Finding Community at Folsom Street Fair
Volunteers at 2019’s Folsom Street Fair
This past weekend, we celebrated Folsom Street Market, this year’s version of the annual Folsom Street Fair. Folsom is widely known as the world’s largest BDSM and leather event; it’s also a bastion of kink and queer culture in SoMa, where bathhouses and leather bars have gradually disappeared.
For many, it’s an introduction to new queer subcultures and ways of being in community. Each year, Folsom Street Fair and related events raise funds to support nonprofit organizations serving queer, trans and other marginalized communities, donating more than $325,000 in 2019 alone, and $7 million since its inception.
The event relies upon the work of dedicated volunteers to keep it running smoothly. George DiGioacchino, a regular TurnOut volunteer, has been one of those volunteers. We talked with George about what that experience meant for him, and how volunteering with TurnOut since 2017 has helped him to find community and connect with his own identity.
After coming out later in life, George was seeking ways to connect with fellow LGBTQ+ people. He also felt a debt to previous generations. “Having grown up in the 70s and 80s, me being able to finally come out means I’m standing on the shoulders of a lot of extremely courageous people. This is my way of saying thank you.”
George has volunteered at both Folsom Street Fair and the Up Your Alley Fair. “One of the things I love about doing these events is that it’s opened my mind and introduced me face to face to different corners of the queer community. It was so beautiful the first time I attended, I didn’t expect it.”
Folsom Street Fair itself was created by housing activists and community organizers in an act of resistance to the encroaching forces of gentrification and homogenization in San Francisco. So, says George, it’s powerful to see it still thriving and generating resources for queer & trans people. “I grew up in a rural part of southern Delaware. I think there was one gay bar. So for someone like me, having grown up in that environment, getting to be immersed in seeing all the colors of the rainbow is a real gift.”
“I’ve worked the TurnOut booth at events a few times and one of the benefits I really play up is that the opportunities come to you. It makes it so much easier that way and removes some of the hurdles, especially when you feel so new to it all.”
Volunteering with TurnOut had other unexpected benefits. “One of my favorite events through TurnOut has been the AIDS LifeCycle. There’s so much energy in the room, such a sense of connectedness. It’s also where I met my now-boyfriend of two years.”
We can’t promise you’ll meet a significant other, but we do know that this sense of connectedness is what keeps TurnOut volunteers returning again and again to support large events like Folsom Street Fair and San Francisco Pride, deliver groceries to elders, write letters to incarcerated LGBTQ+ folks and more. To find all of our latest volunteer opportunities, click here.