Up Your Alley/Dore Weekend Party Guide 2025
tl;dr/summary: Dore is a more gay-male, raunchier version of Folsom. See you there.
(Folsom guide coming soon I swear to God. So late this year. But it will be at http://andymatic.com/folsom/)
Be sure to bookmark this guide. I’m constantly updating as new events, venues, and DJs are announced. And signup for email alerts!
You can always find the latest at andymatic.com/dore – just tell friends “it’s at andy matic dot com slash dore” – easy to remember!
Party grid for the weekend (so far!):
Up Your Alley? Dore? Dore Alley?
Yes, it’s true. The weekend is named for the street fair that takes place on Sunday. Most people just call it “Dore.” Rhymes with whore-y. Named for the intersection that the fair is oriented around: Dore Alley and Folsom Street. Proper usage:
“Are you and the pups coming for Dore?”
“Which parties are you and your Sir going to for Dore?”
“Will you and your husband be playing separately for Up Your Alley weekend?”
“Are you ready to hoe it up for Up Your Alley?”
“Do you think that one gay MAGA piece of shit will show up at Dore this year? She better run.”
The weekend of events is anchored by Sunday’s Up Your Alley street fair. The street fair celebrates gay kink and leather culture and is produced by the Folsom Street organization. This is the same non-profit that produces the Folsom Street Fair in September which is an even bigger kink/leather event and bigger weekend. The difference between the two? Up Your Alley weekend is usually described as a bit kinkier/nastier, more gay male-centric, and attended by more locals. You’ll have fewer tourists gawking at the zoo and more people ready to participate. That’s why you’ll hear people refer to it as “Folsom Street Fair’s dirty little brother.”
But there’s a lot more there there than just the fair.
First: Know Your History
Leather is deeply embedded in San Francisco’s history, and Dore is connected to that history and pedigree. There are always a few leather guys at even the most mainstream-y party in San Francisco clubs.
From Dore Alley Street Fair, a history lesson:
“The Up Your Alley Fair, wasn’t originally on Dore Alley, and it wasn’t originally ‘Folsom Street Fair’s dirty little brother’. In fact, the two fairs were originally completely unrelated to one another. The first Folsom Street Fairs were celebrations of SoMa’s neighborhood diversity whereas Up Your Alley was a celebration specifically of the gay leather community.” Read the full article…
I’ve put together a list of the many events for Dore weekend. Keep in mind this is just one guy’s opinion on what to do and where to go. I’m not a big kinkster. I don’t think I am. I’ll tie you up, spit in your mouth, smack you around, and demand you [checks notes] “Show dad how you like to fuck.” But like, we know people that are for-real into this stuff much more intensely.
It’s all relative, I suppose. Be sure to ask other friends and acquaintances for their must-do events if this is your first Dore weekend.
I’ll include links to photo galleries for most of the events so you can get a sense for what the crowd will be like and what to wear as well as links to the DJs profiles so you can get a sense of the music.
Tuesday, July 22nd
Wednesday, July 23rd
Truck produced by Paul Miller, TBD
Waiting for confirmation of this event.
Truck Tuesdays - “the most notorious party in San Francisco” is back. Truck was an automotive-themed LGBT dive bar in the Castro, shuttering in 2015. But producer Paul Miller is bringing that bar’s raunchy spirit back weekly to an undisclosed location. Advanced cover to get password and location on the day-of.
Join the Truck mailing list here.
San Francisco Leathermen Discussion Group Social
In past years, this local group has had a social earlier in the week.
Nothing posted yet but you can follow them on Facebook.
Check out their website and join their mailing list.
Dirty Alley at Powerhouse, produced by Mr. S Leather
Now celebrating over 40 years of leather, kink, and style, Mr. S Leather is a San Francisco mainstay and globally recognized leather retailer and fetish brand. They’ll kick off the week at Powerhouse and Dore Wednesday with a night of fetish demos, sexy gogos, and guarantees “the trashiest bartenders in San Francisco.”
Full details will be on their Facebook page or follow them on Instagram for more information.
Thursday, July 24th
Pighaus Party TBD
The fine swine at Pighaus have produced parties with titles like Hot Trash, Bodycount, Brotein, Spring Bbreakers, and my favorite: Robobussi. They’ve had Dore parties in the past. Waiting on confirmation.
Mixes available on SoundCloud from Sir Pig.
Until then you can follow them on their Linktree.
Flag Alley at Little Boxes Theater, with DJ Gregg
Flag Alley is an evening originally envisioned by the late Jeff Hettinger, for flaggers, flow artists, and those that love them - an evening event by flow artists, for flow artists. This year the event will start out Flagger Destination Weekend on Thursday night, from 6 pm to 9:30 pm. This will be more than the usual Open Studio, as they will be welcoming dance artists from all over the country - and all over the world - as part of Flagger Destination Weekend. The hour before Flag Alley this year will be devoted to an exciting new flagging lesson from the talented and amazing George Jagatic - details to come!
DJ Gregg on HeartThis.
Full details on the Facebook page for the event.
Friday, July 25th
REAL BAD: RITUAL at 1015 Folsom, produced by Grass Roots Gay Rights Foundation, with DJs Deanne and Mascfish
Originally Ritual was an afterhours before the fair, now it is Friday prime time.
