The future of Pink Saturday is uncertain, according to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the non-profit group that has hosted the event for nearly 20 years. The event was started back in 1991 in the Castro (where many people were already starting to gather in years past) as a permit-free party sparked by AIDS activists. A year later it became an official Pride event for folks to celebrate before the Sunday Pride Parade. The Sisters took over running the Castro neighborhood's yearly Pride event from the Castro Merchants (formerly Merchants of Upper Market and Castro) back in 1995.  Since then the event has grown from the neighborhood opening its doors to city revelers to the Castro being the party destination for pre-Pride Parade partiers from around the region and the world.

Recent years have seen the the party go from good to bad, however. In 2010 3 people were shot near Castro and Market during Pink Saturday celebrations, resulting in the death of 19-year old Stephen Powell. Last year one woman was robbed and brutally assaulted by an Oakland man and a gang of four others. This year violence hit home for the Sisters with one of the Sisters and her husband being attacked at the intersection of 18th and Castro. Many members of the community have had enough and are calling for major changes to Pink Saturday or the end of the event altogether. Drag personality and Castro Theatre supporter Peaches Christ mentioned in a Facebook post that the event needs to end saying,

"SHUT. IT. DOWN. As far as I'm concerned Pink Saturday is done, it's over, and it needs to stop. I'm sad that something that was once so fun and creative and celebratory is nothing more than a shit-show of hooliganism. A SISTER WAS ATTACKED near 18th & Castro on Pink Saturday. The fact that this could happen at all means it's over. NO MORE."

We discussed possible solutions with Sister Selma Soul, the Sister who has been in charge of putting the event together for the past 3 years. She said that as a community, "We have a right to celebrate in public," and that the Sisters have been trying to keep it a safe event. This year the Sisters had an increased security force including the SFPD and 80 private security guards in addition to metal detecting wands and suggested donation cans at the event gates. She mentioned that the party is meant for young LGBTQ people to have a safe place to go and celebrate before the Sunday Pride Parade, but admitted that the magic of the event ends around 8:30PM even though the event itself doesn't officially end until 10:15PM, "The demographic shifts after 8:30." We asked Sister Selma about making the donation mandatory, which many have suggested would help keep out the riffraff, but the city prohibits a mandatory entry fee because they are not allowed to keep people from accessing businesses and homes located within the party boundaries. Sister Selma said she will be recommending to the Sisters before the November ramp up date for Pink Saturday event planning that the event start earlier and end earlier. Currently the event starts around 5:30PM and ends around 10:15. Tightening the area the party extends to will also being recommended. Instead of extending to 19th Street, just having the party focus on the 400 block of Castro Street from Market to 18th and on 18th Street from Noe to Collingwood. "There are Sisters strongly interested in doing the event again next year, but we all agree that will only happen with significant changes to the event such as ending it earlier in the evening," Sister Selma Soul said. "We are scheduling a meeting with Sup Scott Weiner and SFPD to begin dialogue and see if the city is open to some of the ideas the Sisters have been discussing based on our experiences with the event and feedback we've received from the community. Once we see how those discussions go the Sisters will be deciding whether we want to produce the event again, transition it to a third party, or recommend that the city cancel the event altogether."