With vendors, dance parties, arts and crafts, live performances and more, the Castro Street Fair donates its proceeds to local charitable organizations. The fair is located in the heart of the Castro District, centered around Market and Castro streets. In fact, the annual Castro Street Fair was founded by Milk himself in 1974. Launched into fame in the early 1970s and influential in electing Harvey Milk, the first openly gay official in the city, the Castro District is fully open about its heritage. The event also offers food, beer, liquor and The Playground, a space for women and genderqueer folk.Ĭastro Street Fair (First Weekend in October)Ĭastro Street is arguably the most famous and iconic of all LGBTQ neighborhoods. Not for the faint of heart, this event can be celebrated in leather or nothing at all. Want electronic or alternative music? The fair boasts an line-up of music, dancing and live art.
Want toys and gear? More than 200 vendors will be displaying their goods. An all-day event covering 13 city blocks, the Folsom Street Fair attracts more than 400,000 participants every year and offers a little bit of action for everyone. This annual LGBT celebration isn't called "The World's Biggest Leather Event" for nothing. A precursor to the more famous Folsom Street Fair, Up Your Alley is a summer festival targeted to fetish enthusiasts and fans of BDSM with more than 50 adult vendors and close to 15,000 participants every year. This all-day event starts in front of the Powerhouse Bar on Dore Alley and stretches all the way to 10th Street.
If you like leather, body hair, and a healthy dose of filth, then the Up Your Alley Street Fair is for you. These are the best areas to stay for San Francisco PRIDE. Started in 1970 on the one-year anniversary of the infamous Stonewall Riots in New York, the theme this year is "Generations of Resistance." The event starts on Saturday in downtown's Civic Center Plaza featuring a festival of more than 20 community-produced performances, from Homo Hip Hop to Gray Pride, and culminates in the 49th Annual SF LGBT Pride Parade on Sunday morning. If you're just starting to explore the LGBTQ community in San Francisco, this celebration is a great introduction to all the area has to offer. No list of iconic LGBTQ events would be complete without San Francisco's PRIDE festival. The Fresh Meat Festival makes a point to be inclusive, offering a wheelchair-accessible venue and American Sign Language interpreted performances. Each show ia followed up by drinks, dancing and DJs. The Transgender and Queer Performance Festival features acts that run the gamut from opera to boy bands and ballroom dancing to hula hooping. What Frameline is to LGBTQ cinema, the Fresh Meat Festival is to live art.
Lights! Camera! Action? Frameline43, San Francisco's International LGBTQ Film Festival, features screenings of more than 150 movies, shorts and documentaries at different venues all over the city. Here are six LGBTQ events in San Francisco you won't want to miss this year.įrameline43 - The King of Queer Film Festivals (June 20-30) At that point, this famed West Coast city was a pioneering town that welcomed transient and adventurous new residents since then, it has embraced its public persona to become one of the most exclusive - and inclusive - locations for celebrating LGBTQ culture. Its rich counterculture history stretches from North Beach to the Castro and dates as far back as the mid-1800s. For nearly half a century, San Francisco has celebrated lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer ( LGBTQ) pride with parades, celebrations and festivals.