The Castro Street Fair is a San Francisco LGBT street festival and fair usually held on the first Sunday in October in the Castro neighborhood, the main gay neighborhood and social center in the city. The fair features multiples stages with live entertainment, DJs, food vendors, community-group stalls as well as a curated artisan alley with dozens of Northern California artists. Due to community pressure the fair restructured the organization and partnered with local charities to collect gate donations and partner with groups at the beverage and beer booths to raise money for those charities.
The Castro Street Fair was founded by Harvey Milk, and the group he led, the Castro Valley Association, in 1974. It attracted over 5000 people.
Castro Street Fair is one of the of San Francisco's many street fairs, including the North Beach Festival, Union Street Festival and Haight Street Fair. These fairs run throughout the summer, from spring to fall. The Castro Street fair takes place on the afternoon of the first Sunday in October. The large turn-out makes it one of the largest of the annual street events in San Francisco, behind San Francisco Pride in Civic Center, Folsom Street Fair south of Market Street, Pink Saturday in the Castro, and the Union Street Festival.
Famous quotes containing the words street and/or fair:
“If you don’t have a policeman to stop traffic and let you walk across the street like you are somebody, how are you going to know you are somebody?”
—John C. White (b. 1924)
“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?”
—Bible: New Testament Jesus, in Matthew, 16:1-3.