Walking in a Leather Wonderland
Photos: Courtesy Folsom Europe
Story by Joseph Alexiou
What is a seasoned American leatherman’s dream European vacation? Most likely it does not include buying Christmas trinkets at Harrod’s or lazing in a Venetian Gondola. A leather enthusiast no doubt dreams of a modern city full of thick, tall men with no pretension and a healthy taste for light bondage.
Clearly, we’re headed to Berlin where Folsom Europe, a leather and fetish festival, is celebrating its fifth anniversary from September 3rd to the 8th. Originally a fair held on Folsom street in San Francisco, the headline event in Berlin is the fair on the Fuggerstrasse, which runs from noon to 10pm on September 6th. This year’s celebration will feature an outdoor DJ stage near Ansbacher Strasse. Considering the popularity of last year’s party (around 20,000 participants), be sure to polish your buckles and chains extra shiny for the crowd.
Guest celebs will include three winners from Mr. Leather competitions: Germany, Europe, and the International level. Their presence will aid in Folsom Europe’s annual cause of fundraising, which in the past has gone towards AIDS research and local youth education. This year one of the festival’s causes is also eliminating GHB use within the community, and the substance has been banned from all Folsom-related activities.
Also on the agenda are the two official parties for Folsom: perverts, which will take place on Friday, September 5th, and Pig on Saturday the 6th. Drawing crowds that have numbered in the thousands, Berlin’s version of the Folsom street fair will not disappoint even the hardest of hard-core leather daddies.