Welcome to the 49th Annual Castro Street Fair

By The Castro Street Fair Board of Directors–

The 49th Annual Castro Street Fair is approaching, and we are looking forward to celebrating the city’s most unique and colorful neighborhood with thousands of friends and family. On Sunday, October 1, the streets will fill with smiling faces, music, tasty foods, beverages, and all of you.

2023 holds some exciting changes for the Fair—to begin with, the footprint will once again include 18th Street between Diamond and Noe. A new stage, the Collingwood Stage (Co-Presented by T4T), will be showcasing great local talent at 18th and Collingwood. The Fair will also feature luminaries such as Juanita MORE!, so this year’s live entertainment promises to be incredible.

We are also pleased to be collaborating with Art Mart, which has been a welcome presence in the Castro for over two years, to present ArtyHood on 18th Street between Hartford and Noe. Please check it out and see the wonderful work of local artisans and performers. At the intersection of Castro and Market, the Castro Stage will be pumping out danceable beats all day long. And the Fair is always pleased to welcome our friends from CHEER SF (at 18th and Castro) and Sundance Saloon (behind the Castro Theatre) to entertain our crowds. There is always something to see and do at the Castro Street Fair!

Please visit one of the Fair’s Beverage Booths this year. For those of us who partake, the booths will be offering adult beverages for purchase. Many of the beverage booths will be staffed by community groups, so the beverages you purchase from the Fair will help raise important funds for our community group partners.

Board of Directors members of the Castro Street Fair were on site at the Castro and Market intersection enjoying the Fair in Left to Right: Jenn Meyer, Che Heron, Redge Roberts, Jay Bordon, George Ridgely and his dog Folsom, Fred Lopez. Not pictured: Hugo Beata, George Lee

About the Fair

As the owner of Castro Camera at 575 Castro Street, Harvey Milk was faced with many hostilities as a gay business owner. In 1974, Harvey began the Castro Street Fair in order to promote gay-owned businesses and to celebrate the vitality of the Castro neighborhood. Each year, we continue his legacy on the first weekend in October, by gathering in the heart of the Castro to celebrate our diversity and support our community.

If you were not aware, the Fair is a fundraising machine that supports local beneficiary nonprofits. Our beneficiary partners are vital to the Fair. We couldn’t make the Fair a reality without the volunteer support that the beneficiaries provide so thank you, beneficiaries! The Castro Street Fair is proud to report that over $1.5 Million has been donated back to the community since the late 1990s. In addition, the Fair is pleased that we can help purchase and maintain the world-famous rainbow flag that flies proudly above the intersection of Castro and Market. Many thanks to our partners at Castro Merchants for the rainbow flag project.

Of course, the Fair encourages everyone to support the local shops, restaurants, and nightlife in the neighborhood. One of the main reasons that Harvey Milk started the Castro Street Fair in 1974 was to highlight the offerings of the establishments of the Castro. The Board of Directors work on the Fair in the hopes that attendees will support our local businesses—not only on the weekend of the Street Fair, but also throughout the year. Thank you for your support!

The Board of Directors is a group of dedicated volunteers who work countless hours to bring this annual event to life. Working with neighbors, city agencies, contractors, local merchants, and partner organizations, the Board takes great pride in providing an enjoyable experience for all and raising important funds for our beneficiary nonprofit partners.

The Fair cannot do all that it does without the generous donations from folks like you. As you enter the Fair on Sunday, October 1, you will see volunteers collecting a donation of between $10 and $20. If you do not carry cash, we are able to take donations using a card or your phone, by just tapping on a donation point at our gates. Please, take a moment to donate; it makes such a huge difference!

Many thanks to everyone who helps make the Castro Street Fair a success—our volunteers, our neighbors, our grantors, and all of you! We are already looking forward to our fiftieth anniversary in October 2024, so stay tuned. Have a great Fair Day!

In Community,
The Castro Street Fair Board of Directors