San Francisco may be just a little closer to that big earthquake which they've been expecting.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/localnews/ci_3063044 Article Last Updated: 9/26/2005 02:53 AM Leather-clad revelers hot, sweaty in S.F. Good-natured spanking, flogging at festival benefits gay, lesbian and AIDS groups By Kellie Ell, CORRESPONDENT Inside Bay Area SAN FRANCISCO Despite sweltering morning heat, leather-clad minions mixed with fully nude street revelers as an estimated 400,000 people flocked to Folsom Street on Sunday for the 22nd annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. Dominants and submissives came from all over the globe, including London, Paris, Canada, New Zealand and Australia to experience the "granddaddy of leather" extravaganzas, according to Darryl Flick, president of Folsom Street Events. The organization hoped to raise at least $265,000, the same as last year, to provide services to gay, lesbian and AIDS organizations throughout San Francisco. First aid personnel said the biggest problem was party-goers passing out from heat exhaustion. But Flick said that the fair provides a chance for people to honestly express themselves and receives the full support of the city. "Everybody has some degree of fetish," said Bill Worthen, vice president of Folsom Street Events. Worthen joined the leather community more than 10 years ago after attending a leather party wearing his father's leather pants. He still owns the pants and talks freely of interests in flogging and water sports. Fixations displayed at the fair ranged all across the board. Sister Maple Syrup, a leather-clad nun in spiky black studded boots and neon blue hair, said she was fully involved in the leather community and has been for more than three years. She said she does hospice work to raise money for charities all over the Bay Area. "I love being out in a kinky environment. I'm a kinky nun," Maple Syrup said. "A great way to control a man is to get him to wear panties." Maple Syrup said she has the full support of her three college-age daughters who also attended the fair, the youngest of which Maple Syrup said has an interest in spanking. The fair attracted the usual enthusiasts in San Francisco's leather-clad, S&M and gay community, as well as many families. "There's a lot more straight people and strollers," said Chuck Rudd, a member of the Bears of San Francisco, a local nonprofit organization. Elder San Francisco resident Larry Raymond said he comes to the fair every year for "all the good hot bodies." Kat Ortland, a statuesque model and a recent college graduate from Oregon, suited up in an all-black vinyl pantsuit and three-inch lace-up boots to demonstrate Shabiri, the Japanese art of binding. "There are amazing people here and some amazing customs," Ortland said. There's a raw energy. Everyone is so uninhibited. But not everyone was dressed in head-to-toe leather or spanking naked. The Freedom in Christ Church of San Francisco, the first church in the city to attend the fair, has been handing out information for several years and was welcomed by the organizers, according to Carl Smith of the church. Still, many people came just to size up the crowd. Katarina Lukezic danced the afternoon away in a fuzzy, neon bunny top and matching sweat pants that showed off her pierced naval. "We should enjoy diversity," Lukezic said. "Not suppress it." ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