Real Bad events always attract the friendliest, warmest crowd. Grass Roots Gay Rights Foundation has been producing events for over 30 years, including its crown jewel—and literally our favorite party of the entire year, their Folsom weekend closing party, Real Bad. This upgraded Dore event brings the same world-class production value as their marquee Folsom event, but with much more accessible tickets: anyone can grab them online!
We’ll be at 1015 Folsom, one of the city’s top dance temples with three-story ceilings and signature church-style lanterns floating above the crowd. The city’s premier laser-monger, RAGERLAZER returns to San Francisco to deliver a unique and never-before-seen light and laser show.
LA-based Mascfish’s infectious beats and high-energy sets have earned him a reputation as one of the scene's rising stars. From humble beginning creating mixtapes for friends, Mascfish has gone on to open for some of the biggest names in the industry while holding down coveted club residencies at hotspots like The Abbey and Beaches. With his signature blend of house, tech, and dance-pop, Mascfish's booty-shaking rhythms and soaring vocals never fail to get the crowd moving.
And Deanne was in the prime time slot of Real Bad last year and holy fuck she did not let up. We stayed the entire party and she didn’t do the whole coat check ease down for a half hour. She kept on going. So fucking fantastic. She’ll be great for ritual.
Mascfish on SoundCloud and Instagram (and his Real Bad set).
Deanne on SoundCloud and Instagram.
Full details on the Facebook page for the event and photos albums on their Facebook page and tickets available on EventBrite.
Prime: Daddy Alley at Club Six, produced by TrophyDad with DJs Neon the Glowgobear and Charly
Ed, Julian, and the gang at TrophyDad are back at Club 6 (both floors!) and will be hosting a gaggle of gogos (all required to be over 50) with a party dedicated to “men in their prime and their admirers.” If you’re feeling the need to work out some daddy issues (or work over some boys), this will be the place to be. As our friend and daddy connoisseur (papa sommelier?) Baby Jake always says, “You better check for that AARP card first.”
The culture has been in a daddy moment for a while now. Daddy-themed parties have flourished across the country and around the world. It seems to radiate from San Francisco for some reason. The Prime party started a few years ago as just Ed throwing himself a big 50th birthday party. He had no idea it was going to become a thing. But it has! I think as the generation of men that survived the crisis years of the 80s and 90s is hitting their 50s and 60s they’re redefining what it is to be a gay man after 50: active, vital, confident, horny, and fun.
The crowd includes lots of guys you usually don’t usually see out and about and the music will be prime time circuit plus celebratory vocals with a modern remix with resident DJ Neon the Glowgobear. DJ Neon the Glowgobear hails from the “dirty South” of Atlanta and is known for an upbeat musical style based on house music and classic tracks with a twist.
Meanwhile, downstairs is the Daddy Pit, the aggressive overt vibe of the leather bars of days gone by with low ceilings, lower inhibitions, and a play space – with Madrid’s Charly. We’ve heard him spin several times and he’s always gotta sound that’ll move ya ass.
Read more about the genesis of the Prime party in Race Bannon’s article in The Bay Area Reporter: “Celebrating Grey — the Older Kinkster”
DJ Neon on Mixcloud, SoundCloud, and Facebook.
DJ Charly on Mixcloud, SoundCloud, and Instagram.
Dress for success and reference lots of photo galleries on the TrophyDad Facebook page.
TrophyDad on Facebook and Instagram.
Full details on the Facebook page for the event and tickets available on EventBrite.
Horse Market: Fresh Meat TBD, produced by the Stable Wrangler
HorseMarket is a truly degenerate evening for all, inspired by Europe’s infamous Fickstutenmarkt parties (Vice article). From the site:
“The mares [bottoms] arrive before the stallions [tops] and get prepared for the event. They are to strip naked, have their hands bound (lightly) and are then blindfolded. Then the stallions appear and can fully inspect the bound mares at their leisure. When a stallion has decided on a mare, he then leads the chosen mare to a place of his choice to mount. When the stallion has finished covering the mare, this mare is then available for covering by other stallions.”
[scratches record, clutches pearls, drops monocle] There’s even a Best In Show designation at the end of the event because gay men have to turn everything into a beauty pageant scholarship program. I think we know at least 4 of the Best In Show Mares.
The Stable Wrangler tells me that there are three parties this year. Friday and Saturday are “Fresh Meat” so first-time Mares get preference on tickets. And then Sunday night the Stable Wrangler is giving you the cross-over event of the weekend, partnering with the sluts of Fornication.
Get updates from Twitter, or their mailing list and learn more on the site for the event.
Alpha at Hibernia, produced by Fog City Pack with DJs
Our favorite pups are kicking off their annual trilogy of parties (Alpha, Beta, and Omega) at the local fuckenhausen Club Six.
Here’s some info about the Fog City Pack and what they’ve carved out for themselves, for their community, and for their city is quite remarkable, unique, and amazing. Learn more about our dear pups:
New York Times: We Live in Packs
SF Weekly: Canis Majors
The Fight magazine: Pups in the Mist
Waiting on full DJ lineup but their resident DJs will be dropping a track or two for the evening as well:
Fawks on Instagram, SoundCloud, and his website fawkstales.com. Here’s his mix from Beta party 2017.
