Historic Gay North Beach Walking Tour

Historic Gay North Beach Walking Tour

Prepare for the West Coast premiere of Opera Parallèle’s Fellow Travelers with an intimate historical walking tour through San Francisco's hidden 1950’s era LGBTQ+ history of North Beach, led by Shawn Sprocket of Unspeakable Vice.

From clandestine clubs to reputed culture hot spots, embark on a 90 minute guided historical walking tour through North Beach, illuminating San Francisco's LGBTQ+ past and the gay creative resistance which ran through nightclubs and music venues during the Lavender Scare and McCarthyism of the 1950s and 60’s (the timeframe of Fellow Travelers). Hear how a Latino drag queen became the first open-gay candidate for office, a Black "bomber" lit up marquees with salacious lyrics, and scores of queer womxn who resisted the Lavender Scare. Whether you're a local or a visitor, Unspeakable Vice walking tours provide a thought-provoking and enlightening experience that illuminates the profound impact of queer culture on San Francisco's colorful tapestry.

Tickets for Fellow Travelers on June 21-23 are available now at Presidio Theatre: https://www.presidiotheatre.org/show/2024-fellow-travelers/

The walking tour ticket is an additional fee to the performance ticket. Tours will be conducted in English.

About Unspeakable Vice

Since 2019, Shawn Sprockett has been researching and sharing the stories of lesser known queer history. Through archival and primary sources, he’s pieced together a rare look at San Francisco’s queer history before the iconic Castro neighborhood. This story highlights the role of Black, Indigenous, and people of color, as well as the large role women and allies played in the formation of modern queer identity.

The North Beach walking tour launched in 2022 and has already hosted more than two hundred guests with a perfect five-star rating on Airbnb. The lecture version of this tour has been shared at many local San Francisco venues, including Manny’s, The Academy, and the San Francisco Historical Society. It has also been featured in the Bay Area Reporter, SF Standard, and among popular tourism guilds in the city.

Host or Publisher Opera Parallèle