However, the fun has only started, and I now bring you the next round of Juicy Picks for the party scene in San Francisco.

SATURDAY – OCTOBER 4 – Noon to 6PM
Love Fest

Starting at Market and 2^nd Street and ending in Civic Center

Come rain or shine (yes forecast is calling for rain), the San Francisco Love Fest is an event that is not to be missed. This event, with heritage to the Love Parade of Berlin, is an electronic music festival with a slice of burning man, topped with crazy costumes and party goers, all on a lovely plate of San Francisco fun. Flow artists (flaggers, fanners and poi spinners) and party goers alike will love this event seeing as it has something for just about everyone. My advice is to meet the parade near 2^nd and Market Streets and listen for the music that grabs you. Once you find that perfect sound that calls you to move with it, join right in the parade and dance up Market Street to Civic Center where all of the floats combine into an amazing round-a-bout of musical experience. Wear plenty of sunscreen (if it does not rain), make some new friends, wear something fun or silly, and just have a good time.

SUNDAY – OCTOBER 5 – 11AM to 6PM
Castro Street Fair
Castro Street and Market Street

While certainly not as wild as the Folsom Street Fair last weekend, the Castro Street Fair is more of the local home edition for the folks in the hood, with a smattering of arts, crafts and interesting wares for sale. As usual there will be a variety of music stages for your enjoyment with something for all dance interests and for all flow artists. This fair tends to be a nicer, lazier day, of socializing with friends and hanging out to see the interesting performances and listen to some music.

My preferred choice will be the Braindrops Dance area where DJ Luke Johnstone (personal favorite) and DJ Jim Hopkins will be tearing up the floor with some dance beats and probably the most likely place for flow artists to come spin away. However, if you are into the country scene (which I also love) you can check out the Sundance Country Dance area located behind the Castro Theater.

SUNDAY – OCTOBER 5 – 6PM to Midnight
Matinee
Temple Night Club – 540 Howard Street
DJ Tony Moran, DJ Luke Johnstone, DJ Jamie Sanchez

Sunday night Tony Moran will heat up the beats, along with resident DJs Luke Johnstone and Jamie Sanchez, at Temple Night Club as the Matinee Team brings you another great event in the Catacombs of the Temple. While this is not really a flow arts friendly space, the music should be great and the Catacombs have a unique, low ceiling venue, that creates a different, fun, intimacy. Check this venue out for a little Sunday fun.

SUNDAY – October 12 – Noon to 12AM
Burning Man Decompression – 19^th and Minnesota

For those of you that attended Burning Man, this is the culmination of the return home and a chance to once again see your favorite art, hear your favorite music, and dance away a Sunday afternoon. Fun costumes are suggested and this place will be abundant with artists so flow artists should feel very much at home with flags, fans and poi at this event.

SUNDAY – October 12 – 6PM to 3AM
Remember the Red Party – Trocadero Transfer – 520 Fourth Street
DJ Jerry Bonham

If you are not attending Decompression or if you can peel yourself away, Remember the RED Party is also happening on October 12. This is a great party to throw some flashback memories on for the disco era. The music is something I find very easy to enjoy and dance to, and harkens back to the days of bell bottoms and polyester. The party is always a great mixed crowd of all ages and includes a stage where old school fanners meet new school flaggers and have a celebration of flow arts. On the floor is a combination of appropriately stylized disco drags, jeans, clone wear, and more. This annual party is a particular favorite of mine.

SUNDAY – October 19 – 6PM to Late
Twisted – Suite One8One – 181 Eddy Street
DJ Line-up includes –Chris Cox, Kio Kio, Connie Casserole, David Harness, Pete Avila, Foxxy Brown, Sean Greene, Pam Hubbuck.

Another installment of Twisted is something I am also really looking forward to. After a killer party at 1015 on Labor Day weekend, I am hoping for the best as Twisted moves to a new space called Suite One8One located just blocks from the Powell Street transit station. Billed with another amazing line up of DJs, this is likely to be one crazy party in a new space for this party scene. I cannot advise if this event will be flow arts friendly, but bring your toys just in case. However the site boasts 16000 square feet of party space that is not too dirty and not to clean but just perfect for a TWISTED party.

