{"id":478041,"date":"2026-09-28T06:36:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T06:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/478041\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T06:36:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T06:36:27","slug":"folsom-street-fair-puts-san-francisco-into-submission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/478041\/","title":{"rendered":"Folsom Street Fair puts San Francisco into submission"},"content":{"rendered":"

On any given day in San Francisco there’ll be thousands of people out on the street walking their dogs<\/a>, but only one day a year when you’ll see humans wearing the leashes instead of holding them.<\/p>\n

Folsom Street Fair is a uniquely San Francisco event, one where subcultures usually practiced in private spaces emerge into the light of day. Originally a celebration of leather culture, the LGBTQ-centered street fair has expanded to include every variety of kink under a (typically hot) September sun (with quite a few leashed sub\/dom couples, and plenty of public nudity).<\/p>\n

Now in its 43rd year, the SoMa street fair took place this afternoon on a stretch<\/a> of Folsom Street between Seventh and 13th streets and 7th St., with seven stages of entertainment and over 200 vendors. The organizers expect 225,000 attendees over the course of the day, making it the largest event of its kind anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n

\"Taja<\/p>\n

Taja Perkins of Echo Park, Los Angeles, struts her way through San Francisco’s legendary Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Twisted Windows performer does a full split during San Francisco’s annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Eye-catching<\/p>\n

Eye-catching shirts can always be counted on at San Francisco’s annual Folsom Street Fair, as seen on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Festival<\/p>\n

Festival goers attend the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s South of Market District on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

“This is a celebration AND it’s a resistance. Against shame. Against erasure. Against every force that has ever told us to hide who we are, tone it down, or stay in line,” read a statement on the Folsom Street Fair website. “We’re here because we refused. What began as a small circle of queers, freaks, and freedom fighters has grown into this: a street fair pulsing with power, passion, and unapologetic authenticity.”<\/p>\n

Our freelance photography team of Kevin Kelleher and Emily Trinh were on-hand to take in all the festivities, scroll down to see their best safe-for-work photos from the event.<\/p>\n

\"Brock<\/p>\n

Brock Diesel and Colt Chase of Marin, Calif., bring classic leather style to San Francisco’s 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Performers<\/p>\n

Performers take the Twisted Windows stage during the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A close-up of an attendee’s outfit details at the annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco, as seen on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Myra<\/p>\n

Myra Orgain and Aarthi Gurusami of Oakland flaunt their style at San Francisco’s 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Intimacy<\/p>\n

Intimacy passes through the chaos during San Francisco’s annual Folsom Street Fair in the SoMa District late Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A festival goer struts through the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s South of Market District on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Leathermen<\/p>\n

Leathermen hang for a photoshoot at San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Kay<\/p>\n

Kay and Kay of Sacramento hang out at the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Customers<\/p>\n

Customers congregate outside of the PowerHouse in San Francisco’s SoMa district during the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Ryan<\/p>\n

Ryan Richard of Southern California and Steven James of San Francisco post up for a portrait during at the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

James Walker of Riverside and Mark Teemer of Sacramento kick back for some quality time at the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Festival<\/p>\n

Festival goers attend the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s South of Market District on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Eye-catching<\/p>\n

Eye-catching shirts can always be counted on at San Francisco’s annual Folsom Street Fair, as seen on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Dirty<\/p>\n

Dirty Carol of Bernal Heights strikes a pose at the intersection of 8th and Folsom during the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s South of Market District on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Festival<\/p>\n

Festival goers attend the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The crowd watches an intersection performance during the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s South of Market District on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Jim<\/p>\n

Jim Styles of Santa Cruz stops for a portrait in the thick of San Francisco’s storied Folsom Street Fair on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Festival<\/p>\n

Festival goers applaud the shows at the Twisted Windows stage during the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s South of Market District on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A festival goer holds up a sign at the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s South of Market District, as seen on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A couple performs on the Twisted Windows stage during San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Large<\/p>\n

Large crowds wind their way through the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s South of Market District on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Al<\/p>\n

Al Vieau of the Outer Richmond rocks a patch made and sewn on by friend Nina Jones at the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Sphinx<\/p>\n

Sphinx Pantera of SoMa lounges at the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Violet<\/p>\n

Violet Rose grabs a late-afternoon coffee during the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Festival<\/p>\n

Festival goers hit the streets for the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s SoMa District on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Monica<\/p>\n

Monica Slater and Al Vieau of the Outer Richmond pose for a portrait at the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Bold<\/p>\n

Bold shirts can always be counted on at San Francisco’s annual Folsom Street Fair, as seen on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

This year marks the 43rd year for the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s South of Market District, as seen on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Anthony<\/p>\n

Anthony Leatherman of Sacramento and longtime SoMa resident Mike bring big leather energy to the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A man poses with a performer at the Folsom Street Fair on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Crowds<\/p>\n

Crowds fill the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s SoMa District on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Choice<\/p>\n

Choice accessories are a staple at San Francisco’s annual Folsom Street Fair, as seen on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Mary<\/p>\n

Mary Vice of Lower Pac Heights and Elio West of the Mission bring their style to San Francisco’s 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Large<\/p>\n

Large crowds wind their way through the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s South of Market District on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Eye-catching<\/p>\n

Eye-catching shirts can always be counted on at San Francisco’s annual Folsom Street Fair, as seen on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Hedge<\/p>\n

Hedge M of the Bayview, Pluto Nine, and Cy Borg of Oakland at the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s SoMa District on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Emily<\/p>\n

Emily Nguyen came all the way from London for the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Festivalgoers<\/p>\n

Festivalgoers head to Oasis nightclub for the Folsom Street Fair afterparty in San Francisco’s SoMa District on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh\/For SFGATE)<\/p>\n

This article originally published at Folsom Street Fair puts San Francisco into submission<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On any given day in San Francisco there’ll be thousands of people out on the street walking their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478042,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[187613,10631,27830,187612,101,103,102,104,106,105,675],"class_list":["post-478041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-emily-trinh","tag-folsom-street","tag-folsom-street-fair","tag-kevin-kelleher","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-sfgate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}