Miloš on Instagram and SoundCloud. Here’s his mix from the virtual Beta 2020 party.
Jumpr on Instagram and SoundCloud. Here’s his set from the pups’ virtual Beta party last year, Omega party 2019, Omega 2018, and their 2018 Packed party.
Astro on on SoundCloud. Here’s his mix from Alpha party 2017.
The Fog City Pack SoundCloud also has lots of mixes from past parties.
Follow Fog City Pack on Facebook , Instagram, or their website.
Tickets and details on EventBrite.
Bark Before Dark at Oasis
Oasis is hosting a pre-Dore puppy happy hour with a mosh space on the roof deck. Bring your pet/puppy gear and get the weekend started. Coat/clothes check available, roof deck is heated and offers some stunning sunset views of the neighborhood. Start your evening here and stay for the Madonna Summer show or continue on in the neighborhood to your next party/event
Pretty in Kink at Public Works, produced by the Glamcocks
(waiting on confirmation and details from the ‘cocks)
Similar to how leather culture is woven into the fabric of the city, so is Burning Man. Communities of burners from all over the world create themed camps and art installations in the desert for nine days every summer and keep a sense of continuity throughout the year with local events in their hometowns. GlamCocks is one of these far-flung, but tight-knit Burning Man community of burners, and their gatherings are a reflection of this exuberant, life-loving, and carefree attitude.
You’ll have a fantastic night!
Public Works features a dense main floor with two story ceilings and a wrap around balcony above with a side lounge loft tucked in to the side. Lots of places to watch and be watched. It’s got odd traffic patterns, it’s not just you.
Documentary about the group: Meet the Glamcocks.
Full details will be on their Instagram where you can also find lots of event photos and their Linktree.
Stank at Powerhouse, produced by Spencer Adam and Fawk Gilić
(waiting on confirmation for this event from the head skank at Stank)
The skanks of Stank want you to get a whiff. A waft, if you will. Everybody’s favorite gay dive bar kicks off the weekend with an evening devoted to the natural smell of men as God made ’em and as God intended.
Stop showering a couple of days beforehand and hit the gym hard so you can go in perfectly fragrant (we have a couple of friends who declare it “natural poppers”). Be ready to bury your face in a man’s ripe pits and enjoy the aroma and taste of the gogos as they ply their trade.
But get there before midnight so you can participate in (or just appreciate) the Ripe Pits Contest.
Resident DJ/pup Jumpr on Instagram and SoundCloud. Here’s his set from the pups’ virtual Beta party last year, Omega party 2019, Omega 2018, and their 2018 Packed party.
Resident DJ/pup Fawks on Instagram, SoundCloud, and his website fawkstales.com. Here’s his mix from Beta party 2017.
More details will be on Stank’s Instagram.
Cumunion at Transform1060
Legit for-real no DJs, no fans, no divas, all-dick play-party Cumunion is back for their Folsom edition at the Transform1060 dungeon space.
Cumunion started as a small sex party after Up Your Alley, 15 years ago in 2010. The success of the first party quickly led to a Folsom outing and there are now close to 50 monthly parties held in dozens of cities around the world.
Happy anniversary, Cumunion! Mazel tov!
Saturday, July 26th
Big Muscle Party at DNA Lounge, produced by BigMuscleBears.com benefitting Positive Resource Center, with DJ Paul Goodyear
I always like taking friends to this event because if you don’t know it’s happening on a Saturday afternoon, you don’t know what you’ve been missing.
Several hundred muscle guys of all sizes and stripes, and their admirers pack into DNA Lounge (founded with Netscape money and like every other big venue always at risk of closing) to have cocktails and dance and make Mary.
It’s got a fantastic vibe whether you’re in the mood to dance on the main floor, chill in the back lounges, hang out and chit-chat in the side bars, or people-watch from the wrap-around balcony.
Ron and I contend that this party usually the hottest crowd of the weekend. And some of the guys are yooooge! Like water buffalo galloping through amber waves of grain on the dance floor. It always makes me want to start a TikTok called Big Guys, Tiny Fans.
Veteran DJ/producer and house music legend Paul Goodyear will be on the main floor weaving classic 70’s Disco with House, with anything 80’s inspired, with soul, electronica, urban, pop and just about everything else (“It’s all disco as far as I’m concerned.”) Known all over the world for his distinct soundscapes and marathon 14 hour sets he’ll be the perfect cook in the kitchen for this event..
Halfway through the party you’ll meet the men of this year’s Bare Chest Calendar. For over 35 years the annual calendar has been a huge part of the San Francisco community, raising over $3 million for PRC and its program AIDS Emergency Fund. PRC (Positive Resource Center) is devoted to providing residential treatment and supportive housing for people with mental health, substance use, and HIV/AIDS-related issues. Buy a calendar! That’s our bestie (and Mr. January a couple years ago) Moe in the event photo above!
It’ll be bright outside and dark as night indoors so it’ll take you a bit to see once you’re in the club.
