Thursday, Jun 12, 2008    Text size: 

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Joan Rivers as our entertainment for the upcoming 25th Folsom Street Fair formal gala,” Folsom Street Events Board President Andy Copper said. “We are both ecstatic and just a little frightened to witness Joan Rivers in the same room with 350 members of the leather community.”

The kick-off gala will be held at the Regency Center ballroom in San Francisco. The event will host an open bar and a special menu by restaurant Small Potatoes. There also will be a display of pieces selected from a GLBT Historical Society’s exhibition of “25 Years of Folsom Street Fair.” Rivers’ performance will headline the evening.

San Francisco Leather Week is scheduled for Sept. 20-28, with events and activities that culminate in the Folsom Street Fair, which is held on Sept 28.

Folsom is the sixth largest street fair in California and last year’s event drew crowds of more than 400,000. Members of the international leather and fetish communities gather with more than 250 show exhibitors and vendors, as well as a wide cross section of the public, who come to participate in many cultural activities.

Folsom Events, organizers of the Folsom Street Fair and Up Your Alley events, are a nonprofit organization that raises funds for various Bay Area and national GLBT charities.

Tickets for the event are limited to 350, and are available at the Folsom Events website.