I am choosing not to throw my weight up against any of the Halloween parties at this time, but there will be several to choose from, so keep an eye out for what interests you most, and if something changes, I will get out the word. There it is, the Juicy Picks for the next couple weeks. Party on. See you on the dance floor.

Jim ‘Juicy Fruit’ Hauck
Check out my Blog… The Juice Box
San Francisco, California
USA

PS – if you want off this distribution, just let me know.

SATURDAY – SEPTEMBER 20 – 10PM to Late
Industry – Mighty at 119 Utah
Tickets - $15 advance at Body on Castro or $25 at the door.
DJs Pagano and Luke Johnstone

This Industry is the kick off to Folsom Week with two amazing DJ talents. Luke Johnstone who is a great DJ and producer will certainly make the room come alive along with the sexy beats of DJ Pagano. Both of these guys have never let me down. Additionally, this is West Coast premiere of “Schwartzwald”, the movie you can dance to. Should be a fun crowd and a great party with a smattering of leather clad men, hot muscle, and fun party goers.

SUNDAY – SEPTEMBER 21 – 11PM to 3AM
Industry – Club Eight at 1151 Folsom Street
Tickets - $10 at the door
DJ Frank Wild

While this event is a little late for me on a school night (Sunday), it does offer a great DJ talent in Frank Wild, in a rather intimate setting. Fresh back from touring Germany and doing Folsom Berlin, I would expect Frank will keep the energy going from Fresh at this club for the evening. Check it out if you can stay up late and keep the energy going.

FRIDAY – SEPTEMBER 26 – 9PM to Late
Bearracuda Magnum – DNA Lounge, 375 Eleventh with DJ Pete Savas
Tickets - $10 in advance at DNA Lounge Web Site
Tag Team set with DJ Pete Savas and DJ Ted Eiel

This is round two for the Bearracuda folks with Magnum at DNA Lounge. As mentioned in other reviews, this is my favorite space for small venue with flagging and dancing space. I love it. And what could be better than two great DJ’s, Pete Savas and Ted Eiel, doing a tag team set on the decks that night. I hope to get a good dose of good chunky house music with a shot of lyrics to make it all go down. Ok, and there is possibly one better thing about this event, in the fact that the poster child for this event is my best friend (yes – just go check it out kids and you will know who it is).

SATURDAY – SEPTEMBER 27 – 10PM to 4AM
Magnitude –The Regency Center – 1290 Sutter St. (At Van Ness)
Tickets - $65 on line, $80 Retail and $100 at the door (if available) (See Magnitude Website for Ticket Details)
DJ Paul Goodyear

Magnitude is a premier dance event in San Francisco for the Leather Weekend, and certainly the place to be seen prior to the Sunday Street Fair. DJ Paul Goodyear has always thrown down great sets of music, perfectly fitting the event. Paul can range from handbags, to fluff, to deep sexy grooves, and always has an appealing set as far as I am concerned. This is a high leather gear party, while not required, gear, fetish wear, and leather is encouraged. This will be a sexy and dark party with an array of hot guys, bears, leather clad studs, and muscle galore. The venue is new to me for the dance scene, having only been there for a couple other events, so that part is yet to be seen. However, if you want the Saturday night ticket for Folsom Weekend, and you are not too busy at some “private” party, be sure to get your tickets early and get to Magnitude.

SUNDAY – SEPTEMBER 28 – Noon to 6PM
The Folsom Street Fair– Folsom Street from 10^th to 7^th

Tickets – Suggested donation collected at gate

While not likely I will make it out to much, if any, of the street fair, this is an event not to be missed. The fair runs from 10^th to 7^th along Folsom Street with vendors, drinking, dancing and entertainment, oh and then there is the crowd of hot leather clad folks. Check it out – this is the main attraction of the weekend. Weather looks to be good, so dress in layers to reveal some skin through the sun of the day. One of my favorite things to do at this street fair is to just hang out with friends along Dore Alley next to the Power House bar and watch the crowd pass by. The endless parade of people is really the best part of the event, and you never know what you might see (or what you did not want to see – as is often the case). However, save some energy, because when the sun goes down, there is one more event I want you to go to.