Reminder: DNA Lounge is a huge venue! It took me a couple years to realize, “Ohhh shit there’s that back bar there… and oh damn is that another bar further on back…”
So after you’ve enjoyed the main floor, go upstairs to the balcony, the side bar on the left with the windows to the street (and another DJ lineup), the bar behind that, the bar behind that (and another DJ lineup), the bar that swings around behind back into the balcony to the lounge with seating and back around to the other side of the club.
Favorite moments from past year’s is the DJ in the upper bar teasing the growling bass line for “The Humpty Dance” for about 10 minutes and you kept thinking, “Am I hearing that?” and then finally launching into the 1989 classic, then back into the usual house mix. And I have an apocryphal story of the DJ dropping in, “All I Want for Christmas,” to troll the crowd with Christmas in July.
There’s also the photo booth in the balcony (house-left) where you can get photos of your hot ass and hot-ass friends for posterity. It closes earlier than the event ends, so be sure to get up there sooner than later. If you get overheated, there are A/C vents to chill you down, right in front of the street-side balcony bar. You’ll see the vents. And come out onto the street for a vape or a smoke or to gawk at the shirrtless guys in the sun.
And don’t forget to grab pizza next door at DNA Pizza (menu) during the party or on your way out. You know these gals like to eat. The veggie slice is called Artichoke-Me-Daddy. You can go between the pizzeria and the club and even go outside for a smoke or a vape during the event – just be sure you have your wrist stamped (or wrist band). If that’s the plan, don’t wait to get in line until the end of the party, it’ll be a long line to get pizza.
Tip: This event has started selling out. And they seem to throttle entry to the club so get in line early. You can usually buy a ticket online the day-of on your phone if you need to.
Usually $15-$20 at the door but advance tickets available on the DNA lounge site, that nasty transaction fee is a doozy (and doesn’t go to the producers, btw).
Photo gallery to show you who-all’s there and what to wear in Out magazine: “109 Photos From BigMuscle Party at Folsom Street Fair”
Paul Goodyear on Instagram, Facebook, SoundCloud, and Mixcloud.
No Facebook event page yet but tickets on sale at DNA Lounge’s site.
Dore Party at Mr. S Leather
Now celebrating over 40 years of leather, kink, and style, Mr. S Leather is a San Francisco mainstay and globally recognized leather retailer and fetish brand. After their Wednesday kickoff they have their ins-store party.
Come find the gear that's going to get you laid. And who knows, you might just meet the guy you'll be spending the rest of the weekend with!
They are opening up the Back Alley Beer Garden from 12-6 (21 to enter with ID).
The shop will be open 12pm-7pm daily all week for your needs and supplies!
No details yet but they’ll be on the Mr. S Facebook page or on their site.
Flagging in the Park at the National AIDS Memorial Grove, with Morabito, benefitting the National AIDS Memorial Grove
One of the most San Francisco-y things that happens in this wild city. Flagging In The Park is a monthly afternoon picnic of music and colorful motion at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park. But for July and September, they usually do special editions for the street fair weekends.
In 1997 a group of San Francisco flaggers started a tradition of celebrating life by gathering in the newly dedicated National AIDS Memorial Grove. Twenty-seven years later, the event continues to thrive and grow, with the DJs, organizers, and participants donating their time, energy and love to help raise money for mostly local (and sometimes national) non-profits.
The AIDS Memorial Grove is a gorgeously secluded meadow near the East end of Golden Gate Park. Often the fog is licking at the sky above - especially in the summer, bring sunscreen and a wrap. Bring something to sit on; pack a lunch or bring snacks and beverages; flags are available for use; usually a few furry friends roaming. There are little or no services nearby but port-a-potties will be available. Our DJ spins vocal fun-filled dance music, and flow artists eagerly enjoy and share their art with newcomers. There is no pressure to participate -- come relax and take in the color and beauty of our tribe!
The legendary Morabito will be spinning the afternoon. You’ll love it.
Morabito on SoundCloud, Instagram, and Mixcloud.
This event is part of the Flagger Destination Weekend. Full details on Facebook and be sure to join the Flagging in the Park group as well.
Black, Brown, & Kinky at Powerhouse, produced by Onxy Northwest
The Northwest chapter of Onyx kicks off the weekend at our favorite dive-bar Powerhouse featuring sexy kinksters, jello shots, leathermen of color with geared up gogos, fetish demos and more. Photos of past events on their site.
No Facebook page for the event yet, but stay up to date and follow Onyx NW on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and their site.
Rated X/Flex at Space 550, produced by Ky Martinez Events and Andrew Dombos, with Rosabel and Brian Urmanita
The massive Rated X party is back for its 4th year!
We’ve known producer Ky Martinez and his husband Juan for many years (they sat at the circuit queen table at our wedding reception). It’s been wonderful watching them go from producing their monthly House Party event at Powerhouse (every second-Saturday) to building their reputation with larger more sophisticated events like Imagina, Heaven (Dore Sunday night), and the notorious Folsom afterhours Nocturnal. Their events always draw a fantastic crowd that is a diverse, broad slice of the city’s denizens (leather, muscle, queens, queers, jocks, fairies, and all the rest) and all generations in attendance.
