TurnOut

TurnOut is a nonprofit that connects volunteers with local LGBT nonprofits. As part of their programming they offer a unique tour called "Biking Through San Francisco's Queer History". The proceeds of this tour all go towards TurnOut's programming. Honestly, I wasn't prepared for this tour being both so educational and so much fun. Jack, the tour host, has a passion about queer history and this enthusiasm oozed out of him throughout the tour. We started off at the Ferry Building and after the typical waiver-signing (this is America after all), we set off towards Fisherman's Wharf where we rode our bikes onto one of the piers overlooking the Golden Gate. This is where Jack started his tour by talking about the early settlers as well as the indigenous people who'd settled on this land long before people like myself. For the next few hours we stopped in North Beach, the Tenderloin and the Castro and with each stop we learned more about the circumstances that made San Francisco such a mecca for queer people. Like I said, I am a local to San Francisco (for many years now) and thus one could assume that I knew much of its history...yet Jack surprised me with so many interesting, jaw dropping and often sad facts that I got to see my city through a whole different lens.