The ultimate San Francisco getaway

The legendary Westin St. Francis is offering the “Ultimate San Francisco Experience Package,” perfect for those seeking to explore the best of the San Francisco Bay Area. The “Ultimate San Francisco Experience Package" includes overnight accommodations at The Westin St. Francis, two adult “Go San Francisco Cards” valid for two days and daily breakfast for two adults.

The “Go San Francisco Card” is an all-access attraction pass that offers the ultimate in convenience and flexibility to more than 45 of the Bay Area’s top attractions, activities and tours. Visitors can choose to explore the brand new California Academy of Sciences, soar over San Francisco’s hills on the world-famous San Francisco cable cars, take in some of the world’s best modern art at the renowned SFMOMA, view King Tut’s tomb at the de Young Museum, tour San Francisco with Gray Line Trolley Tours, cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge on the San Francisco Bay, and much more. For those who wish to venture outside of San Francisco, the pass includes complimentary tastings at several Napa and Sonoma Valley wineries and admission to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, the Bay Area Discovery Museum, Chabot Space & Science Center, Carmel Mission and many more top cultural attractions. Each Go Card also comes with a color-printed, pocket-sized guidebook full of maps, travel tips and suggested itineraries focusing on specific themes such as arts and culture and history.

For more information or to make reservations, call 800-917-7458 or visit www.westinstfrancis.com.

Summer in San Francisco

Though summer will be winding down, San Francisco is the place to visit this September. Not only is the weather still gorgeous, but there are some great events happening and deals to be had!

Take an art exhibition expedition, and visit four blockbuster museum exhibitions: Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs at the de Young Museum, Georgia O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams at the SFMOMA, Lords of the Samurai at the Asian Art Museum, and Push Play at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

If you’re visiting over the weekend the weekend, head to Marlena’s in Hayes Valley on Saturday nights for an old fashioned drag show led by Galilea, including elaborate costuming, professional performances, and a lively bar scene. With the popularity of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the reminders of the actions of drag queens in the Stonewall Riots over 40 years ago, maybe it’s time you saw what drag is all about!

Lots more after the jump.


Don't miss San Francisco's longest running show: Beach Blanket Babylon. September 4 is Gay Night: As part of their 35th year anniversary, BBB hosts a special night for our community. This is the longest running musical revue in theatrical history and features zany comedy, elaborate costumes and outrageous hats.

Also coming up is Folsom Street Fair, Sunday, Sept. 27: This is the largest street fair in the world of its kind, encompassing 13 city blocks and including more than 400,000 people. While it welcomes the broad spectrum of South of Market lifestyles, including leather, BDSM, uniforms, fetish, and other alternatives, Folsom Street Fair also raises money for a variety of local charitable organizations. This year’s fair features two live stages, 250 booths, hot food, cold drinks, artists and more.

And as if that wasn’t enough, round out your summer with a San Francisco Giants game at AT&T Park as Donna Sachet sings the national anthem on Tuesday, Sept. 29. In 1994 the SF Giants were the first-ever professional sports team to host an AIDS benefit game with Until There’s a Cure Day. Now, they may well be the first to invite a drag queen to sing our nation’s song at the start of the game. Indeed, only in San Francisco!


Vertigo-Go: 24 hours in San Francisco

Feeling spontaneous? Craving some adventure? Then pack your suitcase and get ready to take a whirlwind trip around San Francisco, all in less than 24-hours with Personality Hotels’ “Vertigo-Go Package.” Non-stop fun and adventure await, so strap on your seatbelt!

The “Vertigo-Go Package” allows thrill-seekers to:

Live like a movie star in a spacious Vertigo Suite at the metropolitan-chic Hotel Vertigo (just like the character Madeleine from Hitchcock’s 1958 thriller Vertigo). Complimentary in-room Madeleine cookies will deliver the perfect sugar-surge.

Take the ride of your life while seeing some of San Francisco’s top attractions aboard the super-speedy Rocket Boat. This 70-foot powerboat zooms around the San Francisco Bay, whizzing to the spectacular AT+T Park, the infamous Alcatraz, Pier 39’s “sea-lebrities," aka sea lions, and many sites in-between (package includes tickets for two people).