The Rated X party will have over a 1,000 hot men at at this Saturday main even with fetish demos and slutty gogos. Space 550 is a sprawling location with lots of nooks and crannies, so be sure to explore all the crevices you can. You’ll need to take an Uber or Lyft to get out there. Grab a bunch of guys with you in the hotel lobby and order an SUV and chat ’em up on the way there.
DJ Rosabel - the dance floor Voltron when iconic DJs Ralphi Rosario and Able get together will have you grooving all night.
Meanwhile, in the upstairs lounge Pup Badge and the crew from the Flex part are all muscle worship all the time with daddy Disney prince Brian Urmanita spinning.
Rosabel on SoundCloud, Instagram, and Facebook.
Brian Urmanita on SoundCloud, Instagram, and Facebook.
Full details and tickets available on kymartinezevents.com.
Brüt at Great Northern, produced by Hedonic Productions and Brian Kent Productions and Hedonic Productions, with DJs Morabito, James Anthony, and Dan Darlington
Brüt started as an NYC party but its special mix of leather, music, and muscle has reached across the globe with events in other major cities. We’ve been attending Brüt parties for many years in San Francisco (and now in Chicago), and it’s an incredible evening of dancing with primal music pumping and guys ready to have a good time.
The Great Northern (previously Mighty) is a big 7k sq ft warehouse dance space with 30′ ceilings and a “Future Deco” design with exposed brick wall and art deco accents (love the stained glass motif above the bar). The club has that step down from the bar into the dancefloor. You can watch queens trip over it all night if you need entertainment. The crystal clear 80k watt Void sound system keeps the music from being over-loud and you don’t have to yell at the guy next to you to have a conversation. That dark back lounge behind the DJ, part the couches, far corner, can be fun.
Morabito has graced every major club and sound system in NYC, including Twilo, Roxy, Tunnel, Sound Factory, Limelight, Palladium, Roseland, Cielo, Pacha, Webster Hall, XL and Stage Forty8. Morabito brings an instinctual understanding of music's power and her ability to drive the night with a wide range of tribal, underground, progressive and tech house.
James Anthony rocks rooms all over the world with his signature big room disco-tech tribal sound. A true dance music enthusiast, James' sound is directly influenced from his upbringing listening to disco, freestyle and house music on the radio in New York in the 80's and 90's. Those influences, paired with his high octane, vocal heavy peak hour energy, create a sensational dancefloor experience that leaves crowds breathless. James is also the host and producer of Get Into The Groove, a weekly mixshow on SiriusXM Studio 54 that features the best dance records of the 1980's directly from James' extensive vinyl collection of classics.
Brut co-founder/producer Dan Darlington is always a joy to watch as he spins because he always has a huge grin on his face. He’ll sneak in a vocal after a nasty beat that can be just divine.
Top three Brut moments from past parties:
A couple years ago at Folsom Brüt, Dan slowed down the beat and mixed in Nine Inch Nails’s “Closer” and you had hundreds of rutting leather-clad men chanting “I want to fuck you like an animal!” and then as the song ended, Dan kept repeating that Downward Spiral descending motif from the classic album as he brought the beat back up.
Hearing them drop in the remix of DMX’s “It’s All Right” featuring the elegant subtle couplet, “It’s all good! It’s alright! Fuck all day! Fuck all night!”
A St. Patrick’s party It was later into the night when things start to feel a little otherworldly, and Dan was on the decks (with his usual devilish grin), and he’d just suspended a really hard bass line, and as you caught your breath from dancing so hard, he faded in an isolated vocal of Debbie Gibson cooing, “No… only in my dreams… as real as it may seem… you are only in my dreams…” Transcendent.
Brüt featured in:
The New York Times: Gay Leather Scene Tones Down From Hard-Core to Dress-Up
Daily Xtra: How one leather party is taking back New York City
Project Q: Brut muscles it’s way into Atlanta
Photo galleries from past Brüt events.
Morabito on SoundCloud, Instagram, and Mixcloud.
James Anthony on SoundCloud and Instagram.
Brüt producer and resident DJ Dan Darlington on Mixcloud, SoundCloud, Facebook, and the Brüt site and Brüt’s own SoundCloud. My favorite Brüt mix of all time is this Folsom mix from a couple years ago. It absolutely purrs.
Full details on the EventBrite page for the event and you can follow Brut’s Facebook page and learn more on the Brüt party website.
Code at Edge, with DJ Sean McMahon
Code is The Edge’s monthly event bringing leather back to the Castro with geared-up gogos and a no-frills bar packed with congenial leather-clad gents and resident DJ Sean McMahon, spinning Code’s signature dark and cruisy beats.
Resident DJ Sean McMahon on Mixcloud or Facebook.
Event is confirmed with details will be on page Edge’s events listings on Facebook, the Code page on their site, or their Instagram.
Sneaks at The San Francisco Mint produced by Polyglamorous with DJs Deker Plaslaiko, Carlos Souffront, Ciel, Miss Twink USA, Sassy Squatch, Mark O’Brien, Starkey and Beya
Yes. The original goddamn San Francisco Mint.
