Author: Alfredo Casuso

MEDIA ADVISORY / REQUEST FOR ONSITE COVERAGE
TUESDAY – 1 SEPTEMBER

Media Contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc., David Perry / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com 

WHO/WHAT: #RedAlertRESTART Campaign Lights Up San Francisco Landmarks Red to support Live Events Industry Devastated by COVID and Economic Downturn

WHEN: Tuesday, September 1: 8pm  – midnight PDT *
* most buildings lighting up at 8pm; optimal viewing and special events TBD at 9pm 

WHERE: San Francisco City Hall, Coit Tower, the War Memorial Opera House and other San Francisco landmarks, buildings and many hotels will be illuminated RED and members of the general public are encouraged to put RED LIGHTS in their windows 

(link below lists confirmed locations)

https://sites.google.com/view/wemakeeventsbayarea

WEB: www.wemakeevents.org 

#WeMakeEvents #RedAlertRESTART  #ExtendPUA  

WHY: In solidarity with the millions of unemployed special event workers and to urge Congress to pass the RESTART Act of economic stimulus

DETAIL:  On Tuesday, September 1 it’s a RED ALERT for the special events industry – with millions of people now unemployed with no end in sight. To call attention to this, buildings all over San Francisco including City Hall will be lit in solidarity and to urge Congress to pass the RESTART Act as a vital national stimulus. This Tuesday night, make EVERY neighborhood a “Red Light District.” Please document your own videos, photos and efforts with the hashtags #WeMakeEvents #RedAlertRESTART  #ExtendPUA  

The live events and entertainment industry contributes over $877 billion into the economy. At 4.5% of the GDP, Arts and Entertainment is second only to retail. A collapse of this industry would ripple into restaurants, travel and transportation, hospitality, vendors, suppliers, landlords… that list goes on and on too.  

For every $1 spent on a ticket at a small music venue, $12 are spent in the local economy on related services.

In San Francisco, nightlife isn’t just a cultural benefit for the City; it is also a major economic driver. According to a 2018 update of the Controller’s Office economic impact study, over 3,850 nightlife establishments in San Francisco employed over 63,000 workers, and generated an estimated $7.2 billion.

Red Alert

On Tuesday, September 1, from 9pm-midnight, theaters and event venues across North America will be asked to light ghost lights on their stages, light their buildings in red and use hashtag #WeMakeEvents to symbolize the struggle of the industry, which has been shuttered since March, 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. 

By the Numbers

The live entertainment industry is a cornerstone of the U.S. economy. It employs over 12 million people and provides upwards of $1 trillion in economic impact – more than the transportation, agriculture and tourism industries. However, due to the global pandemic, the live events industry is in grave danger. A devastating number of arts professionals are currently out of work and will be for some time, with the pandemic having shut down nearly all entertainment functions in all sectors. 

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the industry has been completely shattered reporting that:

• 95% of entertainment events have been cancelled.

• 62% of entertainment workers are fully unemployed.

• 94% of entertainment workers have lost income. 

• The average arts worker reports $23,500 in losses thus far.

• 66% of entertainment workers are unable to access spaces, staff, resources, or supplies needed to do their jobs.

* According to AmericansForTheArts.org

How You Can Help

As theatres, concert tours, festivals, opera houses, trade shows, and other live events as well as film and television production remain closed, or open on a very limited basis, the entire industry is impacted. You can help by: 

1. On or before September 1, capture dark sets and stages with ghostlights (as seen in Red Rocks photo above)
   • If you need equipment to create this look, please email redalertrestart@brownnote.com
2. On or before September 1, light your venue red (for RED ALERT)
   • If you need equipment to create this look, please email redalertrestart@brownnote.com
3. On or before September 1, display #WeMakeEvents with your changeable lettering or our pre-created graphics below on your marquee or electronic billboard
   • Click HERE for Graphics Files
   • If you need artwork to be resized, please email redalertrestart@brownnote.com 
4. On or before September 1, anytime from 9pm-12am, station crew outside your venue wearing #WeMakeEvents 

t-shirts (wearing masks & social distancing)

1. Contact redalertrestart@brownnote.com to coordinate pickup of free #WeMakeEvents t-shirts your team

Capture & Share Content for Your Venue

Make sure to capture impactful photos and videos of your venue’s activation! You can start sharing content immediately to show you are participating as well as on Sept 1^st (Share THIS POST from We Make Events North America)

1. UPLOAD ALL PICTURES AND VIDEOS: Shared Venue Google Drive

• (Include your venue name in each photo/video file example: RedRocks-1.jpg)

2. SHARE ON YOUR SOCIALS using #WeMakeEvents

• Tag We Make Events North America: FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / TWITTER

Shear Madness

Poodles and mixed-offspring are taking over the world. You can’t walk half a block without tripping over a Schnoodle, Cockapoo or Goldendoodle, or slipping on  Maltepoo poo or Bernedoodle doo .  There are obvious reasons why wethepoodlepeople love our pups. Whether they were pre-owned – like my Romo, who is an unintentional ¾ poodle and ¼ Bichon Frise mix, or they may have been bought new, they are wonderful pets. 

