San Francisco - Alison Bing [182]
LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER PRIDE PARADE
415-864-3733; www.sfpride.org; Downtown from Embarcadero, up Market St; last Sun in Jun
Hands down, the year’s biggest party. Pirates in pink and giant-winged fairies toss candy and condoms from overflowing fanny packs, while pit bulls in rainbow-hued tutus trot alongside. Stilt-walkers in glitter, trannies on unicycles, queens on roller skates – anything goes. Crowds pour from BART and Muni, climbing streetlight posts for better views, and float-dancers strut atop moving stages. Growing almost every year since 1971, Pride draws about a million participants and sidewalk supporters, running the gamut from sweater queens to granola dykes, bondage masters to GLBT seniors. Afterwards there’s an all-afternoon festival at Civic Center. Hotels fill; book early. The night before the parade, don’t miss Pink Saturday on Castro St (6pm to midnight). Ongoing controversy reigns about Pride’s aggressive corporate presence. To avoid it, head to Faerie Camp, the only advertising-free zone of the party, where Radical Faeires gather naked on blankets and smoke out.
FOLSOM STREET FAIR
415-861-3247; www.folsomstreetfair.com; SoMa (Folsom St & 7th to 11th Sts); last Sun in Sep
Bondage and fetish enthusiasts emerge from dungeons across the world for San Francisco’s wildest street party. Expect leather chaps, restraints and latex skirts, and blown-away tourists with videocams. This is the third-largest event in the entire state, trailing only the Tournament of Roses in So Cal and San Francisco’s Pride Parade. It’s one of the kinkiest, most-insane parties anywhere, with free spankings (donations to charities accepted) and fully equipped dungeons inside tents. For tamer paraders and observers, there’s a poster-art competition, national bands, cheap beer and eye-candy galore. But be warned: you’ll see some people naked who you’ll wish you hadn’t.
CASTRO STREET FAIR
415-841-1824; www.castrostreetfair.org; the Castro (Castro St to Sanchez St, 17th to 19th Sts along Castro); first Sun in Oct
The yin to the Folsom Street Fair’s yang happens the following weekend, when white sweaters replace black leathers. The fair was founded by gay political icon and city supervisor Harvey Milk in 1974 to put the nascent community on the map. Now an estimated 150,000 people come to the all-day event, with bands, emcees and speakers, and endless cruising and shopping at booths set up in the streets. The coolest place to hang out: Sugar Valley, on 18th St just east of Castro St. Look for Mrs Vera, local legend (Google ‘Mrs Vera’s Daybook’).
DANCE-ALONG NUTCRACKER
415-255-1355; www.sflgfb.org/show.html; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; first weekend in Dec
The Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band does the Nutcracker Suite, with tutu and fairy-wand rentals, a costumed Sousa band and an audience of Sugar Plum wannabes, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on the first weekend in December. Look for ever-popular ‘lipstick thespian’ Trauma Flintstone.
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WORTH THE TRIP
Pull on your cowboy boots at Sundance Saloon (Map; 415-820-1403; http://sundancesaloon.org; 550 Barneveld Ave; 6:30-10:30pm with lessons 7-8pm Thu, 5-10:30pm with lessons 5:30-7:15pm Sun; admission $5; 24) and two-step Texas-style to country music with moustached daddies and their cowpoke admirers. Show up early for lessons. The happy, loyal crowd thins by 10pm: daddies need their rest. It’s in the middle of nowhere, but the bus stops a few blocks away and runs till midnight, long after the party ends.
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SLEEPING
All SF hotels welcome gays and lesbians, but all-gay lodgings are few. Rates skyrocket during popular GLBT events. Also consider Beck’s Motor Lodge and Belvedere House.
PARKER GUEST HOUSE
Map $$
415-621-3222, 888-520-7275; www.parkerguesthouse.com; 520 Church St; r $139-229; J;
The Castro’s most stately digs occupy two side-by-side hundred-year-old Edwardian mansions. Details are elegant and formal, but never froufrou. Rooms feel more like a swanky hotel than a B&B, with super-comfortable