Polyglamorous’ naughty sneaker fetish party returns for their Dore edition to reminds us that leather culture’s Venn diagram is broad and deep
You can tell how much kink is respected in this town that there’s a goddamn sex party at the historic San Francisco Mint. “Opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush, in twenty years its operations exceeded the capacity of the first building and into a new one in 1874, now known as the Old San Francisco Mint. (Wikip)
Acid authority Lauren Flax and self-proclaimed Queen of Hell Jasmine Infiniti will be setting the dance floor ablaze. Mexico City’s Tommy Hart, Denver stalwart Stefan Ways and local legend Nate Manic. The event will be bigger than ever with lots of tickets available at the door.
Dress code is enforced:
MUST WEAR – sneakers
DO WEAR – sports gear, singlets, mesh, underwear, knee socks, gym shorts, sweats, track suits… things that are sports-related or you might wear to the gym.
DON’T WEAR – jeans or slacks
The late amazing Baby Bear – and of the other Short Circuit Andys once told me what he loves about Sneaks:
“I always describe Sneaks as the queerer, more-techno/house sound of Dore weekend. It’s the ‘locals’ choice on Saturday night as far as I’m concerned. Sneaks feels home grown. It’s black-lit which has become commonplace at Polyglamorous parties. It’s a mix of leather, drag, burner [Burning Man] and queer. The biggest thing I’d stress to readers is that [lower priced] pre-sales [tickets] always go fast but there are always tickets at the door as well.”
Goddammit we miss him so much. I swear every time I am about to cross the street I hear St. Andy in my head saying, “Hold up, girl. Did you look both ways? Twice? Look again. Okay.”
Another friend described it as a “dark, sexy, disco rave for athletic fetishists.” Take note.
Clothes check provided, venue is cash only. No cameras allowed.
Several tracks on the Polyglamorous profile on SoundCloud.
Tickets will be available at the door.
Goddamn they sold out FAST, but, “Tons of tickets available at the door – come early or late for best results.”
Learn more about the collective on the Polyglamorous Facebook page and Polyglamorous.club.
Full details and tickets on EventBrite.
Guerilla Jax at Transform1060
Guerilla Jax, the Bay Areas largest men’s masturbation, milking, and edging group meets monthly at Transform1060! Cum cele-bate with over 80 pent-up and musky bators and sides from all over the bay area. Amenities include custom video compliations, milking stations, St. Andrew’s Cross, restraints, and blindfolds for those ready to explore. Several different room zones to suit your preferred style of bate: coaching, water sports, dark/chill bating and more.
15 Association Party at Transform1060
The 15 Association’s monthly play party for members and guests. The 15 Association welcomes guests who are active members of the BDSM community. “If you identify as male, present as male, and enjoying playing in an all-male environment, we want you. If you attend a 15 event, although you are not required to play at the party, the expectation is that you are interested in doing so. People interested in voyeurism only are not a good fit for our events.”
Full details for the event on their site.
SXTPS at TBD
DJ Kidd brings his Los Angeles party SXTPS to Dore, “a Kinky Dance Party for Black + Brown/Queer + Trans People.” SXTPS is a place to be truly free from the shackles of reality. you can always immerse yourself in the rhythms, the beats, the sex, and the grind.
Full details will be on their Instagram profile.
Sunday, July 27th
Nocturnal at Halcyon produced by Ky Martinez Events, with DJ Mohammad
Nocturnal is Sunday morning before the fair.
We were there the first time Mohammad ever spun a set, years ago at Powerhouse. We were so excited to hear his sound. Dark, rough, and aggressive. He’s broadened his sound since to do prime time and tea dances. He stayed with us for IML weekend this year and we finally got to hear him go back to his instinctual sound at an afterhours produced by Luxuria at the Baton Lounge. Soooo fantastic. And that’s the sound he’s going to bring to Nocturnal.
And right as the Saturday night parties come to a close into the wee hours of Sunday morning, Ky’s got the afterparty where everyone will be going.
Halcyon (formerly the old Beatbox space) is one of only three clubs in the world to feature the Dolby Atmos immersive sound system. Halcyon regularly ranks among the top clubs in the country and is noted for its all-women management and being a welcome home for LGBT events and producers. The exposed brick and steel keeps the warehouse vibe alive and with one of the city’s few 24-hour liquor licenses, DJs have been known to spin from dusk to dawn and into the afternoon.
DJ Mohammad on SoundCloud and Instagram.
Full details and tickets at kymartinezevents.com.
Up Your Alley Street Fair, produced by Folsom Street
And then there’s the fair. We’ll probably go for a bit. It’s funny how it seems kinda normalized anymore for us to go to a street fair and see a guy chained to a telephone pole being whipped or porn stars playing Twister in jockstraps or a domme in a carriage being pulled by a quartet of human ponies or shirtless women being flogged to “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Like Folsom, the fair encapsulates the crazy kinky libertine spirit of San Francisco – and with Up Your Alley it’s much grittier and more queer/gay than Folsom Street Fair.
You will see people dressed in their favorite fetish attire. Some of these kinksters wait all year for events like this to strut their stuff and fly their freak flag. If you don’t like it or roll your eyes at people or can’t delight in seeing perverts celebrate their perversions, don’t be a twat about it. Get the fuck out of there and go to the Apple store. Not everything is for everybody.
