Folsom Street Fair: Iconic Event

The Folsom Street Fair traces its roots to 1984, when the leather community of San Francisco’s South of Market district organized a street celebration to reclaim public space threatened by redevelopment. Jack Fritscher documented the Fair’s earliest years as it grew from a neighborhood gathering into what became known as the world’s largest leather event, chronicling the Fair alongside the annual CMC Carnival in the pages of Drummer magazine and in later retrospectives marking its anniversaries. The event’s history is closely tied to the same Folsom Street bar culture and artists — including Chuck Arnett — profiled in Fritscher’s forthcoming book Founding Folsom Street.

Drummer 26, January 1979
“SEAMAN’S SEMEN’S END – CMC CARNIVAL 1978“

Drummer 079 Vol 9 1984
“International Leather Scene: First for Folsom“

Gay San Francisco: Eyewitness Drummer
“CMC Carnival: The World’s Best Annual Gay Party“

Alphatribe No 6 2017
“What Happened at Folsom 1984, Didn’t Stay at FOLSOM“

BARTab September 2011
“Leather’s Burning Man: First Folsom Fair 1984“

SFist.com 09-21-2017
“The First Folsom Street Fair Way Back in 1984” (pdf)

Folsom Forever (documentary)

Video Documentaries on Folsom Street Fair
Palm Drive Video: Jack Fritscher and Mark Hemry Production

Beef, Bears, and Bulls
Lonestar-Eagles-Folsom-1994
Naked in the Street (Jack’s)
Naken in the Street (Mark’s)
Folsom Fair 1991 (Jack’s)
Folsom Fair 1991 (Mark’s)