Get the party started with two complimentary “Vertigo” cocktails at the swanky cocktail lounge Rye.

Party like a rock star with VIP entry for two to posh party-spot Ambassador.

Get dizzy with excitement exploring San Francisco’s best places to get Vertigo (hang on tight).

The Vertigo-Go Package” is currently valid through October 31, 2009. Rates start at $179 per night, excluding tax and based upon availability. For reservations, call 800.553.1900 or visit www.personalityhotels.com.

Up Your Alley Street Fair takes place July 26

Considered a warm-up for the Folsom Street Fair on Sept. 27, the Up Your Alley Street Fair, Sunday, July 26 in San Francisco is not for the faint of heart, welcoming the Leather, BDSM, and fetish community with stages, demos, merchandise and information booths. Dances and other parties round out the weekend.

It takes two to queer tango

This first ever International Queer Tango Festival in the U.S. includes performances, classes, outings and parties, all exploring the beauty of the tango as danced by same sex partners and takes place in San Francisco (where else?) through July 5.

Below check out Martin and Maurizio tangoing it up at the Queer Tango Festival last year in Stockholm. Rrrowr!

quee

Only in San Francisco

Starting in early May followers of the SFCVB’s Twitter/OnlyinSF and Facebook site will receive a message announcing the dates, times and locations where interviews with locals will be videotaped for inclusion on the “Escape to the City” site. Participants will be asked to share their “Only in San Francisco” experiences on camera. Selected video clips will be posted on the SFCVB site and viewers will be able to vote for their favorites while they learn all about the sides and sights of San Francisco.

Celebrate with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

Heading to San Francisco for the weekend? Celebrate with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Now in their 30th year of fundraising, activism, and irreverent humor, the local Sisters will be joined by over 150 visiting Sisters from across the globe and they promise something for everyone with children’s activities early (10 a.m.), Easter bonnet contest at noon, and the crowd-pleasing Hunky Jesus contest in the afternoon. Musical and comical entertainment fills out the day in this beautiful park with stunning views of the City. New this year is an Easter Parade, starting at 4 p.m. through the streets of the Castro neighborhood, giving you a chance to show off your holiday finery.

Mr. San Francisco Leather this weekend

San Francisco's finest vie for the title of Mr. San Francisco Leather this weekend.

If you're gay and like beer ...

More than 100 San Francisco breweries and pubs are organizing SF Beer Week, Feb. 6-15 to celebrate the early roots of the modern Renaissance in artisan beers.

The 10-day celebration will showcase the Bay Area's brewing heritage with as many as 150 events. The week will be anchored by the Bistro Double IPA Festival, and the Toronado Barleywine Festival and will end with a new full-blown Bay Area Beer Festival. In between there will be beer dinners, cheese and beer pairing events, other gourmet food events savoring world-class cuisine, special releases, meet the brewer evenings, homebrewing demonstrations, music, films, and even a museum exhibition exploring the history of Bay Area brewing, from Monterey to Sacramento and beyond.

“We want the public to know that San Francisco is a hot spot for artisan and craft beers. It is an artisan environment,” said Dave McLean, owner and brewer of Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery, and the Alembic bar. “San Francisco has the top examples of artists – from cheese, to wine, to arts and culture – and beer is a part of that excellence.”

Find out more after the jump.


Many local breweries and pubs will contribute to the event, including Magnolia, the 21st Amendment and Toronado. “Independent businesses celebrate a cause that is larger than themselves,” says McLean about the brewing community. “It’s always been that way – in the old days there were guilds. Beer promotes sharing of ideas. We freely share ingredients. It’s an amazing industry. There’s something about beer that brings people together.”

The Alembic will feature brewers who distill fine spirits and focus on beer cocktails. Gordon Biersch will host a Bavarian Beer Breakfast showcasing Hefeweizen – there will be four or five varieties, which is brewer John Tucci’s specialty. “It’s the most authentic style of German beer. It makes GB unique. A lot of craft beers are hoppy English styles. We are the opposite side of that perspective and I think that’s good,” says Tucci.

