Folsom Turns 40!!! A Look At One Of the Greatest Queer Kinkfests Ever

September 7, 2023
TOMMY

On Sunday, September 24th one of the most popular Queer / kink festivals in the world hits the streets of San Francisco. We're of course talking about the legendary Folsom Street Fair. Going back four decades, Folsom Street Fair — or simply "Folsom" — has solidified its status as a global mecca for all things leather, as well as almost every other kink you can imagine. From pup play to Shibari and everything in between, Folsom has it all.

If you've never been, it is not for the faint of heart even just in terms of sheer crowd size. You think 80,000 people in the desert sounds daunting? How about a quarter of a million people descending on a six-block span of San Francisco? Situated on Folsom Street (duh) between 8th and 13th streets, the massive event is the largest leather festival in the world. Folsom was first started by community activists Michael Valerio and Kathleen Connell. The pair wanted to push back against the aggressive trend towards gentrification that the city was experiencing— a trend that has only gotten worse over the years.

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The Queer bars and restaurants that make the city so special all turn up with some major parties and kink events. Whether you're looking for some good kinky fun at San Francisco's Eagle, or want to go to a larger dance party at the Folsom Street Foundry, the Queer/kink/leather communities turn it up for a weekend you'll never forget. And because recreational cannabis is legal in California, this will be the second year in a row that Folsom features a dedicated Cannabis Garden. Last year's was reportedly a massive hit, so the organizers are bringing it back again. Curated by Comfort & Joy and The People's Ecosystem, the Cannabis Garden is for people 21 years of age and older.

Folsom is such a massive hit that they also have off-shoot festivals in Europe and the East Coast. "Folsom East" happens every year in New York City, and Folsom Europe goes down in the notoriously kinky city of Berlin.

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Like all great festivals that begin as a grassroots celebration of community, critics will say Folsom has become too mainstream. Though there are still public floggings and people fucking in the street, it's also now peppered with families pushing strollers and tourists who drop by to take pictures for their Instagram. The worry, of course, is that like Burning Man and Bonnaroo before it, some feel that Folsom has become the antithesis of the very ideals of anti-gentrification on which the event was started. For those people who still want a fully adult time free of any corporate-sponsored tents, Up Your Alley has become the go-to. Known casually as "Dore" (pronounced 'Door-ee'), Folsom's sibling event happens in July.