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UID:Indybay-18888868
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CREATED:20260928T192500Z
DESCRIPTION:The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel, a San Francisco landmark since 1915, 
 continues its monthly speaker series, Making History Fun Again, designed to 
 celebrate the city’s legendary past through lively storytelling, 
 fascinating personalities and unforgettable local history.\n\nOn Thursday, 
 October 15, award-winning arts and culture journalist Rae Alexandra will 
 present “Unsung Heroines: The Women Who Changed the Bay Area,” a 
 spirited journey through the lives of 35 remarkable women whose courage, 
 creativity and determination helped shape San Francisco and Northern 
 California.\n\nDrawn from Alexandra’s long-running KQED series Rebel 
 Girls From Bay Area History, her book, Unsung Heroines: 35 Women Who 
 Changed the Bay Area (published by City Lights and available in bookstores 
 all over Northern California), restores an extraordinary and diverse group 
 of women to their rightful place in the region’s story. Their lives span 
 the earliest years of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area through the 
 present day.\n\nEducators and organizers, adventurers and entertainers, 
 activists and innovators, the women in Unsung Heroines challenged 
 convention, transformed their communities and opened paths for generations 
 that followed. Together, their stories offer a vivid new rendering of 
 Northern California history—one told through women whose influence has 
 too often been overlooked.\n\nDuring the program, Alexandra will share some 
 of the surprising personalities and discoveries behind the book, explore 
 why these stories disappeared from familiar historical narratives, and 
 discuss what changes when women are placed at the center of the Bay 
 Area’s past. The evening will invite audiences to reconsider who gets 
 remembered, whose accomplishments become part of civic identity and how 
 overlooked lives can illuminate the region we know today.\n\nBorn and 
 raised in Wales, Alexandra began her career in London as a music journalist 
 for the spirited rock ’n’ roll magazine Kerrang!. After moving to San 
 Francisco in 2002, she contributed to alt-weeklies including SF Weekly and 
 The Village Voice. She joined KQED in 2016, serving for a decade as a 
 reporter and producer covering the people, movements and cultural forces 
 that make the Bay Area distinctive. She is currently working on her second 
 book. For more information, please visit Rae Alexandra.\n\nThe 
 complimentary event begins with non-hosted cocktails at 5:00 p.m., followed 
 by the program from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in The Clift’s historic Redwood 
 Room. Advance reservations are required.\n\nEvent Details\nWhat: Making 
 History Fun Again - Unsung Heroines: The Women Who Changed the Bay 
 Area\nFeatured Speaker: Rae Alexandra, award-winning arts and culture 
 journalist and author of Unsung Heroines: 35 Women Who Changed the Bay 
 Area\nWhen: Thursday, October 15, 2026 | 5:00 p.m. non-hosted cocktail hour 
 | 6:00–7:30 p.m. program\nWhere: The Redwood Room, The Clift Royal 
 Sonesta Hotel, 495 Geary Street, San Francisco\nAdmission: Complimentary 
 with RSVP\n\nUpcoming Speaker Series\n\nThursday, November 19 — Heather 
 Knight of The New York Times leads a panel on the history of Bay Area media 
 featuring Will Hearst, Wendy Tokuda, Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez and John 
 Rothmann.\n\nAbout Rae Alexandra\nRae Alexandra is an award-winning arts 
 and culture journalist and the author of Unsung Heroines: 35 Women Who 
 Changed the Bay Area (City Lights). She began her career in London at 
 Kerrang! and later contributed to SF Weekly and The Village Voice. From 
 2016 to 2026, she served as a reporter and producer at KQED. She is 
 currently working on her second book.\n\nAbout The Clift Royal Sonesta 
 Hotel\nLocated at 495 Geary Street, The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel blends 
 contemporary design with timeless character. Home to the legendary Redwood 
 Room, the hotel has been a cultural fixture of San Francisco since 1915. 
 Following a multimillion-dollar renovation, The Clift offers 372 stylish 
 guest rooms and suites, state-of-the-art event space, and an enduring 
 commitment to hospitality that is, and always has been, legendary. Learn 
 more at The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel or by calling (415) 775-4700.\n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2026/09/28/18888868.php
SUMMARY:The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel Continues Its Speaker Series: Making History Fun Again
LOCATION:The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel, 495 Geary St, San Francisco, CA 94102
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2026/09/28/18888868.php
DTSTART:20261016T010000Z
DTEND:20261016T020000Z
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