Calling the San Francisco Dyke March “a hell of a lot more than a walk in the neighborhood with a banner” organizers Saturday tried to reinvigorate enthusiasm for the march, which was canceled in June.
“It’s about community organizing. It’s about engagement,” said M Rocket, a member of a new steering committee. “It’s about deciding what’s important to us and what is on the banners that we hold. It’s about including all of us, our giant dike community.”
Organizers of today’s first town hall held at the Chan National Queer Arts Center are all members of the new interim steering committee that includes Rocket, Ruth Villasenor, Crystal Mason and Celestina Pearl. The former board disbanded after canceling the march that generally happens on the Saturday of Pride weekend.
About 40 people attended today’s meeting in person with another dozen participating on Zoom. Rocket said the town halls are meant to calibrate interest, to “see if there’s enough community engagement and willingness to invest your time, your dollars, your community energy into bringing this back in in a way that we want to build.”
Dykes on Bikes generally lead the event. Normally, attendees said, there were as many as 500 motorcycles, but post-pandemic that number had decreased by half.
Villasenor is one of those Dykes on motorcycles. For them, the march was particularly special because as American Indian, they always felt the march made space for their community.
“What I loved most about the Dyke March is that they always did include us,” said Villasenor, who wants a younger generation to experience the Dyke March.
“We’re here, and we need to make sure that they understand that and that we’re really visible and strong,” said Villasenor.
About an hour into the meeting, participants broke into six groups and exchanged ideas on how to bring back a welcoming Dyke March.
One of the challenges is the cost of the march, which includes the permitting process from Rec and Park for Dolores Park.
Rocket said the committee is projecting a budget between $20,000 to $50,000, which the community will have to raise on its own or through grants.
Despite the challenges ahead, interim member Pearl sees a bright future for the event next summer.
“It’s about the enthusiasm for it [the march] and the interest and pitching in to be a part of it,” said Pearl. “I’m seeing a lot of that and I’m really excited for that.”
The interim committee is looking to recruit members who can be part of seven committees: accessibility, finances and operations, fundraising, infrastructure, outreach, production and volunteers. Also, they are looking to elect a new permanent board consisting of at least seven to eight people.
Mason, an interim member, called the meeting, which finished just before 2 p.m., a great success.
“I’m excited because people aren’t just interested. They’re willing to jump in and do stuff,” said Mason. “That’s always the hardest mountain to climb when trying to organize something like this is getting people committed to actually doing things.”
The next town hall will take place Tuesday Nov. 12 at the SF LGBT Center at 1800 Market St. between 6 to 8 p.m.
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