May 16 - Mama’s Day Beer Bust at the Eagle Tavern. Curtis michael brown, Sandy (Mama) Reinhardt, Boy Tyler and Mark paladini at a packed benefit for Locks of Love. PHOTO BY RINK

A huge crush of leather/Levi people and their friends were pressed against each other for a special Mama’s Day beer bust at San Francisco’s Eagle Tavern on May 16. The day was named for leather icon Sandy (Mama) Reinhardt, who heads a family of over 900  charity fundraising volunteers who have helped non-profit organizations for more than a decade. The event was coordinated by Reinhardt and San Francisco Leather Daddy XXVI Ray Middling, and the Alameda County Leather Corps’ Jay Hemphill and Michael Holeman worked the front counter. The East Bay guys collected $10 for spaghetti dinner and all of the beer or soda that the guests could put away. One of the most spectacular sights at the Eagle used to be the shirtless and unbuttoned blonde German stud who sauntered through the crowd with two pitchers of beer, pouring with a smile. That was ended by a sour Alcohol Beverage Control bureaucrat a few years back, who demanded that beer be dispensed only by bartenders who could evaluate states of inebriation. 

There were lots of provocative men and some women at the beer bust, and the excitement level shot up and down when raffle sellers knelt and closed in to measure inseams with the tickets that benefited Locks of Love, a charity that provides hairpieces for low income children. The organization helps youth who have a medical need and it gives them self confidence.

Reinhardt also coordinates the annual Breast Cancer Emergency Fund Gala with co-producer Mark Paladini, and this year’s benefit will be at San Francisco’s City Forest Lodge on Aug. 27. Faith Fancher, a former KTVU reporter, helped to found the event with Reinhardt and Paladini, and it features a silent auction, amazing entertainers, and surprise guests. And it is one of those events where the incredibly sexy men on the covers of the erotic DVD’s in the auction can be seen slinking around like hungry panthers. 

Leatherwalk, another event coordinated by Reinhardt and Paladini, is the annual fundraising kickoff to the Leather Month that features hundreds of the leather, SM, and kinky walking from the Castro with banners and a huge leather flag behind a truck with singers to the Eagle. The December holidays are the time of the year for Reinhardt and her Mama’s Family for their annual toy drive. It starts with Reinhardt requesting toys for needy children, then more and more gifts pour into the door of sponsoring bars, and then she bursts into tears because of the outpouring of generosity. There is an intensity to the fundraising that is rarely seen in San Francisco, and the huge horde of almost fanatical volunteers are an inspiration to non-profits and corporations that seek to make a difference in people’s lives. 

All of these events are planned months in advance, which results in successful, well-attended parties, and Reinhardt wisely spends most of her time in the East Bay with her first family of relatives, to avoid burnout.