According to “Origin and History of Beer and Brewing: From Prehistoric Times to the Beginning of Brewing Science and Technology,” by John P. Arnold, beer is the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the world and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. In fact, the word beer comes from the Latin word bibere, to drink, and the root of the Spanish word cerveza originates from the Greek goddess of agriculture, Ceres.

Brewing in the United States peaked in the 1870s with 4,131 breweries throughout the nation. Until Prohibition, Bavaria, Germany, England and Belgium were at the forefront of beer brewing. Since the start of the craft beer movements in the 1960s, it’s America, and specifically California, that European brewers turn to for innovative brewing and quality.

America's craft beer movement began in the San Francisco Bay Area as far back as the 19th Century. San Francisco was the brewing center of the west with close to 50 breweries. With Anchor Brewing's rescue by Fritz Maytag in 1965 and the founding of New Albion Brewing in 1976, craft beer grew into the silver age of American brewing, with more than 1,400 small craft breweries today. Northern California alone has more breweries than most states and enjoys an unrivaled reputation for the quality and diversity of its craft beer.

Microbreweries represented a new strategy in the brewing industry: rather than competing on the basis of price or advertising, they attempted to compete on the basis of inherent product characteristics. They emphasized the freshness of locally produced beer; they experimented with much stronger malt and hop flavors; they tried new and long-discarded brewing recipes, often reintroducing styles that had been popular in America decades earlier. For example, Maytag used West Coast hops instead of English hops and West Coast IPA emerged. Now British and Belgian brewers now use West coast hops.

Events are listed on the SF Beer Week Web site at www.sfbeerweek.org. For visiting beer lovers interested in best-rate accommodations and other activities, visit the San Francisco Convention & Visitor Bureau’s Web site at www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com.



Halloween in San Francisco

Halloween in San Francisco, sometimes called the Gay Christmas, takes on a decidedly different look for 2008 with an event planned for Parking Lot A, an open space south of Market near the Ballpark. Plans include a family-friendly celebration from 4 - 8 p.m., complete with costume and pie-eating contests, followed by entertainment featuring local musicians and performers beginning at 8 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. Smaller neighborhood celebrations will take place at clubs and businesses all over the City, as reflected in the City sponsored campaign, Home for Halloween. At the heart of the LGBT Community, the Castro, bars and restaurants will be open. However, streets will not be closed and traffic will flow normally. So, you are welcome to dress up and join us in celebrating our diversity and creativity while supporting local businesses and respecting the surrounding neighborhood. (www.homeforhalloween.com)

Travel: San Francisco

San Francisco is the featured destination in the latest edition of Passport Magazine TV. I could go for a couple days in San Francisco right about now.

25 Years of Folsom Street Fair

San Francisco's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) Historical Society and Folsom Street Events are celebrating 25 years of the Folsom Street Fair with a new exhibit at the GLBT Historical Society entitled Fun, Frolic, Fetish: Celebrating 25 Years of the Folsom Street Fair. The exhibit will open on July 24th, the Thursday prior to the Dore Alley Fair.

The San Francisco treat - Marriage for All

The San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau (SFCVB) has added a "Marriage for All" section to its Gay Travel page with nuptial ideas and answers for same-sex couples. The easy-to-use site includes romance and honeymoon packages, as well as a list of wedding resources including event planners, photographers, jewelers, caterers, venues, churches, and florists in San Francisco and beyond the bridge.

The "Marriage for All" section also includes a welcome letter from SFCVB President and CEO Joe D'Alessandro (* What!?! not the Joe D'Alessandro? Andy Warhol's Joe D'Alessandro? I better check this out!) and frequently asked questions about same-sex marriage and civil ceremonies, including how to schedule an appointment for a marriage license, the fees for licenses, where ceremonies may be performed, and directions to City Hall.

Since the May 15, 2008, decision by the California Supreme Court that same-sex couples are officially allowed to marry in the state of California, 1,573 marriage licenses were issued at San Francisco’s City Hall during June 16 – 30, over a thousand of which to same sex couples. In addition, more than 350 volunteers and City officials performed over 900 nuptial ceremonies at City Hall, with an average of 94 per day during the two-week period.

