Are you visiting San Francisco for Folsom Street Fair? Consider arriving as early as your budget will allow — ideally a full week before the fair.
Are you local? Then you probably want to get all the fun and kinkiness you can out of the Folsom Fair “season”.
Let us help you make the most of the week before the Fair, better known as Leather Week!
Of course it’s a bit early to know all that happens, so think of this page as a kind of placeholder, which will be filled in with details as the year moves along.
LeatherWalk 2023
Last year, rain and high winds postponed LeatherWalk 2022, and scaled back the Leather Pride Fest.
In 2023, the traditional LeatherWalk will happen on September 17. It will (presumably) start on the steps of San Francisco City Hall and visit favorite SOMA venues such as Oasis, Powerhouse, Hole in the Wall, Azúcar Lounge, Leather Etc., Wicked Grounds, Cat Club, Mr. S Leather, the Ringold Leather History Alley, and the Lone Star Saloon, and end at the SF Eagle and Eagle Plaza.
Participation is free, but it is the primary fundraising event for the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District, so sponsorships and donations are encouraged.
It’s fun, politically important, and a great way to get to know the neighborhood!
Leather Pride Fest.
The Leather Pride Festival, to be held at and outside the SF Eagle on the afternoon of September 17, has not been formally announced yet. It is traditionally a day-long event of celebration and community-centric bonding. with booths featuring local non-profit organizations and merchants, a stage full of entertainment, and beverage booths throughout. Step into the SF Eagle for its classic Sunday Beer Bust.
Contests
Various bars and organizations select leather titleholders like Mr. Powerhouse Leather, Ms. SF Eagle Leather, Bay Area Cub, etc. throughout the year. The San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance plans to elect both Mr. SF Leather and Mx. SF Leather (for folks identifying as non-binary, non-gendered, etc.) Watch for those titleholders to be organizing beer busts, hosting parties, and generally facilitating the fun.
The contest for Mr. San Francisco Leather (for folks identifying as men) and Mx. San Francisco Leather (for folks identifying as non-binary, non-gendered, etc.) will be part of the Leather Alliance Weekend in the spring of 2023. At this time, we do not know if there will be a Ms. San Francisco Leather or San Francisco Bootblack this year
Parties
It is safe to predict that there will be parties. Traditional Leather Week events include dance (and sometimes sex) parties with names like Prime , Brut, Big Muscle, Masteurdome, New Breed, and Pervert, and major bar fun at the Powerhouse, Lone Star Saloon, SF Eagle, Hole in the Wall, Oasis, and other Leather District venues.
There is often a fun afternoon event at Mr. S. Leather.
Elsewhere in SF, venues like SF Underground, the Edge, and Club OMG will likely have special themed events as well.
San Francisco’s only 18+ queer sex club, Eros, located in the old Bulldog Baths building just north of Market, will be busy, no doubt.
Transform 1060 will probably have events throughout the week. And watch for an event or two at the neighborhood’s newest space, the Folsom Street Community Center, at 1286 Folsom Street at 9th.
Check out the Andymatic Folsom Street Fair Party Guide 2022 for info on last year’s parties, for a sense of what to expect to be happening before, during and after the Folsom Street Fair.
Remember that Wicked Grounds has fun and fascinating educational programs year-round; a stop there — if only for coffee and conversation — is a memorable part of any visit to San Francisco,
More events can be found on the many local community calendars listed here.
Folsom Street Fair
The Folsom Street Fair needs no introduction. It’s the world’s largest event centering kink/leather/alternative sexualities, with something for every consenting adult. Multiple stages with every kind of performance, hands-on BDSM opportunities, vendors and artists with amazing handmade products, and connection with community that you can’t get anywhere else. It’s big, it’s fun, it’s infamous. It’s September 24, 2023.
More Parties
Traditionally, additional parties are held on Sunday night, with names like Real Bad and Rated X. After hours and Monday morning events might be called Nocturnal or Recovery.
Play safe, and have a great Leather Week!