Design the Future of Queer Bars + Parks: Interactive Event (SF)

What makes a queer space feel welcoming? Where do you find belonging outside of home and work? What kinds of queer community spaces are missing from the Bay Area—and what would it take to create them?

Inspired by reporting from KALW journalists Jordan Karnes and Anna Casalme, this interactive event uses stories of queer bars, outdoor gatherings, and community-building as a starting point for a larger conversation. Through audio excerpts, guided discussion, and audience participation, we’ll explore how queer people create spaces for connection, joy, safety, creativity, and resilience.

Join us to share experiences, reflect with others, and collectively imagine the future of queer gathering spaces—from nightlife venues and cultural hubs to parks, beaches, and spaces that don’t yet exist.

Whether you have a queer space you cherish, one you’ve lost, or one you’ve always wished for, we invite you to join the conversation.

Part 1 – Imagining Queer Bars & Nightlife

Jordan Karnes (they/them) is a reporter and producer who works in the intersection of sports, identity, and culture. They are an alum of KALW’s 2025 Audio Academy as well as the Chair of the Literary Arts Department at Oakland School for the Arts.

Listen to Jordan’s story: What does it take for a queer bar to survive in the Bay Area?

Blake Sondel Cole is the founder of Friends and Family, an acclaimed queer-owned and operated cocktail bar and restaurant that served subtle variations on cocktail classics alongside an incredible food program from celebrated queer chef Gaby Maeda. Blake is a Bay Area native who spent over 15 years in the restaurant industry — 25 if you count a childhood spent insisting on taking orders from the family dinner table.

For Blake, Friends and Family was a dream three years in the making before it opened in Oakland’s Uptown neighborhood in spring 2020. Over six years, that dream not only became a reality but earned a place on the inaugural list of the Top 50 Bars in North America, a James Beard semifinalist nod for Outstanding Bar Program, and a feature in Bon Appétit as part of Oakland’s “Queer Food Capital” moment. Friends and Family served its final round of cocktails on December 30, 2025 — closing as one of the most beloved and celebrated bars the Bay Area has ever seen.

Now, Blake is setting her sights on the next chapter. She is eager to partner with Chef Gaby Maeda to bring their dream restaurant to San Francisco — a long-awaited collaboration that promises to carry forward the warmth, creativity, and community spirit that made Friends and Family so special.

Part 2: Queering the Natural Commons

Anna Gabriella Casalme (she/her) is a 2025-2026 Audio Academy Fellow. Anna is a writer and educator committed to lifting up diverse stories and storytelling in all sorts of formats, now including public radio. She is the founder and managing director of Novelly Publishing & Youth Authors Week, which publishes and advocates for teen authors. She received her BA in Human Biology and Education from Stanford University and her MSc in Childhood Studies from the University of Edinburgh. She lives in San Francisco, where her favorite thing to do is take classes for fun at City College.

Listen to Anna’s story: How queer communities are seeing themselves reflected in tide pools

Jordan Gorostiza is a writer, naturalist, and queer surfer based in San Francisco. Trained as a science communicator, he spent years helping government agencies tell better stories around conservation and climate change issues. He enjoys introducing people to coastal paces– from the tide pools to the line up– and believes access to these spaces must be equitable across all communities. When not in the water, he likes to shoot film, support local artists and performers, and camp throughout California.”

Moderated by

Hanisha Harjani is the Community Journalism Director at KALW. They are an award-winning audio reporter and have also produced work for outlets like NPR, The Guardian, The Markup, and more. They are interested in telling stories about gender, spirituality, technology, and policy. In their free time, they love trying out new recipes, taking long walks to nowhere, and staring at the ocean.

Come early for Pollinating The Possible, on view in KALW’s gallery until July 31. CreatingAS1, the art team of Sara Corbett and Aaron Haldiman, is transforming KALW’s public gathering space into a living gallery—an invitation to pause, reflect, and engage with artwork that explores connection, renewal, and possibility. Together, KALW and CreatingAS1 invite you into a process of discovery, connection, and collective imagination

There is a $10 – $20 sliding scale suggested donation for this event. Nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.

Please become a KALW member today and receive your first drink on us at all 220 Montgomery events.

220 Montgomery St., San Francisco, 2 blocks from BART/MUNI

Reception doors open at 6:30

️ Program begins at 7:00

🆓 The event is free with an RSVP — and you are welcome to donate what you want

Please note:

• The event space is just to the left of the main entrance to the Mills Building at 220 Montgomery Street
• We recommend taking BART/MUNI, exiting at Montgomery, and walking two blocks north
• Ride-shares can drop off and pick up directly in front of the venue
• If you drive, there are several garages within two blocks of the event location