"San Francisco is proud to welcome gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender couples to the first city in the United States to perform same-sex marriages and the only state in the U.S. where everyone has a constitutional right to marry," said Joe D'Alessandro, SFCVB president & CEO. "We encourage visitors to celebrate the freedom to marry in San Francisco - where LGBT history continues to be made."

* Update: Ok, it's a different Joe D'Alessandro.

Gay Marriage: San Francisco offers the How-To's for your I-Do's

With the start of California's same-sex marriage ceremonies, officials in San Francisco have been busier than customary with brides and brides and grooms and grooms. More than 350 volunteers have assisted with 947 ceremonies and 1,573 licenses were issued in San Francisco during the last two weeks of the month.

Full details for securing a marriage license through the San Francisco County Clerk Office are available on their Web site here.

And there's a lot more cool info after the jump.


Many city-owned facilities are also rolling out the red carpet for newlyweds-to-be. At a modest fee of $67 for a simple ceremony in an architectural masterpiece, City Hall is and has always been one of the most popular sites. San Francisco's "palace for the people" was built in 1915 and is the setting for some 2,000 weddings annually. Famous couples who have tied the knot there include Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera (1940), Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio (1954) and most recently, Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin who were married just after 5 p.m. on June 16 when the May 15 decision by the California Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage took effect.

Gardens and facilities in Golden Gate Park also offer a range of options. Fragrant havens include the Rose Garden, Dahlia Garden (also San Francisco's official flower), Fuchsia Garden and Queen Wilhelmina Garden. Permits may be secured through a permitting process controlled by the Permits and Reservations division of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Dept. Performance bonds ($500) are required to reserve most sites and there is a reservation fee (ranging from $200 to $350 depending on the location) and an additional hourly fee (minimum two hours) ranging from $50 to $100 per hour. Reservations may be made up to one year in advance.

Rentals of space within major buildings in Golden Gate Park such at the Conservatory of Flowers, San Francisco Botanical Gardens and de Young Museum are handled by each organization and they should be contacted directly. A list of these and other venues throughout San Francisco is posted on the Web site of the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau (SFCVB): www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com in the Meeting Planners section.

The SFCVB has a special section in the Gay Travel section of their Web site with frequently asked questions (FAQs) specifically for same-sex marriages. Hotel packages and special offers from dozens of local businesses are also posted on the site.

The SFCVB also publishes a free, annual San Francisco Meeting and Event Planner's Guide. The 264-page reference lists more than 1,420 Bay Area businesses, meeting sites, hotels and restaurant/banquet facilities.

The guide profiles major civic venues such as Davies Symphony Hall, the War Memorial Opera House and Treasure Island. Detailed floor plans and charts indicating room dimensions, square footage, ceiling height and suggested capacities for major event facilities and convention hotels are included. A comprehensive directory of sometimes hard-to-find services such as producers of custom T-shirts or operators of motorized cable cars for shuttling guests to and fro is also offered.

Individuals can obtain single copies of the 2008 San Francisco Meeting and Event Planner's Guide by contacting Convention Services at the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau by phone 415-227-2654, via email at convention-services@sanfrancisco.travel or online at OnlyInSanFrancisco.com.




San Francisco celebrates California Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage

The San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau (SFCVB) and the City of San Francisco are celebrating the announcement from the California Supreme Court that same-sex couples are officially allowed to marry in the state of California.

“San Francisco is proud to welcome gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender couples to the first city in the United States to perform same-sex marriages and the only state in the U.S. where everyone has a constitutional right to marry,” said Joe D’Alessandro, SFCVB president & CEO. “We encourage visitors to celebrate the freedom to marry in San Francisco – where LGBT history continues to be made.”

Massachusetts allows same-sex couples to marry but couples there must remain residents of that state.

Supporters of same-sex marriage are encouraged to attend a "celebration of love and family" at the San Francisco LGBT Center, 1800 Market St., at 5 p.m. this evening.

San Francisco is the #1 gay-friendly destination in the U.S. and Canada, by a 19 percent margin, according to The Travel Industry Association (TIA) 2006 Travel Survey. The city has long been known for its values of acceptance and respect for the rights of the individual.