masses, with an exhibit opening Thursday, September 15, and running through Wednesday, October 26, at the cafe, located at 5492 College Avenue. Created over a period of nearly four decades, the exhibit will consist of 40 of her cartoons that capture the spirit, challenges, and quirky humor of those times.
People can view the art during the cafe's hours of 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. There is no charge to see the show, but visitors are encouraged to support the cafe, which has been part of the Rockridge community for 49 years. Ewing plans to be at the cafe around 1 p.m. each Saturday during the show's run to greet visitors.
Castro cultural district seeks board members
The Castro LGBTQ Community District is accepting nominations for up to five seats on its advisory board that are up for election. Each seat is for a three-year term beginning next month and running through October 2025, according to an email announcement.
Advisory board members work on a variety of projects in support of the goals of the district.
Nominations close September 15 and elections will take place October 15 virtually and in-person. To apply, click here.
SF Pride membership meeting
San Francisco Pride will hold its annual membership meeting Saturday, September 10, from noon to 4 p.m. at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street.
According to an email announcement, people will be able to meet and ask questions of the people running for board seats and learn about themes for the 2023 Pride parade and festival. Members in good standing (those having paid dues by July 11) will be able to vote on both board members and the theme over the 72 hours following the meeting.
The meeting will be both in-person and on Zoom for those who wish to attend remotely. There is no cost to attend the meeting, but organizers are asking that people sign up, which they can do here.
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