Full details will be on the Folsom Street website.
ROMP T-Dance: Animal Farm at 1015 Folsom, produced by Brian Kent Productions and Paradigm, benefitting Folsom Street and Grass Roots Gay Rights Foundation, with DJ Russ Rich
The official closing party of Up Your Alley. Past year’s themes have been Alice in Wonderland (video on Instagram) and 007/spy movie. This year the theme is Animal Farm.
The farm’s been flipped, the barn doors are open, and the animals have taken over. Kink gets wild and the roles get reversed. The animals have had enough of the farmer’s rules and are ready to take the reins—they’ve got one thing in mind: power, playful seduction, and pleasure. Lose yourself and surrender to DJ Russ Rich as he fuels the unbridled revelry with his unique mix of driving vocal and tech house.
Dress code: Leather. Fur. Latex. Rubber. Fetish.
At the helm of a seven-hour set, resident DJ/Producer Russ Rich has brewed up his unique blend of psychedelic black tea with notes of vocal house, leather, peak-time anthems, rubber, and harder, driving rhythms.
Russ Rich on Instagram, Facebook, SoundCloud, Mixcloud, and his amazing mix from REAL BAD 32 (that explosive opener in part one and then carrying us until the night with part two).
Full details on the Facebook page for the event and tickets available on EventBrite.
Heaven at Halcyon, produced by Ky Martinez Events, with DJ Jason Godfrey and Alex Acosta
And just after they’re done airing out Halcyon from Nocturnal, we’re rolling on in with Heaven.
Everyone will be horned up from the fair and ready to dance and carouse.
DJ Alex Acosta we’ve heard many times over the years in different cities and he’s always a great blend of tribal and house circuit with enough vocals to keep everyone satisfied.
Jason a dance music DJ based out of San Francisco with over 20 years of experience behind the decks he's developed an uncanny ability to get people moving to the music with his track selection and mixing skill. Raised with musical influences in disco, funk, soul, hip-hop and R&B, he's able to weave these genres into contemporary dance music for a fun, sexy and enthralling experience. With his relentless energy and endless passion he will do whatever it takes to get the dance floor moving.
Alex Acosta on Instagram, Soundcloud, Facebook, Spotify, and his site.
Jason Godfrey on Instagram, SoundCloud, Mixcloud, and his site.
Details on the Facebook page for Ky’s weekend of events and at kymartinezevents.com.
HorseMarket Unbridled + Fornication produced by the Stable Wrangler and Ray Dalton with Eric Fuller, Tex Hudson, Matt Coven, and Danny Rubino
The gang at HorseMarket is teaming up with the Fornication folks in a premiere crossover edition at Dore Alley to create a wild hybrid drug free event: part porn show, part HorseMarket, all debauchery.
Full details at https://www.fornicationparty.com/san-francisco
Okay I think that’s all the events for now. I gotta start working on the Folsom guide, too.
Some advice:
You look amazing. Get photos.
You probably look foyne as fuck this weekend. You should preserve the moment. Our friend, photographer Trevor Ott will be again doing his impromptu photo shoots with the street fair as the backdrop. We did a shoot with him at Dore a few years ago (above) and had a great time. Contact him on Facebook if you’re interested and peruse his work on Instagram. One day you will look at those photos and say, “Dear God, I was a beautiful thing!”
Dore on a Budget
Travel, tickets, transportation, refreshments, enhancements… this kind of weekend ain’t cheap. But, if you’re trying to keep spending to a minimum:
Echo the old-school Castro clone look of our forefathers with tight jeans, a t-shirt (probably no-shirt), and boots. GQ recently published a history of the Castro clone look.
If you feel you have to have some sort of leather on ya, grab an armband from Mr. S or one of the other stores.
Hang out at the bars in Castro and SOMA (historically known as “the Valley of the Dolls” and “the Valley of the Kings,” respectively). They’ll be packed with lots of other guys that are more into the cocktails & cruising dynamic. Most bars will have a modest cover charge.
Most of the bars are walkable from transit. If it’s super late you don’t want to be walking around too much in the dark. Keep your phone in your pocket, headphones off, and keep your wits about you. It’s San Francisco, but it’s still a big city with crazy people.
If you really have barely any money at all, you must use it to go to the fair. If ten bucks is all you have, give it to the fair and charity that is the centerpiece for the weekend.
Volunteer for events. Another way to keep costs down is to volunteer for events. For the first few years we were here, Ron and I were greeters and ticket-takers at lots of parties and that was fun because you literally meet everyone their way in and you get to put wristbands on hot guys and once your shift is over you can go dance.
Quick Run Down of FAQs
Jump to the end of my Folsom guide for the extended set of FAQs)
In short:
Vaccine #1: Monkeypox is back, hoes. The gays stopped it once, we can stop it again.
Vaccine #2: Get COVID vaccinated and boosted. Get the bi-valent booster if you haven’t yet.
Vaccine #3: Get a meningitis vaccine while you’re at it. Your local CVS, Walgreens, etc. should have it available or your primary care physician.
