It’s midnight, 31st December 2025….. what are you going to do? Go to a Prince double bill at the historic Vogue Theatre, San Francisco, of course!
Welcomed by the friendly box office staff, I was introduced to Malcolm, who was manning the sundries bar and has worked at the Vogue for over ten years. I forgot to take a video of the foyer area because I was chatting so much with Malcolm and grabbing my snacks!
Accompanied by my new Christmas friend (79-year-old Marina, whom I met on Baker Beach on Christmas morning), I settled down for Sign O’ the Times, a classic starring Prince, in the 150-seater Vogue Theatre. This is the second-oldest theatre in San Francisco, after the Roxie, built in 1912.
Straight away, I could see the buy-in from the community at this theatre, maybe it was the excellent choice of film or the loyal following, but there were large groups of friends in the audience and people who knew every Prince song, singing along and chair-bopping to the King of Cool on screen. I had forgotten just how sexy Prince was.
The atmosphere was pretty hot, thanks to the packed house and enthusiastic audience participation, and we were made to feel extra special with purple goodie bags given to every ticket buyer, full of purple accessories to wear, sweets, and bubbles (actual bubbles for blowing fun!). The $25 admission price was higher than the usual $15, but you got two movies, purple goodie bags, and alcholic bubbles at midnight!
I think Aftersun Film Club already has this kind of loyal community, and hopefully, with a permanent new home, one people see as their home away from home, we’ll cement this following and bring new people into our cinema sitting room.
Fun fact: In 1984–85, the Vogue held The Gods Must Be Crazy for a crazzzy 70-week run!
Check out their website here: https://www.voguemovies.com/
Aftersun Cinema & cafe 
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