Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bay Area Reporter - September 25, 2008
Seth Hemmelgarn, s.hemmelgarn@ebar.com
"It was so different then," Michael Polansky, who's lived in the city since 1974, said. "The bars were where everything happened."
At the same time, AIDS was devastating the community. When the Folsom Street Fair started in 1984, scores of San Franciscans were dying from the disease, but then-President Ronald Reagan wouldn't say the word in public.
"It was a struggle in those early days to just put on a fair" because so many people, including volunteers, were dying, Demetri Moshoyannis, executive director of Folsom Street Events, said.
That first year, 30,000 people came, and the fair raised about $20,000 for charity. Moshoyannis said that the event, which draws people wearing everything from practically nothing to dog masks or Victorian costumes - and lots of leather - now draws 400,000 people from all over the world and is approaching the $4 million mark in the money it's raised for beneficiaries.
This year's fair takes place Sunday, September 28, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Folsom between 7th and 12th streets.
Headlining performers include Berlin and the English Beat, and the event will also include the Venus' Playground women's area, an artists' area, adult games, and more than 250 exhibitors.
A donation of $7 is suggested. All contributions from the gate and net proceeds from the beverage booths go to charity. This year's benefiting nonprofits include the AIDS Emergency Fund, Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center, and Community United Against Violence.
Folsom Street Events, which is responsible for the fair, along with the Bay of Pigs and Magnitude dance parties, as well as the Up Your Alley street fair, has a budget of a little over $1 million.
Moshoyannis, who attended his first Folsom Street Fair in 1996, said the event helps generate approximately $40 million in travel and tourism dollars. < Sandy "Mama" Reinhardt leads the way at Sunday's annual Leather Walk, which raises money for charity. The event kicked off Leather Week in San Francisco. Photo: Jane Philomen Cleland p>Moshoyannis said the fair was actually started as "a call to action to highlight the diversity of South of Market and to address the issue of gentrification," an issue that's still strong today as the neighborhood faces concerns over development and affordability.
Andy Copper, president of the Folsom Street Events board, said at the fair's formal leather gala on Saturday, September 20, that he was overwhelmed that the fair's been going on for 25 years.
"Who would have thought that perverts having fun could give that much money to charity over the years," Copper said at the event, which featured an appearance by Joan Rivers.
Paul Lester, a past board president, also attended the gala and said that the fair has always been a unique event. One of his memorable moments was the time that Willie Brown showed up wearing a leather fedora and a bishop who was at one entrance gate encouraging visitors to "enjoy the experience."
It takes a lot of volunteers to put on the fair, as Jeff Stiarwalt, volunteer coordinator, noted at the gala; he has enlisted 520 people who will help out on Sunday.
As for the gala itself, which was a first this year, board member Rachele Sullivan credited a board retreat five years ago for its creation and felt that the event brought together those dedicated to the growth of Folsom Street Events.
While the South of Market leather scene might not be what it used to, there have been signs of resurgence.
David Morgan owns the bar Chaps II, which opened on April 4 and is at 1225 Folsom Street.
The bar, which doesn't cater just to the leather crowd, is hosting events throughout the seven days leading up to the fair known as Leather Week.
Morgan said there's a "great new energy on Folsom," with other businesses such as the Hole in the Wall Saloon also opening recently at its new location. He also said about 20 bars and businesses have formed the SOMA Bar and Business Guild and will be looking to bring more events to the area throughout the year.
Morgan said in regards to his bar's "virgin" status to the fair, "We're excited. We're gonna be de-virginized pretty soon."
Fundies are back
The fair also generates some controversy among social conservatives. The Illinois-based Americans for Truth has announced on its Web site that it will be part of pre- and post-fair press conferences at City Hall Friday, September 26 at 11 a.m. and Monday, September 29 at 10 a.m. " to confront Mayor Gavin Newsom for welcoming a sadistic homosexual street fair to the city - featuring hundreds of men walking around fully naked and engaging in public sex acts, as police stand idly by without enforcing decency laws."
In fact, people of all sexual orientations and gender identities attend the fair.
Americans for Truth is displaying materials from the fair's program on its Web site, including an illustrated Men of Discipline ad that shows a bound man wearing a "slave" sign and getting his head shaved.
Moshoyannis said, "They have taken great liberty to reproduce whole pages directly from our program guide without our permission, to really do nothing more than defame us and possibly encourage additional donations" to their cause.
He said a lawsuit isn't planned yet but it's "not outside the realm of possibility."
Peter LaBarbera, Americans for Truth's president, said the group is just trying to expose what goes on at the fair.
"We hope they don't sue, but if they do, we're ready," LaBarbera said.
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For more information
Events associated with the fair include an exhibit at the GLBT Historical Society (www.glbthistory.org), and a Saturday, September 27 tour of the city's leather and LGBT history ( http://folsomstreetevents.org/tour).
The fair's Web site is http://folsomstreetfair.org.
Colleen Small contributed to this report.
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