San Francisco Girls of leather members Leland Carina, Melissa Kennedy, Mirae Bouysson and kate McKinley worked the grill and food line. Photo by Rink.

The Bay Area Leather Alliance staged a beer bust at the Eagle Tavern on Oct. 17 with the handicap of a morning rain. Seattle and Portland denizens laugh heartily at Bay Area party types who do not go out on a rainy day, but it is a fact that even a morning sprinkle will depress attendance at events all day and evening. The San Francisco Girls of Leather worked the grill and food line, and President Leland Carina, VP Kate McKinley, and members Melissa Kennedy and Mirae Bouysson represented their club well. Ms. Tracey Wolf of the Exiles joined the Defenders’ Jim Remer, Alameda Leather Corps’ Mark Ingram, and Independent Jim Sullivan at the front door, greeting guests and receiving their beer bust contributions. The Eagles’ bartender and resident Leather Daddy Gary Kenyon came from behind the bar to give the crew a pep talk, and the men had a chance to check him out. The Alliance is a coalition of  12 leather, motorcycle, and fetish organizations that enjoy the bonding and camaraderie that comes with being with others who are fulfilled by volunteering. President Dahn Van Laarz, who is a primal leatherman who wears only a heavy neck chain and black leather shorts and boots to demand attention as he coordinates SOMA fair booths, intuitively draws the best out of the Alliance members.