The Castro Street Fair was founded by Harvey Milk, and the group he led, the Castro Valley Association, in 1974. It attracted over 5,000 people.The event’s popularity grew quickly and by 1977, the attendance reached 70,000. The influx of visitors helped promote the Castro district’s growing tourist industry.
The Castro Street Fair is a San Francisco LGBTQIA+ street festival and fair usually held on the first Sunday in October in the Castro neighborhood, the main gay neighborhood and social center in the city. The fair features multiples stages with live entertainment, DJs, food vendors, community-group stalls as well as a curated artisan alley with dozens of Northern California artists. Due to community pressure the fair restructured the organization and partnered with local charities to collect gate donations and partner with groups at the beverages booths to raise money for those charities.
