February 13, 2019
Women Take the Stage - Ms. San Francisco Leather Contest at SOMArts
Race Bannon READ TIME: 2 MIN.
One of the biggest annual local gatherings for leatherwomen took place this past Saturday, the Ms. San Francisco Leather contest at SOMArts Cultural Center.
Every year the producers of the contest create a weekend and contest that celebrates our diverse and dynamic Bay Area leather, kink and fetish communities while also raising funds to support the work of small nonprofit organizations.
This year's contest was well executed by Executive Producer Daddy Sal Hopkins and Sal's competent staff. I particularly appreciated that the contest moved along without gaps. More than one audience member commented how pleased they were that the contest didn't extend to many hours, as contests often seem to do. Kudos to the production staff and volunteers for running a tight ship. It was noticed and appreciated.
The weekend began with a meet and greet at the SF Eagle, where the public could mix and mingle with the contestants and judges while enjoying some casual socialization time.
On Saturday, the contest kicked off with a welcome by the evening's delightful emcee, Val Langmuir. Then the presentation of colors, a lovely rendition of "America the Beautiful" sung by Rio Spooner, and a hot opening entertainment number by Evil Mommy Tina led the audience into introductions of the contestants and judges and the first phases of the competition, the fantasies and speeches.
Contestants this year were Bobbee Trans Mooremon, SF Sober Kinkster 2019, sponsored by Leather Etc., and Reika, sponsored by Society of Janus. I can confidently say that both contestants presented themselves beautifully throughout the competition and as an audience member I felt they both would have done the title proud.
Judging the contest were an esteemed collection of leatherfolk to whom the producers entrusted to as objectively as possible select their next titleholder. They were Nyna Kaiser, Daddy Vick Germany, Victoria, Zane, Girl Complex, Meryl, and Jay Harcourt. I know these people and I'm sure they judged the contest honorably.
Like most leather contests, the judging was comprised of categories with a maximum point total designated for each. The categories were interview in street casual wear (75 points), speech and formal wear (45 points), fantasy performance (35 points), on stage pop question and cruise/bar wear (20 points), and overall competition deportment (25 points).