SUNDAY – SEPTEMBER 28 – 7PM to 4AM
Real Bad– Club 1015 – 1015 Folsom Street
Tickets – See the Web Site
DJ Tim Jones

I should preface this statement with a clear disclaimer. I am part of the production team for this event and JuicyFruitJim.com is also a proud sponsor of Real Bad XX. So with that said, this is a great party. I attended this once as a spectator and quickly found myself on the host list and participating in the production of the party. This party has a lot to offer including flagging stage, a great club space, and an amazing chill out area in “The Vault” with DJ Beatdaddy, lights, cryo blasts, and more. Come check out this community fundraiser and dance. Tickets are most easy to come by if you know a host, if not ask your friends, check Craig’s list, or be one of the few at the door to pick up one of the very limited tickets at the door.

So, there you have it – a slice of the fruit – a drink of nectar – JuicyFruit’s top picks for Folsom Week 2008. Coming up in the next release, Castro Street Fair Weekend, Love Parade, Burning Man Decompression, and Remember the Party – remember I said this is the party season in San Francisco.

See you on the dance floor.

Jim ‘Juicy Fruit’ Hauck
Check out my Blog… The Juice Box
San Francisco, California
USA

FRIDAY – AUGUST 29
Bearracuda Magnum – DNA Lounge – 2.5 Bottles of Water

DNA is certainly one of my favorite club spots in San Francisco. I miss the old events like Thump Radio and others. Matt and the boys from Bearracuda took the space for the larger celebration of the party held at Deco lounge, offering two dance floors and access to most of the club. Overall, production value was small, and the crowd was light, but it was still good to see several friends like Justin and James and many others show up late in the evening to get in a little bit of Friday dance time. The main floor rarely picked up to much of a crowd until later in the evening, and sadly DJ Pete Savas (a personal favorite) did not seem to find a groove that worked for everyone and got the boys dancing. It seemed that most of the dancing was happening upstairs with Boyshapedbox. Thankfully there were other opportunities to hear Pete spin his magic later in the weekend. I applaud the guys for giving this first run of a larger scale Bearracuda a run at a large club. While they can’t get all of the aesthetic of the small venue they usually use, the attempt was worthy. Thanks for setting a space for flaggers and fanners too, that always gives more points in my book.

SATURDAY – AUGUST 30
Fireball at Industry – Mighty – 3.5 Bottles of Water

Luke and team pulled of another great party at another of my favorite, quirky little dance spaces in San Francisco. The evening started off a little slow and Marcus and James and I were wondering about the crowd. It was great to see Randy and D working the VIP room and with big smiles on their faces. The crowd slowly came in as the evening moved forward. As they arrived they were greeted to a rather hard, very edgy sound from DJ Luis Yanguas. There were times I was convinced the music track was just another remix of “Shoes and Silverware in the Dryer”, but he would pull something different out and catch my attention. As the evening drew on his music improved and overall I would give him thumbs up and would like to hear him a few more times. Jamie took over the decks later in the evening and kept us all dancing until the small hours of the morning.

