The producers of How Weird Street Faire, San Francisco’s yearly outdoor electronic music festival, just announced that they will not be seeking a city permit for 2025, due to skyrocketing costs.
“We created one of the most anticipated and beloved street fairs in San Francisco,” said Brad Olsen, founder and co-producer of the event, which had its first year in 2000, back when it was a small, grassroots block party at the corner of 12th & Howard, hence the wordplay of its name: “How Weird.”
“But the personal financial risk going forward does not pencil out,” Olsen said.
When How Weird started, admission was only a suggested $2 donation if wearing a costume. That donation went up to $10 in 2008, when it moved downtown to Howard & 2nd Streets. By 2019 it was $15 with a more formalized ticketing process, requiring “Magic Passes” that were sold in advance on Eventbrite. This past year, tickets ranged from $30–50 for the 8-hour festival.
While many old-school ravers complained about the ticketing, newer attendees felt it was a fair price, considering the fact that there were 7 different stages of electronic music, hosted by various Bay Area DJ crews. However, in a post-COVID world, attendance decreased a bit from its late-2010s peak, while permitting and production costs continued to rise.
In September, in an interview with The Bold Italic, Olsen hinted that he was ready to step down and pass the baton, stating they were “looking for good, solid producers who can step in and be the next generation, to take the mantle for the next 25 years.” Sadly, this does not seem to have panned out, at least not yet.
The producers ultimately hope to see How Weird continue with a new production team that can attract big-name sponsors. They stress, however, that they’d like to “keep it weird.”
“A large event production company with the resources to weather any storm would be the right fit,” said Olsen.
The ability to “weather any storm” isn’t just hyperbole either. This past May, due to a freak rainstorm, How Weird was forced to cancel mere hours before opening, costing the organizers thousands of dollars.
Despite getting rescheduled four months later, the damage was already done, adding insult to injury after suffering financial losses in 2020 when the pandemic shut down the fair with only six weeks notice. “The city was unsympathetic to our cries for help,” said Olsen in a Facebook post. “Denying our grant requests, and quadrupling permitting costs and imposing excessive requirements.”
Only time will tell if How Weird will continue under new leadership in the future, or if this truly is another end for a long-running San Francisco cultural institution.
Adriana Roberts is a DJ and performer with her Bootie Mashup parties, as well as a writer and trans influencer.
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