Folsom Florals Returns Bigger and Sexier Than Ever
Image Credit: Gloss Magazine Cover, August 2026 Print Edition; Original Photo by Steven Vasquez Lopez
On Saturday, September 26, Queer LifeSpace and Chartreuse by Roje will present the second annual Folsom Florals: Smell the Rosebud, a cheeky, design-forward fundraiser, generously sponsored by the W San Francisco, benefiting affordable LGBTQIA+ mental health care.
From 1-6 PM at Chartreuse by Roje, 2095 Market Street, the floral boutique will transform into an immersive celebration of queer creativity timed to one of San Francisco’s biggest LGBTQIA+ weekends. Guests can expect floral installations by Harness, floral workshops and leather-floral decorating, live and immersive entertainment, drag and musical performances, silent art and wine auctions, curated drinks, and plenty of opportunities to mingle among flowers, art, and unexpected design.
The name of the event is playful, but the charitable cause is serious. Proceeds support the affordable queer-affirming therapy and clinical training programs of nonprofit counseling agency Queer LifeSpace, and the organization is continuing to welcome financial and in-kind sponsors who want to help underwrite the event and increase its charitable impact.
Fifteen Years of Queer-Affirming Care
Queer LifeSpace enters Folsom Florals during a milestone year. Founded in San Francisco in 2011, the nonprofit is celebrating 15 years of making mental health care more accessible to LGBTQIA+ people, particularly those who might otherwise struggle to afford consistent, culturally competent therapy.
Over those 15 years, QLS has served nearly 8,000 clients, delivered more than 60,000 therapy sessions, and trained more than 150 queer-affirming clinicians. Its model combines affordable individual, couples, and group therapy with an internationally recognized clinical training program designed to prepare the next generation of therapists to provide thoughtful, culturally affirming care. QLS also supports younger members of the community through initiatives including Outlandish!, Rural Youth Outreach, and its Emerging Queer Artists program.
That combination matters. QLS provides care directly, but its clinical training program extends the organization’s impact far beyond its own therapy rooms by helping more clinicians develop the knowledge and experience needed to work effectively with LGBTQIA+ clients.
“Fifteen years is a major milestone, but the numbers only tell part of the story. Folsom Florals captures something essential about Queer LifeSpace: we can be joyful, creative, and unapologetically queer while doing serious work for our community. This fundraiser helps make sure affordable, queer-affirming mental health care is here for the next generation.”
— Ryan MacCarrigan, Executive Director, Queer LifeSpace
Fundraising events like Folsom Florals help close a persistent gap between what therapy costs to provide and what many clients can afford to pay. They also create something QLS considers equally important: spaces where mental health, art, nightlife, and queer community can exist together.