San Francisco Citizen

This year’s lovEvolution Dance Music Festival will be in Oakland instead of San Francisco?

Apparently.

See?

Click to expand

(Are there street parties still around in the 415 these days?)

Compared to all the other counties out there in America, San Francisco is the highest cost and highest hassle location to do any kind of event. Why is that?

Instead of this:

Via Famous David Yu

We’re going to have this – sad hipsters all dressed up with no place to go excepting the Oakland Coliseum:

Via Ben Chaney

Good-Bye Love Parade. Come back someday if you can.

Ah, memories. (I wonder if all the hyperlinks still work…) Anyway, enjoy 2009:

Via W. Kilinger’s Photostream

“LovEvolution 2009 (or LoveFest or the Love Parade, call it what you will, gallery here) went down in Civic Center yesterday- what a huge turnout it had.

Here are the best photos uploaded to Flickr.

Auric Goldfinger really started a trend, back in the day:

via Kanaka

Cf. this shot from the Chronicle’s Frederic Larson - showing why you generally want to keep your white people skin tone magentas lower than the yellows. As always, click to expand.

Hey buddy, get gold or get gone – chest hair is no excuse:

via SFBart

Here we go, a little gold goes a long way:

Kanaka again

All right, that’s it for gold. Now how about orange?

Beefcake beefcake, beefcake!

via SFBart

DJ Baybe flew in from Spain just for this event:

via Benjsf

The Center of Attention:

via Bendjsf

Furry boots on top of the truck require an extra hand or two to secure footing:

via Kanaka

And let’s give it up for the DJs:

via Kanaka

Everybody is a participant, everybody is an observer:

via kutchingboy

It’s all fur this year, either up top or on your platform shoes.

via Brian Caldwell

Market Street was just packed, baby:

via Kumasawa

And if you can’t afford the entrance fee, just neck outside the double chain link – show them all why they call it LovEvolution:

via Brain Caldwell

LovEvolution 2009 (or LoveFest or the Love Parade, call it what you will) is still going strong down in Civic Center today – what a huge turnout it has – check the best photos from Flickr and some more photos posted on SFist. Now this year everybody’s paying $10 to get in, so that helps to pay for San Francisco’s excessive fees for doing anything, anytime, anywhere. Anyway, it’s fuzzy cowboy hats as far as the eye can see. And MUNI is FUBAR’ed beyond all recognition. Oh well.

Remember, this type of gathering is Why They Hate Us. Not Fleet Week or nothing, it’s this kind of stuff that They hate. Oh well. Here’s a slide show of photos to ponder. And here’s the post-first, edit-later (Go Go Gorgeous is a person, really? “Kobayash,” is a last name, really?) San Francisco Chronicle’s take, along with 23 photos. And here’s David Yu’s shots.

The cage dancers of Market go rolling up the street. Go Go Gorgeous!

Click to expand

Sandra Gorgeous of GGG, (“a full-service Go Go company“) blowing you a kiss - the whole team is “all about adding that sexy, fun, and friendly energy to good events. Pour some gorgeous into your event!” Available, I’m sure, for weddings, bar mitzvahs….

They had a ton of floats going uptown to Civic Center…

…populated by people like these representatives from Sweet Tooth Entertainment:

2009 on the left, 1969 on the right. Dude was baked:

Do people really spray paint their Dell Inspiron laptop computers gold and then take them on parade? People do. “Gold! I love goooold!”

And they all ended up in Civic Center, thusly. Just look at all these good-for-nothing pukes clogging up the place – is this why my grandfather fought the Second World War, and spent his weekends on the Jersey shore?

Pretty much.

See you next year!

SF LovEvolution Fast Facts

WHAT: San Francisco LovEvolution : A Dance Music Parade & FestivalLove Week page for more info.San Francisco LovEvolution Event Changes this year : on the need for a $10 entrance fee to the festival site at Civic Center Plaza

WHEN: Love Week starts Wednesday, September 30th with official and affiliated parties each night all week and through the weekend.
The main LovEvolution event is Saturday, October 3rd from 12noon – 8:00pm.

WHO: SF LovEvolution is all ages & all friendly peoples.

WHAT’S MORE: A parade starts from 2nd & Market St. in downtown San Francisco with ~25 floats heading West down Market St.  The parade is free and all ages.

THEN WHAT: The floats arrive at Civic Center plaza where they park to becomes 25 stages on a transformed festival grounds with food, beverage, a new live electronic and performance stage, and outstanding revelry.  There is a $10 entrance fee to the festival grounds, children under 12 with their parents are Free.  All ages welcome.  No outside alcohol.

WHY: The entrance fee was necessary for the survival of the event due to significantly higher city related fees.  Please read the whole story below!

THERE’S MORE (!): After the festival ends at 8:00pm a number of after parties kick off all over the city, including the Official After Party produced by Skills & Spundae on site at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.  After parties have their own admission and age policies.  See the

LOVE: YES

As anyone who attended last years event knows, SF LovEvolution is now the largest electronic music event in America. Thanks to all those who have faithfully supported us and to the many new Lovers who attended last year. Because of the growth of LovEvolution, however, and to preserve our ability to parade down Market Street and party right in front of San Francisco City Hall, we’ve had to institute a few changes to this years event.

First, because of escalating city fees and the events growth last year, LovEvolution 2009 will require a large increase in all levels of traffic, police, security and medical personnel. This translates into a very large increase in how much money it costs to pull off this special event. As this is a non-profit event with minimal corporate sponsorship, we will be charging a $10 admission to LovEvolution this year in order to pay for the increased staff and other event expenses. We’ve always asked for a $10 donation but since most people do not give, donations are not sufficient to fund and improve the event. In order to be able to continue the event, we received special permission from the city for a $10 admission plan. This is as close to free as we could make it and at $10 for 250 world class DJs, LovEvolution is still the best bargain for an event of this scale in America. **We pay 100% of the costs back to the city, so without this change, we could not have the event. Please note kids under 12 with their parents are FREE. You can also get in free by volunteering. Of course – the parade is FREE to all and the entire event from 12noon- 8:00pm is still ALL AGES.** (After parties will vary by event).

Second, there will be no glass or outside alcohol allowed in the event. This has always been a condition of our permits, but when the event was smaller we never had to enforce. But the site was littered with broken glass last year that presented a safety hazard, so we now have to enforce this policy. This is for all our safety and is no different than at any concert or gated event, so please don’t bring alcohol or glass, it will be confiscated or you’ll be turned away at the gates.

On the bright side, the $10 admission will allow us to continue having this amazing event as well as to add some special production elements in Civic Center plaza. This year we are premiering the LovEvolution Live stage in front of city hall featuring an all out performance by The Mutaytor, and much more tba. The $10 admission will also allow us to reduce prices at our bars since we are now not as dependent upon alcohol sales to pay for the event. We’ll also be eventually eliminating entry fees fees for the floats so producers can make their floats even better. And YES – there will be ins and out allowed. And YES, kids under 12 with their parents are FREE.

Last but not least, the $10 admission will allow us to increase the amount of our non-profit contributions to other worthy organizations. Non-profits that received funds last year and/or we expect to donate to this year include:

Friends of the Main Library
Next Aid
Aids Housing Alliance
The Center for Sex and Culture
Beat University Scholarship Fund
Black Rock Arts Foundation
Bay Area Young Positives
Burners Without Borders
San Francisco Suicide Prevention/HIV AIDS Nightline
Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity
Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity

Thanks for your support and looking forwarding to a fabulous LovEvolution 2009!!