SUNDAY – AUGUST 31
Twisted – Club 1015 – 4.0 Bottles of Water

This was the new kid on the block and when my crew (Marcus and James and I) arrived around 11:30, the line was snaking around the corner of the club, a very good sign. Clearly the guys thought this was the party to make it to. Billed as 3 dance floors, 9 DJ’s and One Twisted Night, I would say it delivered. We hit the main dance floor right away and saw many familiar faces, and within a few hours had created our old corner of the 1015 dance space. There where one or two hitches in Chad Jack’s performance, Manny delivered a rather strong set and Paulo did not disappoint. The guys were hot, frisky, and up for a party. The club was packed and other than a nice could chill out moments with Dan and Justin down stairs, we never left the main room, and in fact the club was packed until this weary dancer finally decided to go home at 5AM. Now, I have to say to rather disappointing things. First, there was a flagging stage, but there was no black light, all this despite offering to give the black light to the event several times. I know this really disappointed the flaggers, and I am sad to have had this happen. Additionally, I am not sure what the lighting guy was up to, but I am over the strobes – they were used far too much. 1015 is a gem of a night club in San Francisco, with so much to offer, and it is sad that the main room has been getting less attention than the smaller rooms. It is time for some new lighting and improvements in the main dance space. Overall, there is a huge buzz coming off this event and I hope the promoters find themselves running with that energy and infusing it into more events. San Francisco is clearly ready to step up the game!

Great weekend out in San Francisco, that is for sure, and it was great seeing all the guys – Marcus and James (my cohorts in crime for the weekend), Dan, Randy/Scorpio, D, Randy, John, Eric, Justin, Nathan, Dave & Daniel and crew, Alex, and so many others. The crowds were some of the most fun I have seen out, and I hope this is a growing trend. Let’s have more fun and silliness on the dance floor again.

Until we meet again under the dance floor lights, Peace.

Jim ‘Juicy Fruit’ Hauck
Check out my Blog… The Juice Box
San Francisco, California
USA

Just over a week away, Labor Day Weekend is the unofficial end to the summer season in most of the United State, but in San Francisco it seems to kick off a high season of parties and events that end sometime around Halloween. First and foremost, Labor Day Weekend is the start of the Harrison Street Fair , a bear centric event filled with parties, pub events, and so much more. So if you are like me, and have decided to skip the playa for Burning Man this year, then you will have plenty to entertain you in San Francisco for the weekend. With that, I am presenting JuicyFruit’s Labor Day holiday weekend party choices – a slice of the fruits of a fantastic weekend in the making and where I intend to indulge myself on the sweet party nectar.

FRIDAY – AUGUST 29 – 9PM to Late
Bearracuda Magnum – DNA Lounge, 375 Eleventh with DJ Pete Savas
Tickets - $10 in advance at DNA Lounge Web Site
Main Floor with DJ Pete Savas, Upstairs Floor with DJ’s Rotten Robbie and Boyshapedbox

While I am not a big one to head out on Friday for more than a beer or some time with my friends, of to just sit at home and catch up on movies, I have to say that Bearracuda Magnum has my attention for the weekend kick off. Matt and the Bearracuda crew are starting their 3rd year of great parties for bears, cubs and other wildlife, by kicking out the stops to bring their BIGGEST event ever! The party will have everything Bearracuda is famous for, but on a larger scale, with the big lights, big sound, big dance floor, big stage, for a great price, all at the wonderful DNA Lounge. This is one of my favorite party venues in the city, with just enough room for around a thousand of your close friends to party, a great sound system, a great balcony to look down on the dance floor, and of course a stage for flagging and poi spinning (yes – black light will be provided). I am also excited by the DJ choices, with Pete Savas of Real Bad fame playing on the main floor. Pete has created some great podcasts available through iTunes or via his web site, and yours truly is particularly honored in the fact that his set “They Eyes of God” was inspired by flaggers he saw at a PLAY T-Dance a couple years ago and the actual artwork for the set is from a set of flags I created and gifted to Pete called “The Eyes of God”. Also, Rotten Robbie threw down some great music for Lazy Bear this weekend, and always amazes the crowd with his selections. I am sure Pete, Robbie and Boyshapedbox will rock the place, upstairs and down.

SATURDAY – AUGUST 30 – 10PM to Late
Fireball at Industry – Mighty at 119 Utah
Tickets - $15 advance at Body on Castro
DJs Jaime J Sanchez and Luis Yanguas

While this event is not flagger friendly, it is at another of my favorite dance spaces and run by one of my favorite producers in San Francisco. Mighty is a great little club; with plenty of room, an amazing sounds system, and Industry at Mighty is always a great party. DJ Jaime J. Sanchez is very well known in the San Francisco club scene and should not disappoint. The newcomer for me is Luis Yanguas, and I am excited at the prospects of hearing him play, and you can check out his web site to get a taste of what he has to offer for music. Fireball should be a great evening, filled with a hot and sexy crowd, looking to get their grove on.

