While the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are famous for Easter in the Park and its long-running Hunky Jesus and Foxy Mary contests, the world’s most irreverent nuns also produce another festival later in the year: the Bearrison Street Fair.
Only three weeks after the internationally recognized Folsom Street Fair closes off half of Western SoMa for a quarter-million kinksters to roam around, Bearrison—a portmanteau of Harrison Street and a term for big, furry gay men—is aimed mostly at body-positive and BDSM-friendly locals, whether they be LGBTQ+ or otherwise. The Sisters, typically stationed at the gates to many of San Francisco’s large-scale outdoor parties, co-produce it with Bears of San Francisco.
“Experience a circus-like day of hirsute (and hirsute-optional!) merriment for all bodies, all shapes, all sizes, and importantly — all identities,” the organizers said in a release.
This year’s theme, “Under the Big Tops,” promises a carnivalesque vibe with plenty of DJs, dancing, food and beverage vendors, competitions and the like. Whereas Folsom and July’s smaller Up Your Alley street fairs emphasize public displays of outrageousness, Bearrison leans more toward feats of strength. This year, the fair’s third, will include the beloved buns-out deadlift competition.
At 2022’s festival, perhaps the main attraction was a Full Queer Wrestling ring that showcased the resurgence of the delightfully campy sport. Among the matches, the East Bay duo Money Power Re$pect (composed of Marco Mayur and Fabuloso Fabricio) met with defeat at the hands of Southern California’s MyloBoo Barbie and Barbie Boi.
Bearrison Street Fair
🗓️ Saturday, Oct. 14
📍 Harrison and 11th streets, SF
🔗 bearrison.org