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The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
In 1976 a convent in Cedar Rapids, Iowa gave some old habits to three male performers putting on a version of The Sound of Music, somehow those habit-clad performers made it out to San Francisco and evolved into the irreverent Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The popularity of the Sisters' street performances quickly grew and soon they were frequently being asked to make appearances at parties and fund raisers. The order also began to expand and in 1982 Sister Boom Boom ran under the 'Nun of the Above' ticket in the race for Supervisor of San Francisco and received over 23,000 votes.

Today the order has more than fifty Sisters with names such as Sister Dana Van Iniquity, Sister Lolita Me Into Temptation, and Sister Flora Goodthyme. It's common to occasionally glimpse one or two on the street on their way to some heavenly event. If you're still a little off put by the Sisters consider, they're a lot like Shriners - men who dress in funny costumes to raise money for charities. Annually the Sisters raise more than half a million dollars for various local causes.
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