Poodles are the second-smartest dogs, just below Border collies, according to people who test such things. It’s said that you can almost see poodles think. I watched my Romo figure out how to move not just through a stationary hoop, but through a moving one. At first she refused to do it, but after watching it for a few moments, 

She leapt like the circus dog she was meant to be. Whether circus, service, therapy, or just plain wonderful, there is one thing all these doodles need to do. . .  and that’s get groomed.

I learned early on that I couldn’t spell groom without r-o-m-o.  I love it when her black and white dog-fro gets Angela Davis-big, but she attracts more shmutz than a new Swiffer mop.  I am happy with the groomers we use, but thought a mobile groomer might work better during the pandemic. Kind of like grooming–in-place. 

The groomer had some new-age name that I couldn’t understand through her mask. I told her I wanted Romo’s hair to be real short, except for the flounce on her tail and her little puppy ears. 

Be careful what you ask for. An hour later, the new-ager texted me and I went to get the princess. After we had a contact-less exchange of card, she opened the van door and out popped a pup who looked so different that I thought it wasn’t my Romo. She looked like a Chihuahua and a hairless toy poodle had mated, and it was clear why Poohuahuas never became popular. 

I couldn’t stop laughing. I’d always said that Romo was so cute that she could never get a bad hair-cut, but this was the worst Doodle ‘do ever. Even I was embarrassed for her.

The day after her shearing, the temperature in usually mild San Francisco reached triple digits. I knew Romo was lots more comfortable with her short hair and this helped to mitigate my previous day’s thoughts that I had been a bad dog mom.  As to Romo, this is a dog that hoovers the floor for food bits and then licks her nose or toes or you know. That said, there’s no embarrassment emoji in her dog world.

Media contact:
David Perry & Associates, Inc. / David Perry / news@davidperry.com / (415) 676-7007

LGBTQ+ Community Mourns the Passing of Aging Services Pioneer Hadley Dale Hall

14 August 2020 — SAN FRANCISCO, CA: San Francisco has lost a towering figure in aging services and a leader in the LGBTQ+ community with the death of Hadley Dale Hall, 87, who passed away August 10, following a short illness.

Retired CEO of the Visiting Nurses and Hospice Program in San Francisco, Hall founded San Francisco Home Health Services, a non-profit organization, where he developed the groundbreaking 30th Street Senior Center in 1976.  He formed comprehensive programs for the elderly such as home delivered meals, congregate meals, adult day health and home care, all while advocating for living wages and better working conditions for home health aides and homemakers.  

He also created Coming Home Hospice, the first residential AIDS hospice in the country.  The program provided care and support for both people with AIDS and those with other terminal illnesses.

His legacy includes major contributions to address ageism and homophobia in city services, especially those expressly designed for seniors.  Since his retirement in 1986, Mr. Hall had been an active adviser and volunteer with non-profit aging organizations On Lok and Openhouse, where he served as a long-time foundational board member. He was instrumental in bringing the dream of a LGBTQ+ senior community to life at the Openhouse campus on Laguna Street, according to Dr. Karyn Skultety, Openhouse Executive Director.

“Hadley was a beloved figure in the LGBTQ+ senior community in San Francisco, and his legacy lives on at Openhouse,” said Dr. Skultety.  “He selflessly contributed his experience, grit and determination to help LGBTQ+ seniors age comfortably at home rather than go back into the closet at often unwelcoming nursing homes.”

Dr. Marcy Adelman and the late Jeanette Gurevitch founded Openhouse in 1998, providing housing, social services and community for LGBTQ+ seniors.  Mr. Hall became a board member in 2004, served on the board through 2017 and remained actively involved as a key advisor as a board alumnus.

“Hadley was an extraordinary advocate for seniors. He was a mentor, teacher and friend not only to me, but to all Openhouse board members and staff,” Dr. Adelman said.  “As a leader, he was both generous and fierce–generous with his time, praise and compassion and fierce in his advocacy and drive to see that seniors receive the best care possible and then some. We loved him.”

His passion to provide comprehensive senior services to the LGBTQ+ community and his selfless dedication to improving the lives of LGBTQ seniors continues to inspire and define the work at Openhouse, according to Tim Sweeney and Nanette Miller, Co-Presidents of the Openhouse Board of Directors.

“Our organization and services reflect Hadley’s strength and spirit, and we pay tribute to his many hours of effort and selfless contributions toward the mission and success of Openhouse.  We are so sorry we have lost Hadley. What a champion for seniors, LGBT people and Openhouse,” said the Board Co-Presidents.

Mr. Hall is survived by his husband of nearly 60 years Warde Laidman, and a sister, Carmela Sanders, of Beaverton, OR, as well as many nieces and nephews. On Lok and Openhouse will observe a celebration of Mr. Hall’s life at the new Openhouse Community Center in 2021 after it is safe to gather socially.  A bronze tribute already cast in his honor and planned for the new Openhouse Community Center now becomes a memorial, and will be unveiled at the celebration of Mr. Hall’s life, Dr. Skultety said.