"You've gotta give them hope," Harvey Milk always said. Amid white lights, searchlights in the sky, and dressed in her signature red, Donna Sachet (who Assemblyman Mark Leno affectionately calls his first lady), Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), Supervisor Bevan Dufty , morning show hosts Fernando and Greg of Energy 92.7-FM, and the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band will light the Castro's holiday tree for another season.

Mark your calendar for this tree lighting and shopping event on Wednesday, November 29. Hot Cookie and Starbucks are donating refreshments for the event, which runs from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Harvey Milk Plaza. Most merchants will be open until 9 that night. Cafe Flore will serve a pomegranate martini and Irish coffee at 2298 Market Street (at 16th). Delancey Street is already setting up its annual holiday tree and wreath business at the corner of Noe, Market and 16th streets. After shopping and eating to your heart's content and perhaps running into the strolling Santa Claus, head over to Harvey's at the corner of 18th and Castro streets for a benefit show for Under One Roof from 8 to 11 p.m.

The event and decorating is organized by the Merchants of Upper Market and Castro holiday committee which includes Gary Virginia of Cafe Flore, Gary Weiss of Ixia , and Howard Thornton and Deana Dawn of Under One Roof.

A competition for best commercial and residential holiday decor will be held so everyone is invited to get into the decorating spirit around the theme ("Hope for the Holidays") and colors – white lights, blue, and copper. Radio commercials encouraging shoppers to visit the Castro will run on 92.7-FM in early December.

Fairs to distribute checks

The Castro Street Fair Board of Directors will distribute checks totaling more than $65,000 to numerous nonprofit agencies Thursday, December 7 at the MUMC meeting. Treasurer and beneficiary chair Gordon Gregg said that the fair, held October 1, was very successful in terms of gate receipts and other money collected for the benefiting organizations. The MUMC meeting is held at the Eureka Valley Recreation Center; checks will be handed out around 9:45 a.m.

Meanwhile, the board of Folsom Street Events , producers of the Folsom Street Fair , Up Your Alley Fair , and the Magnitude dance party will distribute checks to its benefiting organizations at a reception Monday, November 20 at the Supper Club, 657 Harrison Street, at 7 p.m.

LGBT communications firm honored

Wells Fargo and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce announced that Witeck-Combs Communications has been named the recipient of the NGLCC/Wells Fargo Business Owner of the Year Award for 2006. The firm will be recognized this week at a dinner in Washington, D.C. and will receive a cash grant of $5,000. With a specialty in gay and lesbian marketing the firm's clients include Out and Equal Workplace Advocates, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

Local gals top list of gay women in showbiz

Clif Bar co-founder and Katahdin Foundation founder Lisa Thomas of Berkeley and Curve magazine Executive Editor Diane Anderson-Minshall were both named to Power Up's annual "10 Amazing Gay Women in Showbiz" list and accepted their awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel recently. Power Up was formed to promote the visibility and integration of gay women in entertainment, the arts, and all forms of media. Thomas has signed hit singers and is working on a documentary. Anderson-Minshall was praised for her significant contributions to lesbian filmmakers throughout more than 20 years in media and publishing. Other 2006 awardees include actress Cherry Jones, who is starring in the current production of Doubt at the Golden Gate Theater in San Francisco and actor and model Jenny Shimizu.

Transitions

The rainbow awning recently installed at the former Pendulum bar at 4146 18th Street (near Collingwood) certainly adds some well-needed color on this street. Looks like the bar will be christened 18th Street Bar when it reopens.

We all have passed Deki Wangmo and her daughter Lobsang Wangmo in the hallway between Cliff's Variety and A Different Light Bookstore for the past six years as they sold handcrafted jewelry from their homeland of Tibet. They are now renting a storefront at 4202 18th Street (near Castro). Despite moving inside, the duo has kept their prices low with the mostly silver jewelry with amber and other stones starting under $50 and topping out at $100. They have added some Tibetan carpets and wall hangings and other artifacts from Nepal.

Tower Records will soon be leaving its spot at the Market and Noe Center. Bay Area-based Cost Plus is among the many businesses that have expressed interest in the location. Market and Noe Center general partners Edna Jeffrey, and her son Kent Jeffrey, have had the business in their family since 1928. Edna is still very active in management of the building and remembers when the lamplighter would come through every evening to light the gas street lamps.

Castro residents' long wait to see a new building rise at the corner of 16th, Market, and Noe streets could finally be coming to an end. The site has been vacant for 25 years after an arsonist burned down the church that formerly occupied the site at 2299 Market Street. The current owners of the property, Bethany United Methodist Church in Noe Valley, finally listed the parcel for sale Tuesday, November 14 after the congregation last year scrapped its plans to relocate to the Castro.

The property is listed with Robert Whitman , an agent for CB Richard Ellis Commercial . It is described as an unentitled land site comprising approximately 7,250 square feet. According to the listing, the site can support 18 residential units with commercial units below and basement level parking.

Cafe owner Tom Hutachinda, who is in the process of winning approval for an expansion to the bar, is offloading his Castro restaurants. He recently sold 18th Street restaurant Malacca to an outfit called Two Cousins LLC – buyers Bao Hien Phan and Truc Tran are in escrow – and has put Crave below his Market Street dance club up for sale with Vanguard Properties Realtor Lee Julien. Julien is throwing a special preview party December 4 to show off the space.

Paul Miller, formerly a bartender at 440 Castro, bought the Wilde Oscar bar on the corner of 15th and Folsom with several partners and plans to reopen the spot as a gay bar.

We report on a lot of businesses changing hands in the Upper Market and Castro area. We would like the oldest business to come forward. Contact me at khsf@att.net if you think you qualify. We will print the top 10 oldest businesses in an upcoming column.

Free business workshops

Our own Gary Marshall of the Small Business Administration will partner with the Positive Resource Center to offer training for people living with HIV/AIDS who are interested in starting their own business. The workshop takes place Friday, December 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the SBA Entrepreneur Center at 455 Market Street. The class will cover marketing, management assistance, business registration, financing, and available resources. Registration is free and includes lunch. Call (415) 744-6771 or www.acteva.com/go/sba to register.

The LGBT Community Center's economic development department will host "Public Relations 101" on Wednesday, November 29 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the center, 1800 Market Street. Public relations is one of the least expensive ways of promoting your business. Panelists include this columnist, David Perry of David Perry and Associates , the center's economic development director Ken Stram, and marketing and PR expert Michael Volpatt. The event is free. Register by contacting Stram at kens@sfcenter.org or (415) 865-5515.

GGBA news

Join host Wells Fargo Bank at 557 Castro Street (near Market) on Wednesday, December 13 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for the monthly Golden Gate Business Association "Make Contact" mixer. Please note that there is a time and date change for this month. Private banker and longtime GGBA board member Doug McLaughlin asks that everyone bring some non-perishable food for Food Runners volunteers to distribute to local food banks. This event is free to GGBA members and $10 for non-members. Bring plenty of business cards and I will see you there! Visit www.ggba.com for more information or call John D'Alessandro at (415) 865-5545.

Katharine Holland is a lesbian real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Real Estate, specializing in residential and investment properties in San Francisco. You can reach her at khsf@att.net, (415) 447-8849 or www.katharineholland.com. Matthew S. Bajko contributed to this column.