Atmosphere
As one of the few occasions when sadomasochistic activities are encouraged and performed in public, it attracts a considerable number of sightseers and those who enjoy the attention of onlookers as well as hundreds of photographers and videographers. Although the costumes and activities are frequently transgressive, many attendees find the event "eye-opening" and positive. On the other hand, the event has at times drawn public and internal criticism for its bawdy atmosphere and broad tolerance of lewd behavior, and it is a regular target for unsympathetic organizations such as Americans for Truth about Homosexuality.
The organizers have reportedly earned a great amount of trust from city officials as they have demonstrated not only an exceptional level of community and volunteer support but also have risen to be a role-model for other street fairs in San Francisco which have faced opposition from various neighborhood groups. With the assistance of the high-profile Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence the gate donations totaled more than $300,000 in 2006 and the methodology emulated at other street fairs like the Sisters' Pink Saturday, the Castro Street Fair and San Francisco Lovefest.
The fair annually draws 400,000 visitors including kinky leather fans from around the world, and is the third largest street event in California, after the Tournament of Roses Parade and San Francisco Pride parade. Each year all proceeds from the Folsom Street Fair, including gate donations and beverage sales, are given to qualified local charities. These include AIDS charities and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence who lead the organizing effort at the gates themselves. The event generates over $250,000 annually for charity.
Fair organizers present two live stages for alternative bands and artists. Previous headlining live acts have included Ladytron (DJ Team), Dragonette, Imperial Teen, Berlin (band), The Presets, The English Beat, Shiny Toy Guns, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head, Nitzer Ebb, MEN (band) (featuring JD Samson of Le Tigre), My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Hard Ton, Monarchy (band), among others. Headlining acts for 2012 include The Limousines, Little Boots, and Ladyhawke (musician). Over time, the fair is becoming more and more well known as a venue for top-notch, international underground musical talent. There is also a dance area (one more) with DJs and cage dancers. In 2006, Folsom Street Fair introduced a women's area, first dubbed "Bettie Paige's Secret" then changing its name in subsequent years to "Venus' Playground." In 2007, an erotic artists' area was established as well.
Read more about this topic: Folsom Street Fair
Famous quotes containing the word atmosphere:
“We must be generously willing to leave for a time the narrow boundaries in which our individual lives are passed ... In this fresh, breezy atmosphere ... we will be surprised to find that many of our familiar old conventional truths look very queer indeed in some of the sudden side lights thrown upon them.”
—Bertha Honore Potter Palmer (1849–1918)
“I have wrestled with death. It is the most unexciting contest you can imagine. It takes place in an impalpable greyness, with nothing underfoot, with nothing around, without spectators, without clamor, without glory, without the great desire of victory, without the great desire of defeat, in a sickly atmosphere of tepid skepticism, without much belief in your own right, and still less in that of your adversary.”
—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924)
“Two thousand summers have imparted to the monuments of Grecian literature, as to her marbles, only a maturer golden and autumnal tint, for they have carried their own serene and celestial atmosphere into all lands to protect them against the corrosion of time.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)