Folsom Street Events

What Folsom Street Events does

Folsom Street Events operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and culture organization founded in 1984 in San Francisco's South of Market (SOMA) district. Its core function is producing four branded live events — Folsom Street Fair (September, 300,000+ attendees annually), Up Your Alley (July), Deviants Adult Arcade, and Magnitude — that serve the kink, leather, and alternative sexuality communities while centering BIPOC and LGBTQA2I+ voices. The Folsom Street Fair is the world's largest leather event and the fourth largest single-day event in the United States. The organization has donated over $7 million to nonprofit LGBTQ2S+ beneficiaries since inception, including $325,000 in 2019 alone.

The organization runs a year-round Community Center at 1286 Folsom Street (opened 2021, expanded lease 2022), offering classes, workshops, film screenings, and event space for dozens of community groups; the Center houses the Center for Sex and Culture Library and Archive. A Big Cartel e-commerce storefront sells branded merchandise (t-shirts priced $25-$30, mugs $15-$20, hats $22-$35.50, posters $25.50-$50, tote bags $21-$24.99, and $50 gift cards). Distribution leverages Eventeny and Forbidden Tickets for ticketing, on-site vendor booths for physical sales, and direct venue bookings for community rentals.

Revenue is diversified across six streams: gate donations at street fairs ($10-$20 suggested), merchandise sales, ticketed event admissions, exhibitor booth rental, recurring Patreon donations, and community center venue rental. The organization is community-led, with a 1-10 person professional staff supported by 400+ volunteers managed through TurnOut. Technology is limited to off-the-shelf e-commerce and ticketing platforms with no proprietary systems, and the organization runs on a small professional staff with a multi-board governance structure comprising Governance Board, Production Board, Board Associates, and Board Consultants under Executive Director Angel Adeyoha.

Name

Folsom Street Events

Legal name

Folsom Street

Website

https://folsomstreet.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Folsom Street Events is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that produces the world's largest leather event — the Folsom Street Fair (300,000+ attendees) plus Up Your Alley, Deviants, and Magnitude — serving kink, leather, and alternative sexuality communities in San Francisco's SOMA district. Over $7 million has been donated to LGBTQ2S+ nonprofits since 1984.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Event Production and LGBTQ+ Cultural Nonprofit Events

NAICS

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Parades, Carnivals & Street Fairs (MPAGAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG), Cultural & Community Festivals (Ticketed) (THAJAFAI)

Keywords

• Community event production
• Leather and kink events
• LGBTQ2S+ nonprofit programming
• Street fair organization
• Community center operations

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Event Donations: Gate donations at street fairs (suggested $10-20 donation receives fair sticker with bar discounts). Revenue supports community center operations and nonprofit beneficiaries.
2. Merchandise Sales: E-commerce sales through Big Cartel storefront featuring event merchandise including t-shirts, mugs, hats, posters, tote bags, and gift cards.
3. Event Ticket Sales: Ticketed events like Deviants Adult Arcade and Magnitude require paid admission.
4. Exhibitor Booth Rental: Vendor and exhibitor booth fees at street fairs.
5. Recurring Donations: Patreon recurring donor program for ongoing supporter contributions.
6. Venue Rental: Community Center venue bookings for events, classes, workshops, and meetings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Folsom Street Events is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that produces and operates annual community events such as Folsom Street Fair, Up Your Alley, Deviants Adult Arcade, and Magnitude, centered on the kink, leather, and alternative sexuality communities. It also operates a year-round Community Center at 1286 Folsom Street in San Francisco that hosts classes, workshops, art shows, film screenings, and houses the Center for Sex and Culture Library and Archive. Net proceeds from events and operations are donated to nonprofit LGBTQ2S+ organizations.

Product overview

Folsom Street Events is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and culture organization that operates as a community-focused events company. The organization produces iconic leather and kink community events including the Folsom Street Fair (the world's largest leather event), Up Your Alley street fair, Deviants Adult Arcade afterparty, and the Magnitude Saturday night event. The organization runs a year-round Community Center at 1286 Folsom Street in SOMA, San Francisco, which hosts classes, workshops, art shows, film screenings, and social events. An online merchandise store sells branded items including t-shirts, mugs, hats, posters, and tote bags. Since 1984, the organization has donated over $7 million to nonprofit LGBTQ2S+ organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Folsom Street Fair: The organization's flagship annual street fair held on the last Sunday of September, known as the largest leather event in the world.
• Up Your Alley
• Deviants Adult Arcade
• Magnitude
• Folsom Street Community Center

