A stylish hotel, bingo, and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will collide on Saturday, August 26th, to celebrate Women’s Equality Day. The event features the iconic Sisterhood of Perpetual Indulgence, who will run the bingo game and bring their signature humor and joy. Proceeds from the event will benefit the non-profit, which has been an active part of the San Francisco community for over 40 years.
The Hotel Zeppelin is hosting the Saturday night event in the heart of SF. This isn’t the sisterhood’s first round of bingo; their very first fundraiser in 1980 was a bingo and disco benefit for gay Cuban refugees at the Metropolitan Community Church. The event was a hit and raised over 1,500 and would lead to many more successful fundraisers over the years.
Sisters on a mission
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are an order of queer and trans nuns who aim to bring joy to the community and expiate stigmatic guilt. The non-profit organization has been active in the San Francisco community since 1979, when its founders first donned donated habits on Easter weekend.
The sisterhood started all the way in Iowa when Roman Catholic habits were donated to the Sugar Plum Fairies for their performance of Sound of Music. When founder Ken Buch, affectionately known as Sister Vicious Power Hungry Bitch, moved to San Francisco, he brought the habits with him. Bored with the repetitive style at the time, referred to as a “Castro Clone“, Ken Buch, Baruch Golden, and Fred Brungard, also called Sister Missionary Position, wore the habits as they walked through the city towards a nude beach.
From there, the sisterhood grew into a non-profit deeply involved with San Francisco’s community. Some of the sister’s previous activism and community involvement include an AIDS candlelight vigil in 1983, fundraisers and benefits for women with cancer, and events benefiting queer youth.
The sisterhood spread worldwide; there are orders in many US states and many countries, including France, Colombia, and the United Kingdom.
The event will take place at the Hotel Zeppelin from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online. Participants must be 18+ to attend the event.