Folsom Street Fair set to return

After two years of not-quite-the-real-thing Folsom Street fairs, the massive kink and leather-focused street party is back in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood.

Folsom Street Fair, which before COVID could attract as many as 400,000 visitors, returns Sunday, September 25. For the past two years, the fair has either been presented in a virtual format, as it was in 2020, or in a much smaller format, as happened last year when it was presented as Megahood2021 (Megahood was the fair's original name back in 1984 when it was founded as a bulwark against gentrification in the South of Market neighborhood.)

While Folsom Street, the fair's parent organization, offers surprisingly little information about the event on its website — a departure from years past — there are plenty of things that visitors can expect to see, just as before. A request to Folsom Street for more information was not returned.

According to Folsom Street's website, "Our four community stages will be amazing, our exhibitors will be spicy, and we will all be together! Don't miss The Playground (on Ninth Street between Howard and Folsom), a space for women of every kind, and all trans and nonbinary folks. Follow us on social media to see who will be the stars on our stages!"

As of September 19, no performers had been listed. Admission to the fair is free but a $10-$20 donation at the gate will get you a fair sticker, and the proceeds are donated to various community organizations. As in previous years, the fair this year takes place on Folsom Street, stretching from Eighth to 15th streets.

As has been the case with many of this summer's events, this year's celebration will also bring opportunities to get caught up on your vaccinations.

MPX vaccines

With monkeypox still making the rounds — although in significantly lower numbers, as of late — the San Francisco Department of Public Health is expanding vaccine eligibility to non-city residents for the first time, as the Bay Area Reporter previously reported. Non-city residents who meet other eligibility requirements can get a vaccine now through October 2, according to a statement from SFDPH. The vaccines are part of 10,000 additional Jynneos vaccines from the federal government, just in time for the beginning of the fall street fair season and associated events.

Out-of-towners attending the event will be able to get vaccinated provided they meet the same criteria required of residents. They must fall within one of several categories: gay or bisexual men, or any man or trans person who has sex with men or trans people; sex workers of any sexual orientation or gender identity; people of any age or any gender who have had close contact within the past 14 days with someone with suspected or confirmed monkeypox; and people who have had close contact with others at a venue or event or within a social group in the past 14 days where a suspected or confirmed MPX case was identified.

This includes persons who received notice from a venue or event of a potential exposure within the past 14 days; laboratory workers who routinely perform MPX virus testing ; and clinicians who have had a high-risk occupational exposure (i.e., examined MPX lesions or collected monkeypox specimens without using recommended personal protective equipment), SFDPH stated. Both first and second vaccinations will be available.