October 2, 2007

Photos From Folsom Street Fair 2007

The weather was perfect, the crowd was thick but manageable, and threats of protests never materialized. All together, it was a very fun, stress free day at Folsom Street Fair 2007.

I was in giddy anticipation for this big gay holiday, and just like Christmas, you can get all worked up in a tizzy preparing just the right costumes, getting into all the right parties, doing all the preparations, and if you're not careful, you could easily forget to have a good time along the way. Months ago I had big plans to launch new products, rent a booth, throw a pre-party and an after-party, get in shape, blah blah blah. When the date approached, and none of those ideas seemed do-able, I just chose do what I could reasonably afford and accomplish, yet still have a enjoyable experience.

Friday night, rather than stand in long lines for the bars, I spent the evening hanging posters for MuscleBearCub.com. Doing a little marketing felt good and relieved some stress by being proactive about getting the word out about my free dating site. I knew I had to rest up for the big parties on Saturday, too.

I know I should be writing about the freak show aspect of the Folsom Street Fair - nude men, leather harnesses on freakishly muscled chests, leather chaps with exposed butt cheeks, whips, chains, gas masks, rubber suits, and multitudes of sex related paraphernalia on display in public. Shocking, degrading, obscene, shameless and contrary to god's will. None of that really phases me anymore. I'm sure there was public sex happening on the fringes, and several brand new kinky fetishes on parade, but I feel like I've seen it all before. Most of the fetishes on display at leather events like Folsom Street Fair are more about the shopping than the sex act. I feel 90% of the excitement of expressing your inner kink is in buying the products related to your fetish. After the rush of the initial purchase, the impracticality of actually wearing your fetish gear either distracts you by being so uncomfortable, or becomes a turn-off altogether. It's perfect American consumerism - premium priced nonessential products sold to people with an irrational need to own it.

Before I start coming off as too jaded, I must explain the real reason I enjoy Folsom Street Fair. For me, it's all about running into all my friends all in one place. For virtually everyone I know, showing up at Folsom is a given. I can check in with people I only see every few months, and since most everyone I know met me at a bar or an event like this, Folsom Street Fair is the place to see and be seen.

The second reason I enjoy Folsom Street Fair is to shoot pictures. I've been told that the candid paparazzi photos I have been shooting for LavenderLounge.com have really become the thing that makes the site unique. Over Saturday and Sunday, I shot more than 900 pictures, and stole a little bit of each person's soul every time I took a photo. By going through all my old photos of Folsom Fair from the past few years and adding them back onto the site two weeks ago, I really feel I am expressing myself creatively through my photos. It makes me feel good without taking my clothes off.

VIP Members of Lavender Lounge can view my complete set of photos from Folsom Fair 2007, the photos from previous years, the pre-parties with the porn stars, and up close access to my friend Kimo's wildly popular act from the 7th Street Stage, "20 Years of Madonna in 20 Minutes". I've added new payment options, too, so if you haven't joined, now is a good time! There is even a 7 day option that is the cheapest access to the site I've ever had.

Posted by lavenderlounge at 12:55 PM

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