Japan had Matsuri, America has Street Fairs, a moment where pedestrians claim back the streets, mobile vendors take on the side walk and the smell of fried food runs freely.

From Union Street to Folsom, from Potrero to Berkeley, I have experienced much variety! I do enjoy the concept, even if the SF weather is not always outdoor friendly, I’m glad I got to experience these events. It seems quite part of the San Francisco culture, I liked the way each neighborhood had a different feel to it.

The last Street fair I went to was in Potrero Hill it was quite family oriented.

Potrero Hill street fair – Punk duck

C’est moi!

Oups! Time flies, it’s been a while since I last gave some updates! Nothing of major importance has actually shattered my life! I’ve had to accept the fact there would be no summer whatsoever in San Francisco! But at least fall is quite nice, cold but clear of the fog and most importantly with very little wind, so yeah!

America is stuck on the Health care debate, never has unemployment been so high, the dollar is crashing, and nobody knows whether to be optimist or not!

This weekend was the mucho anticipated Burner event “Decompression”! For those who are familiar with “Burning man“, you’ll understand what it means! For the rest, Burning man is a massive art festival held in the Nevada desert, basically people from all over the world go to the desert and create a city for a week, it’s all about art in motion. People that attend this event usually get completely hooked on it and are often referred to as “Burners”.

San Francisco shelters probably one of the biggest burner community. Decompression is a bit like a high school reunion, where people can meet up with old friends, relive some of the creative madness and generally speaking as it is San Francisco it’s yet again another opportunity to dress up or just don’t dress at all!

I arrived there at around 3pm and stayed there till 10pm, I was on my own but I got to meet all sorts of people… that I’ll probably never meet again! But it was fun! Unfortunately the weather was rather cold, but to look at it on the bright side it wasn’t raining, which was quite lucky as it is mostly outdoor. There was a few art structure, plenty of music and great costumes! I was drinking a little so I’m afraid my pictures will not do justice to the creativity of the event!

I love the Jelly fish!

Roawrrrhhh

That’s what I call pimp my ride!

Great Chaplin!

You just keep me hangin’ on… literally!

the turning wings of fate

Canadian wacky ingenuity! Fun and creative, they get a gold star!

I know you want more pictures! I’ve decided however to cut back on Nakedness, sorry kids!

I think it’s real sweet when couples coordinate their outfit!

Plus it’s fun!

And I kissed a parrot…

stilts and dances

Some interesting dancing

Must have used a lot of Fabric for that one!

Back award!

Impressive fairy wings

Me and a wabbit… Power to the Pink

It’s the end of summer… for San Francisco it means the weekends are just extremely action packed! Festivals, concerts, events, you name it… This weekend was especially crazy, with the Jazz festival “strictly hardly bluegrass” for the older crowed and “Love Evolution” for the much younger crowed.

Unfortunately “Love Evolution” came crashing my plan of a fine picnic at the Bluegrass. I hence decided to check out what the fuss was all about and get a pick at “Love Evolution”.

The organizers of this parade are the same as the Gay Pride. It starts as a parade then it ends at Civic Plaza. The Parade is free but the Plaza party is 10$. My thoughts and opinion… I recommend if you’re under 21, if you like drunk teenagers, if you’re a girl with a compulsive need to show your ass in public… If I got my share of penis at the Folsom Fair, I got my share of teenage ass at Love Evolution!

Music wise… very disappointing… there’s about 25 fleet all around the Civic Plaza, which means you can hear the music of at least 2 other Fleets when you try to enjoy one. Also it translates by a lot of crowed movement as everyone tries to find the best party, making it hard for people to just be able to dance peacefully.

Did I have fun? No, I had planed to spend 4 hours there and stayed barely 2 hours, maybe danced for 10 mn. One might argue that I’m too old for this, maybe I am, but it really didn’t feel like a party to me. I would recommend less fleet, better sound surround, more space for dancing. Also if you have a teenage kid in SF I recommend you send them to their grand parents on that weekend!

Well here are a few pix so you can see what it’s all about! Here are the Fleet action pictures:

The entrance

2009’s got bright colours

2009’s got Hairy legs

Shake that thing… when the definition of a costume is a bikini

Cellulite at 18 is no good omen for years to come

I must also let you know that it was a sunny day, not a warm one, as the evening grew the temperature was about 12°c

Well there was some nice costumes and I must acknowledge the bravery of most girls that were nearly bare when the temperature was not so bikini friendly.

Definitely the secret to good costumes is to have a crew with a theme

A word to the wise Wings at a crowded event are never a good idea

He gets extra credit for coming up with such a fun home made costume

I don’t even want to know the amount of work for that one!

This Sunday was the much anticipated Folsom Street fair ! San Francisco hosts a lot of Street fairs, they are usually about food and beer and cheap merchandise. It’s mostly about spending the afternoon with your friends or your kids, well families go earlier then the younger crowed gets trashed.

The Folsom Street fair is in a whole different category … It’s about “leather pride” and when I say leather please do not grab your old leather jacket and scream out pride… it’s a total different type of leather! it’s more minimalist and a whole lot tighter, the spanky type one. Basically it’s a Bondage S/M and just about anything goes Fair.

So obviously as a meticulous blogger on San Francisco culture I just had to check it out! Let me tell you this and I believe it will be enough of a description… I got to see more penis, nipples and bare naked ass than even a nudist should see in a day! It came in different shapes, sizes, colors and packaging!

Not even 5 minutes into it some guy asked me to spank him, I got to chit chat with another holding his friend on a leash and hear interesting conversations like “no I can’t F* you right here in the middle of the street – But all I want is the attention a boyfriend should give!” There was different sets that played live music and a DJ set, as well as some light S/M display.

My thoughts on this event, if you are mature enough to go without a judgment and just appreciate the wacky craziness of it definitely a must see! Yes it is for an older crowed but it is not nasty, there’s definitely a lot of nudity and masturbation on display, but nobody “crosses the line” and as a civilian onlooker I did not feel uneasy at all. I will even add that the atmosphere was more chilled with a lot less drunk people that at the Union Street fair!

The event finishes at 6pm and after I’m guessing all hell breaks loose but then again you should not go to an S/M party if you don’t want to have anything to do with it, each to it’s own…

I have taken a lot of pictures, but unfortunately I can’t put them all up! So here is a selection of some of my favorite, I’ve seperated them in different categories, the Bad, the Bold and the Beautiful… Enjoy!

THE BAD:

The real deal! S/M as we imagine it!

S/M on display

more than you’d want to see on display

Dick on a leash!

Someone’s been a naughty girl!

The bird cage

Here are just some fun, fun bold “outfit”

I just love the face of the guy in the mustard T-shirt!

Joker showing his extra horn

Knots like that are just art

Must I comment?!

So basically this is the apparent side of her dildo

Here are my personal favorite…

Alooooha!

Impressive Scarif

A sweet face and a generous decollete…

Smell like Folsom street spirit

Like made of wax!