Products and services

• Folsom Street Fair Annual flagship street fair held the last Sunday of September in San Francisco's SOMA district, celebrating kink, leather, and alternative sexuality communities with seven community stages, performers, DJs, live music, and local artists and artisans. The 42nd annual event draws 300,000+ attendees and is the largest leather event in the world and the fourth-largest single-day event in the U.S.
• Up Your Alley Annual street fair held on the last Sunday of July in San Francisco's SOMA district (originally Ringold Alley, later moved to Dore Alley), featuring the Steamworks stage, DJs, performers, vendors, and community organizations. Held on Folsom Street between 9th and 11th streets.
• Deviants Adult Arcade Adult afterparty event following Up Your Alley, held at the San Francisco Mint. Features multiple dance floors, immersive art installations, interactive spaces, and queer local and international DJs. Ticketed event.
• Magnitude Saturday-night main event during Folsom Street Fair weekend, held at a temple-like venue featuring multiple rooms, dark areas, and rooftop smoking space. High-end party production featuring queer DJs and entertainment. Produced by Brian Kent and Folsom Street. Ticketed event.
• Folsom Street Community Center Year-round community center opened in 2021 at 1286 Folsom Street in San Francisco's SOMA district. Hosts classes, arts and culture events, social events, meetings, film screenings, drag and performance workshops, and is home to the Center for Sex and Culture Library and Archive. Venue space is also rented to community groups, organizations, and clubs for events and meetings.
• Folsom Street Merchandise Store Online merchandise store powered by Big Cartel selling event-branded apparel and goods including t-shirts ($25-$30), mugs ($15-$20), hats ($22-$35.50), posters ($25.50-$50), tote bags ($21-$24.99), and gift cards ($50), featuring collaborations with artists such as Poppers the Pony, Melejuana, and Our Fellow Mortals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $7 million donated to nonprofits since 1984
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TurnOutcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with TurnOut (LGBTQ+ volunteer organization) to recruit, train, and manage volunteers for Folsom Street events. Rooting work in community service that started events in 1984.
• SFDPH (San Francisco Department of Public Health)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with San Francisco Department of Public Health to provide health information and vaccine access to communities. DPH is onsite at events.
• SniffiesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Sniffies to launch Event Campuses—live, interactive playgrounds on the Sniffies map featuring vendors, demos, and stages.
• Center for Sex and Culture Library and ArchiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHoused at the Folsom Street Community Center; supports comprehensive, shame-free, kink-friendly sex education and cultural programming.
• Sisters of Perpetual IndulgenceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity nonprofit partner assisting with gate operations and volunteer staffing at events.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• International Mr. Leather (IML): IML is a long-running global leather community event and contest serving the same kink/leather audience with comparable ticketed programming, community gathering, and brand recognition within the international leather subculture.
• Southern Decadence: Southern Decadence is a major annual LGBTQ+ street festival in New Orleans drawing large crowds of community members, comparable in scale and format to Folsom Street Fair as a community-led street event with LGBTQ+ cultural focus.
• Folsom Down Under (Sydney): Folsom Down Under is an Australian leather community event affiliated with the Folsom Street brand, replicating the San Francisco fair concept in Sydney and serving the same leather/kink audience with comparable street-fair programming.
• Folsom Europe (Berlin): Folsom Europe is an international leather community street fair in Berlin operating under a partnership/affiliate relationship with Folsom Street, running the same leather event format for a global kink audience.
• Bearrison: Bearrison is a leather/bear community street fair explicitly partnered with and listed by Folsom Street on their events page, serving the same kink/leather audience with a similar street-fair format and community-led model.
• CLAW (Conference for Lesbian and Bisexual Women): CLAW is an annual leather community gathering for women, serving the same leather/kink audience with comparable immersive programming, vendor/exhibitor participation, and community-focused event production model.
• Provincetown Bear Week: Provincetown Bear Week is an annual leather/bear community festival in Provincetown, MA serving the same LGBTQ+ leather subculture with comparable event programming, vendor presence, and community gathering format.

Broad incumbents

• San Francisco Pride: San Francisco Pride is a major LGBTQ+ community celebration and parade in the same city as Folsom Street, with overlapping audience but a broader, mainstream LGBTQ+ focus rather than the niche leather/kink positioning — and is directly linked from Folsom Street's event menu.

Others

• San Francisco LGBT Community Center: The SF LGBT Community Center is a past beneficiary of Folsom Street's event proceeds and serves the same LGBTQ+ community with year-round programming analogous to the Folsom Street Community Center — comparable as a mission-aligned community nonprofit with overlapping audience.
• Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence: Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is a long-running LGBTQ+ community nonprofit that partners directly with Folsom Street on gate operations and volunteer staffing at events — comparable as an LGBTQ+ mission-driven nonprofit serving overlapping communities, though not a direct event competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/folsomstevents
• Instagraminstagram.com/folsomstreet
• Facebookfacebook.com/FolsomStreet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Folsom Street Events