Folsom Fair Nixes Beer Partner

If you were hoping to purchase a cold one at this Sunday's Folsom Street Fair served up by hot men (or women) wearing wrestling singlets, you're out of luck.

Golden Gate Wrestling Club, a longtime participant of the Folsom Street Fair, is feeling left out this year, after its application to have a beer booth at this year's festival, set for Sunday, September 24, was rejected.

The club has had a booth at the festival for 24 of the past 26 years, and, said founder Gene Dermody, all of that time, except for last year, the wrestlers served up the frosty suds wearing their singlets. Dermody told the Bay Area Reporter that, in 2016, the men had to wear T-shirts over their uniforms due to what he described as "more rigorous standards."

Folsom Street draws hundreds of thousands of leather and kink lovers to the South of Market area each year, helping partnering nonprofits raise thousands of dollars by selling beer and other goods.

Dermody suspects the wrestling club's application for the 2017 fair was rejected because Folsom Street is now accepting 501(c)(4) nonprofits, rather than just 501(c)(3)s, and Golden Gate Wrestling, which falls into the latter category, got squeezed out. Dermody bases his suspicion on language in the application materials that mentioned 501(c)(4)s.

Generally, 501(c)(4)s are freer than 501(c)(3)s to engage in lobbying, among other differences. Dermody also said that 501(c)(4)s don't have to undergo as much financial scrutiny.

"They should be doing this to fill in the gaps when they don't have enough 501(c)(3)s," he said of Folsom Street Events, which runs the festival. "They should take the 501(c)(3)s before they take the 501(c)(4)s."

Dermody, who said he has "the utmost respect" for Folsom Street, added, "I'm only conjecturing" that his group's rejection is because of what he sees as a change.

In response to emailed questions from the B.A.R., Folsom Street Events managing director Patrick Finger said Dermody's assumption is wrong.

"We've always accepted 501(c)4s," said Finger, adding Golden Gate's rejection doesn't have anything to do with Folsom Street accepting nonprofits in that category. He didn't specify a reason for not accepting the wrestling club's application.

"We had almost double the number of applicants than available booths and we were forced to make some incredibly difficult choices," he said. "We take into account past performance (overall sales, communication, money management), strength, and thoroughness of application, diversity of awarded applicants, and past presence at recent fairs."

Folsom Street used the exact same wording in the email it sent Golden Gate Wrestling to let the group know that its application had been rejected and added, "We try to mix it up at each fair and give new groups a chance to participate."

Festival organizers also told Golden Gate Wrestling that it's been added to a waitlist and said it could also partner with an organization that was selected.

Dermody didn't give any indication that his group would do that, but he said it would still have a booth at the street fair for wrestling demonstrations and recruitment.

Golden Gate Wrestling usually nets from $3,000 to $4,000 from the beer booth at the street fair and uses the money to support its work with youth, he said.