Tag Archives: Folsom Street Fair

Festivals, International, Religion, Tourism, Travel

FOLSOM STREET FAIR MAKES ITS PHILIPPINES DEBUT

April 3, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MABALACAT, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Next to the LGBT Pride Parade, San Francisco’s annual Folsom Street Fair is the most attended festival in the City by the Bay.

It is not for the bashful or the faint of heart. There is a lot of nudity and ‘BDSM.’ On Friday, the world-famous festival launched its Asian version in the town of Mabalacat, Pampanga, a few miles north of Manila.

Folsom Street Fair San Francisco (Photo credit: pBase.com)

Unlike its San Francisco counterpart, the Philippine Folsom Festival was participated in by men only, although women and children were among the spectators.

There was a lot of flagellation, bloodied bodies, piercing, bondage, nailing — but no frontal or full nudity. Men were tied up, and tied down. But, unlike in San Francisco, there was no entrance fee or donation buckets to gain access to the festival.

The Philippines Catholic Church, as expected, frowned on the festival and urged its followers to stick to the traditional, church-sanctioned Holy Week activities and ceremonies.

The Philippine Folsom Festival coincided with Good Friday, the most solemn time in the Catholic Church’s calendar.

Festivals, LGBT, Religion, Tourism

NO MORE LGBT PRIDE PARADE IN SAN FRANCISCO BEGINNING IN 2016

March 6, 2015 Pol Pinoy 1 Comment

SAN FRANCISCO, California (The Adobo Chronicles) – LGBT pride and street celebrations are a diminishing breed in the gayest city in the world, San Francisco.

It’s been half a decade since the City of San Francisco decided to crack down on Halloween in the Castro and shut down this street festival that started in 1940.

The annual Pink Party on the eve of Pride Parade, is not going to happen in 2015 because the organizers of the event, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, have decided against holding it beginning this year. San Francisco City Hall is mulling sponsoring the event but it will be more like a political campaign rally for those who will be running for public office.

Next on the chopping block is the Castro Street Fair which is held annually on the first Sunday in October.

The biggest LGBT event, the Pride Parade will happen for the last time this year. It will also be cancelled beginning in 2016.

That leaves the Folsom Street Fair the only, sort-of-LGBT street festival which usually happens on the last Sunday in September.

Beginning next year, however, the Folsom Street Fair will be free of commercial sponsorships, like the Pink Party. There will only be one non-profit sponsor which will subsidize the popular event — the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, under the leadership of Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.

So expect nudity to be a thing of the past at the Folsom Street Fair. However, there will still be a lot of people being tied up, whipped, spanked, caned and humiliated. Cordileone said that these practices are consistent with biblical accounts of Jesus Christ during the march to Mount Calvary prior to His crucifixion.

If you have procrastinated about attending the Pride Parade, Castro Street Fair and Folsom Street Fair in its original form, this is the year to do it.

Festivals, Law Enforcement, LGBT

SAN FRANCISCO TO FIELD DIAPER PATROLS DURING THIS YEAR’S FOLSOM STREET FAIR, PRIDE PARADE

January 18, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Adult Diaper-clad traffic enforcers in Manila (Photo credit: When In Manila) — Adult Diaper-clad traffic enforcers in Manila during the visit of Pope Francis (Photo credit: When In Manila)

SAN FRANCISCO, California (The Adobo Chronicles) – The City and County of San Francisco has learned a thing or two from the just-concluded visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines. One has to do with adult diapers.

During the Pope’s public appearances in Manila, police and traffic enforcers were required by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to wear adult diapers so that they didn’t have to leave their posts to answer the call of nature. The move ensured that there would be no unnecessary interruption in the performance of police and traffic duties. It was a way to effectively deal with a crowd of almost 6 Million and the lack of portable toilets.

San Francisco’s annual Pride parade and Folsom Street Fair attract hundreds of thousands of spectators, and police and traffic enforcers always end up short-handed. So, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, taking his cue from Manila, ordered the San Francisco Police Department to field diaper patrols during these two big events this year. Police officers will be required to wear adult diapers during their crowd control duties. The wearing of pants over the diapers would be optional, especially during the Folsom Fair.

Meanwhile, Scott Wiener, member of the Board of Supervisors representing the gay Castro District (District 8), said today he will be introducing a resolution to encourage participants and spectators for both the Pride Parade and Folsom Street Fair to also wear adult diapers. “This will greatly help with the lack of portable toilets during these big events and will save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars spent in renting these units,” Wiener said.

Portable toilets cost the city anywhere from $150-$200 per unit. Handicap portable toilets cost even more, ranging from $300-$500 per unit.

So if you’re planning to be at this year’s Pride Parade and Folsom Street Fair, go get your adult diapers now at Costco or Target while they’re on sale!