Up Your Alley (Dore Alley Fair)
About This Event
Up Your Alley, still widely known as Dore Alley, is San Francisco's July leather and fetish street fair: smaller and rougher than the Folsom Street Fair in September. Both fairs are run by the non-profit Folsom Street Events, which gives its net proceeds to local charities. The first fair was a fundraiser on Ringold Alley on 25 August 1985, the idea of that year's International Mr. Leather, Patrick Toner, and Jerry Vallaire. It moved to Dore Alley in 1987.
It is a single Sunday, roughly 11am to 6pm, on Folsom Street between 9th and 10th Streets and in Dore Alley itself. Entry is free with a suggested cash donation at the gate. You have to be 18 to get in and 21 to drink. The crowd is mostly men in leather and gear, and nudity is common, so treat it as an adult event. Parties run across SoMa for most of that week. Attendance is usually given as about 10,000.
The 2026 fair was on Sunday 26 July 2026. Folsom Street Events lists the next fair for Sunday 25 July 2027.
Where to stay during Up Your Alley (Dore Alley Fair)
via Stay22Our three picks · San Francisco
via Stay22Small, long-running B&B on Castro Street itself, steps from the neighbourhood's bars and the Castro Theatre, with breakfast included.
Gay-friendly boutique hotel on Bush Street, a block from Union Square and Chinatown's gate, with an evening wine reception.
Grand historic hotel on top of Nob Hill, on the California Street cable car line, home of the Tonga Room tiki bar.
Schedule & Sub-Events
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Practical Tips
Bring cash for the gate
Up Your Alley runs on a suggested donation at the Dore Street gates and every dollar goes back to Folsom Street Events' nonprofit beneficiaries. Small bills speed up the line.
Go early, stay small
The fair is 11am–6pm on a single South of Market block and it gets shoulder-to-shoulder by mid-afternoon. Arrive close to opening if you want photos, room to cruise, or any chance at the shorter bar queues.
Videos
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