On any given day in San Francisco there’ll be thousands of people out on the street walking their dogs, but only one day a year when you’ll see humans wearing the leashes instead of holding them.

Folsom Street Fair is a uniquely San Francisco event, one where subcultures usually practiced in private spaces emerge into the light of day. Originally a celebration of leather culture, the LGBTQ-centered street fair has expanded to include every variety of kink under a (typically hot) September sun (with quite a few leashed sub/dom couples, and plenty of public nudity). 

Now in its 43rd year, the SoMa street fair took place this afternoon on a stretch of Folsom Street between Seventh and 13th streets and 7th St., with seven stages of entertainment and over 200 vendors. The organizers expect 225,000 attendees over the course of the day, making it the largest event of its kind anywhere in the world.

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Taja Perkins of Echo Park, Los Angeles, struts her way through San Francisco’s legendary Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026.

A Twisted Windows performer does a full split during San Francisco's annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026.

Eye-catching shirts can always be counted on at San Francisco's annual Folsom Street Fair, as seen on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026.

Festival goers attend the 43rd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco’s South of Market District on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27, 2026.

“This is a celebration AND it’s a resistance. Against shame. Against erasure. Against every force that has ever told us to hide who we are, tone it down, or stay in line,” read a statement on the Folsom Street Fair website. “We’re here because we refused. What began as a small circle of queers, freaks, and freedom fighters has grown into this: a street fair pulsing........

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