Fun in the Sun
San Francisco’s spirit of dressing weird is alive and well at How Weird
Now in its 24th year, the annual street fair has always attracted those who like to get colorfully dressed up to dance.
By Adriana Roberts
San Franciscans once had a well-earned reputation for finding literally any excuse to dress up in costume for a theme party. We are, after all, the city that invented Santacon, Burning Man, the Brides of March, Bay To Breakers, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and a slew of other events and happenings that involve donning an outlandish costume simply in the name of having a good time.
But that spirit has somewhat waned over the past decade or so. New transplants have been slow to get the memo in their “casual Friday” uniform of hoodies and Dockers; apparently nobody mentioned to them that any San Franciscan worth their salt must have on hand at least a few colorful costume pieces in their closet, ready to bust out at any time for themed events like “How Weird.”
Now in its 24th year, the annual street fair has always attracted those who like to get colorfully dressed up to dance. Now the event has moved from the springtime vibes of May to the Halloween month of October, which is basically a weeks-long costume season here in the Bay. So the costuming definitely felt stepped up this weekend.
The How Weird Street Faire has increasingly been getting promoted as an EDM festival, billed as “the longest running dance festival on the West Coast.” The addition of stages hosted by Coachella mainstay The Do LaB (who also produce Lighting In A Bottle in southern California) and DJs from Dirtybird Campout, as well as local legends like Opulent Temple, Bootie Mashup, Heavy Petting Zoo, and PLUR Alliance, among many others, all help lend credence to the event’s rising reputation as one of the best Bay Area festivals for electronic music.
But it’s the “eye candy” of the attendees that really help make How Weird what it is, and this year’s revelers did not disappoint, as this photo gallery amply proves. If you didn’t get to go — or perhaps you imbibed just a little too much of your favorite substances, as many seemed to by the end — here then is what you missed.
Photos from How Weird 2023
Writer and photographer Adriana Roberts is also a DJ who just so happened to DJ at the Bootie Mashup / Heavy Petting Zoo stage at this year’s How Weird Street Faire.
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