Weekend wending

The Telegraph Hill Dwellers were having a 50th anniversary picnic up at Coit Tower, complete with a visit from an antique firetruck with our Fire Chief, Herb Caen, Emperor Norton and Lillie Hitchcock Coit on board. The picnic started at noon. About 10 a.m. we decided to dash over to Bonham's and Butterfield's to see what sort of stuff they had up for sale at their SoMa auction. We could make it over, dash around a bit, and make it back in time for the picnic.

But alas. ...

Downtown was a huge mess. We came down Hyde and were redirected down Market. All the left turns off Market were blocked. We finally cut over on South Van Ness, but roads were blocked again and again. Obviously there was a party going on that we hadn't heard about.

People were walking into the street fair area. Butch guys with six-pack abs in tight leathers, some in leather shorts and fringed vests. Gay pride? No. There were other couples with both guy and gal in leathers, hers a micro skirt with a fringed vest, his just leather pants. Ordinary looking folk were also heading in the same direction. We were curious, but not enough so to be even later for the THD picnic than we were.

The only thing at B&B's that I would've bid on was already so close to the auction gavel that an absentee bid would never have made it in on time and I don't do live auction. We headed home, skirting around the happening south of Market.

Yesterday, we discovered what we'd missed:

21st annual FOLSOM STREET FAIR

Feast your eyes on the world's largest display of PDA: the leather and fetish fun fair brings after-dark action into the light of day with a mile of spanking booths, leather vendors, slaves and masters, under-the-sun dance stages with some of the city's best DJs -- and things you've never dared to imagine. Donation at the gate. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Folsom Street between Seventh and 12th streets, San Francisco.

The fair is held the last Sunday in September. This past Sunday was sunny and blue. A good time was had by all, reports say.

Is this one of those "only in San Francisco" things?