SF bound by community at Folsom fair 

A quarter of a million people are expected to descend on San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood for the 42nd annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, bringing together leatherfolk and kinksters of all stripes.

The event runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. between Seventh and 13th streets, with Howard Street on the north and Harrison Street on the south. Folsom Street is the main thoroughfare where businesses and community organizations will pitch their booths. 

There is a $10-$20 suggested donation at the entrances. A donation sticker gives one $2 off drinks at the outdoor bars.

Folsom Street Executive Director Angel Adeyoha touted the live entertainment revelers have to look forward to September 28.

“The live music stage is going to have an act I’m really excited about – Cain Culto – a really amazing queer musician currently in L.A., but is from Kentucky,” Adeyoha, who is queer and nonbinary, said in a phone interview. 

Culto did not return a request for comment for this report.

Continued Adeyoha, “The drag stage is having an hourlong takeover by Peaches Christ, and the Terror Vault performers. That’s going to be really fun.”

That will be at The Stud stage, which is on Eighth Street between Folsom and Howard streets, from 3 to 4 p.m. 

“Folsom has always been about pushing boundaries, so it’s the perfect place for Terror Vault to let some of our witches out of the crypt,” Peaches Christ stated to the B.A.R., referring to the drag/Halloween-themed revue. “This Sunday, you’ll catch a glimpse of our VIP witch strip club. Yes, witches on poles! And I’ll be performing alongside ghouls and fiends from the new Terror Vault show. Consider it a sinful sneak peek of the madness opening at the Mint on October 2.”

Continuing to speak about what the fair has to offer, Adeyoha added, “The bondage stage is getting a bigger spectacle. It’ll be pretty much the wrestlers doing their thing. Our DJs and go-gos are going to be near Mr. S [Leather] this time, so it’ll be a really fun block party. I can’t even pick just one. They’re all great.”

There will be several places to purchase alcohol outdoors.

“It’s all our usual suspects,” Adeyoha said. “The Eagle, Oasis, Powerhouse, the Foundry, Azúcar Lounge – they have all participated before. Additionally, Mother bar is doing a bar in the playground – it’s the playground’s 20th year, so making it more festive. Cat Club is back inside the footprint and is doing an outside bar, and The Stud is also back in the footprint and doing an outside bar.”

In addition, there will be two additional outdoor bars, one in conjunction with Sniffies, the gay cruising website, and another with event promoter Non Plus Ultra, one of the groups behind the Ghost Palace Halloween party at the Palace of Fine Arts.

The leather-themed festivities began September 21 with the annual LeatherWalk, kicking off San Francisco’s Leather Pride week. 

“LeatherWalk has been kicking off Leather Week for 33 years, and this year was another great success with a large community in their fetish gear,” stated Robert Goldfarb, a gay man who’s executive director of the Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District that now produces the walk.

“It is a beloved community event for visibility, solidarity, and camaraderie, all of which are more important now than ever before,” Goldfarb stated to the B.A.R. “It is also a fundraiser for the Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District that funds our projects, including our Leather Legacy Landmarks sidewalk plaques initiative and legislation enabling once banned community businesses to operate again. The district is facing massive government funding cuts making grassroots fundraising critical. Donations are still being accepted at LeatherWalk.org .”

The first five sidewalk plaques have been installed, detailing the sites of former LGBTQ businesses such as bars and bathhouses. In the 1970s, Folsom Street had been christened the "Miracle Mile" for the long strip of leather bars, BDSM clubs, and bathhouses that had lined it. Today, only a few vestiges of that explosion of sexual freedom remain, though Goldfarb told the B.A.R. he'd like visitors to know that the neighborhood is still a peak destination for leatherfolk and kinksters.

One such business, the aforementioned Mr. S Leather, was approved as a legacy business by the city’s historic preservation and small business commissions this month, the latter of which finalizing the designation at its September 22 meeting. Founded in 1979 by leatherman and “Mayor of Folsom Street” Alan Selby, he sold it to Doug Deal nearly a decade later, with ownership again changing hands in 1991 to Richard Hunter. Since 2005, the world-renowned store has been at 385 Eighth Street and is now overseen by CEO Jonathan Schroder.

“Mr. S Leather continues to be a pillar of the San Francisco community offering a safe place for the LGBTQ community to explore kink and sexual wellness,” noted city officials about why the business deserved to be approved for the legacy roster. “They are a cornerstone of the Up Your Alley and the Folsom Street Fair, bringing new and familiar faces to the bay.”

Addressing the small business commission, Schroder recounted how he quit his job in Germany and relocated to San Francisco to start working at the store part-time 22 years ago after discovering it while on vacation. Today, the business has a footprint of 24,000 square feet and employs upwards of 100 people.

“I think we have a really world-wide reputation for amazing quality, and I am proud to say it is made in San Francisco,” said Schroder, emphasizing how the business will be “a cornerstone location” for this Sunday’s street fair.

As for gay bathhouses, such businesses may make a comeback thanks to new zoning allowing for such uses in some parts of the city, including SOMA. As the B.A.R. previously reported, a contractor is planning a traditional gay bathhouse at the site of his former office. Kevin Born, a straight man who is CEO of Ashbury General Contracting & Engineering, wants to turn the two-story building he owns at 40 12th Street into a luxurious bathhouse catering to a queer clientele. His project has yet to have a hearing before the city’s planning commission.

The Folsom Street Fair began in 1984 as Megahood, founded dually as a bulwark against gentrification and to shore up a leather community based in SOMA that was particularly hit hard during the early years of the AIDS epidemic. 

Goldfarb told the B.A.R. that people interested in learning about the district can check out its booth at the fair.

“We will have our gear swap and shop at the fair, which is new for us,” Goldfarb said.

According to SF Travel, international visitation to San Francisco is down this year (as is the case for much of the United States), but domestic travel is projected to tick up to 23.49 million visitors, an increase from 23.2 million in 2024, with tourist spending projected to be $9.35 billion. Goldfarb is grateful the city is seeing visitors, and indeed more people are expected to attend this year’s fair than last year’s.

“Some international people are not coming as much to the U.S., so we are delighted to hear that domestic travel is up in San Francisco,” Goldfarb said. 

The city’s LGBTQ community in particular is looking forward to welcoming visitors to what, for some, is an entire week of celebrating the city’s acceptance and openness – but not without advice.

Gay nightlife promoter West Walker, aka Wild West, told the B.A.R. that it’s one of the reasons he became a San Franciscan.

“Folsom is my favorite weekend of the year, it’s one of the main reasons I moved to San Francisco,” he stated. “But I wish that I was able to experience the fair prior to the rise of smartphones with their high-definition cameras. Keep your phone away, and always ask for consent before taking someone’s photo.”

Gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, whose district includes the fair footprint, didn’t return a request for comment for this report by press time.

For more information about the Folsom Street Fair, visit folsomstreet.org.