SUNDAY – AUGUST 31 – 10PM to 7AM (Monday)
Twisted – Club 1015 – 1015 Folsom Street
Tickets - $30 on Circuit Ticket

DJ Line-up includes – Manny Lehman, Paulo, Chad Jack, Hawthorne, Pete Avila, Foxxy Brown, Sean Greene, Jeff Johnson, and Pam Hubbuck.

DJ Hawthorne of Ghetto Disco fame from the End Up is throwing a great party at Club 1015 and bills the event with the headline – “9 DJ’s – 3 Floors – One Twisted Night”. How can you not like that? This is the new event of the weekend, and certainly the event I plan to check out, with Club 1015 being one of my all time favorite dance spaces. Flaggers and poi spinners will be thrilled to have access to the main stage in the main dance room, but you have to really check out all of the spaces in this club to get a sense of the variety this club offers. This is of course also the home of Real Bad XX, so think of it as a chance to get into a great dance space and enjoy everything it has to offer before the closing event on Folsom Street Weekend. This is certainly the party I am looking forward to, just to see what will be done with the space here, to hear the great talent, and to share time with close friends until the small hours of the morning (or after the sunrises on Monday).

So, there you have it – a slice of the fruit – a drink of nectar – JuicyFruit’s top picks for Labor Day Weekend 2008. See you on the dance floor.

Jim ‘Juicy Fruit’ Hauck
Check out my Blog… The Juice Box
San Francisco, California
USA

The Opening Ceremonies of the XXIX Olympics in Beijing kicked off the weekend in grand style. Friends came over and in a fun cliché we ordered Chinese food and drank Chinese beer (and vodka) while watching the amazing opening ceremonies. The precision and style of the drummers, dancers, aerial acts and all was just amazing. I certainly think London has the work cut out for it in trying to top the spectacle from Beijing.

Saturday morning was busy with a whale and wildlife watching trip out to the Farallon Islands. It was a memorable day, but sadly John did not take to his sea legs well. The fog did not dampen our spirits however and a good time was had by all (well maybe except John). Enough energy was saved for Saturday night.

Saturday was another great party in San Francisco. Adonis, moved back to Space 550 on Barneveld was pumping when we got there about 11:30. The music was pretty good and DJ Lee Decker (whom I have never heard before) was putting a pretty good mix on. DJ Phil B took over from Lee, but it was not a typical high energy set from Phil, it almost seemed like filler music, and not very fulfilling for the evening. However the night was not a loss, the flagging stage was packed with old and new friends, seasoned and fresh talent, and it was nice to see some of the flaggers out that I have not see in a while. We also had a nice time to celebrate D’s birthday too (looks much younger than he says he is). This party was also sporting a very young crowd, who appeared very new to my eyes. Obviously the new party events that Gus is throwing at the bars are starting to drive traffic to the larger events. Overall, per the Wauters’ rating system, I give this event 3 out of 5 bottles of water.

Sunday was Matinee at Temple. I still like this space, and even more so now that the party tends to be down in the catacombs. The low ceilings used to bug me, but I me, but I am getting used to it. I also find the lighting at the front end hits you in the eyes regularly, but you can dance facing the other direction. The crowd was small early on, but soon picked up. The music was a tag team effort from DJ David Knapp and DJ Luke Johnstone, and they were laying down a nice blend of sounds with some soulful start through some great remixes with Peyton and the Freemasons. In the other room DJ Byron was spinning some additional great hits and dance tunes, making a fun evening of wondering between the two spaces. Luke works very hard producing great events in San Francisco, brining in new and not overly heard talent to the city. I applaud his efforts and hope all of you can find time when around to hit one of his great events. Overall, I would give this party 3.3 out of 5 bottles of water.

Until next time, see you under the lights on the dance floor.