Vaccine #4: Get the HPV vaccine, too , if you’re the right age (it’s expanded) and have coverage. HPV can lead to forms of anal cancer. Having lesions burned off the inside of your asshole is not fun.
Get a prescription for DoxyPEP if you can. It’s basically antibiotics you take after sex. Take it and give some to your tricks after you’re done cuddling. It’s keeping STI infection rates super low right now. How it works.
Get STI testing 2 weeks beforehand so you have enough time to get your results and complete a round of antibiotics if needed. Get on PrEP, of course, if you’re negative; make sure you have enough meds in your luggage if you are. And every gay man – hell everyone – should know that undetectable is untransmittable. If you are an intermittent whore, know about the PrEP 2-1-1 “on demand” protocol (poster).
Be gracious to security (many of them are also gay and giving up their weekend to take care of your messy friends). Always say good night and thank you as you leave.
Thank the EMTs for taking care of our trashy brethren.
Coat/clothes check is usually a bitch. Lines are long. Plan accordingly. We usually plan hoe-optional ensembles that are not dependent on checking shorts – and we don’t bring jackets.
Never mix G and alcohol, or G and other depressants. Know your mLs. Just one milliliter – 1/5 of teaspoon! – can be the difference between being persuadable and having a nice evening versus your knees buckling and your friends pissed they have to take you home (or so pissed they hand you off to the EMT). When in doubt, wait an hour or stop altogether. If you forget if you already put it in that drink, throw the drink out, start again. Don’t leave drinks unattended.
If everyone around you looks like you, go somewhere else. It’s not just a bunch of hairy white guys only interested in fucking their mirror image.
Don’t spend a party or the fair looking for acquaintances or waiting for that one guy that you saw on the apps or that dickhead you know from Instagram. You are where you are. Be there.
Don’t grab piercings without asking first.
Know your hanky/armband code. Left side, top. Right side, bottom. Both sides, vers. Color chart (history). But remember sometimes yellow is just a sartorial choice.
Fuck your fan clacking and don’t bring parasols to parties (it fucks up event photos).
You have the right to have a fucking great time no matter how you look or how you feel about how you look. You don’t have to look a certain way to enjoy the weekend. Don’t wait until you “lose the weight” or “do a cycle” or whatever other barrier to entry you’re setting for yourself.
Get tickets early. In SF, we buy first tier tickets early. Months early. If you have tickets you’re not using, announce they are for sale on the respective event or producer’s Facebook page. If you’re looking for tickets, same thing. If you pay at the door, you’ll pay out the ass. Watch out for scalpers online.
If you are sober, be sure you know which Whatever Anonymous meetups are happening at all times so you can stay on the straight and narrow while being bent over.
The week beforehand, make sure you have all your tickets. If they are in your email, use the pin/star feature to make sure they bubble up to the top or take screencaps of all your QR codes. UPDATE: OMG I did again. We were in line for Big Muscle at Dore weekend last year, and they found that I bought two tickets for the Folsom party but could only find one ticket for the Dore one. I made a mistake. Again. Ron was silent as we moved into the line to buy a ticket. Luckily they had tickets available and it moved fast. Would have been a quiet walk home.
And Daddy Aaron’s rule: No in-town trade when out-of-town trade is in. If you’re local, don’t make this the weekend you make it happen with that local guy you’ve been over-staring at the gym. Focus on the fresh, transient meat.
There’s not a lot of cabs. You’ll use Lyft and Uber a lot.
SF is colder than you think during the day it will be, but you probably can leave jackets at home at night since you’ll be surrounded by hot men radiating heat.
And of course – Folsom’s rule applies to Dore:
See you on the dance floor, gentlemen…
…and ladies, and everyone else in between. It’s incredibly rewarding to have guys from all over the world say hi and say that they read my guide or shared it with friends. So, if you see us on the dance floor, say hello. Look for the complimentary Polynesian sleeve tattoos on the sexy Filipino muscle dad with the huge smile dancing with abandon and probably waving (but never clacking) a majestic fan (my husband Ron) and the semi-serious/RBF’d inked bearded white muscle daddy wolf trying to keep up with him (me).
Thanks for reading – please share!
Andy (with editing/etc. from Ron)
p.s. You can follow my writing on Facebook, Twitter, Mastodon, and enjoy cat photos, thirst pics, Ron’s Stepford streak, aggressive shirtlessness, and fear of aging on my Instagram (andymaticgram), but actually Ron posts better photos on his Instagram (ronamatic) and his account for his pandemic macaron obsession (macarons_by_ron). My site is jacked so you can’t read past guides right now but you can read about that time I turned 40 (I still owe you the one about turning 50) or when we got married, on the Little Gay Guide podcast, or on the Daddy Issues podcast talking about roids and racism, why gay Trump supporters are such terrible people, and being pretty vs smart.
p.p.s. Typos are my gift to you. If you’re eagle eye catches one, DM me on Ig or Fb.
Alpha is on Friday this year!
Might want to confirm whether tickets will actually be sold at the door for Sneaks this year. That Facebook event link is from 2023, pre-Mint, and the host has mentioned capacity limits on Instagram without indicating door sales after selling out.