About How Weird

San Francisco’s festival season begins on May 4th with How Weird!

How Weird’s theme for 2014 is “How Weird in Outer Space!”, a chance to look at our world in a new way, and take a journey to a place of creativity and peace and weirdness. There will be galactic-class music and art, performances, vendors from across the planet, and thousands of people in colorful costumes dancing in the streets. It will be a cosmic spectacle unlike anything you’ve experienced before. Join us as we travel through the cosmos, expanding our perspective to the universal scale.

The How Weird Street Faire is centered at Howard and 2nd Streets, in the heart of the SoMa district of San Francisco. Like the faire itself, the area around the faire has grown into the art and technology hub of the city. The main entrance is at Howard and New Montgomery Streets, a short walk to MUNI, BART, the Transbay Terminal, and Caltrain Station. For those arriving from above, the coordinates are 37°47’12.4″ N, 122°23’53.7″ W.

Explore the furtile breeding ground for unexpected inspiration and cutting-edge innovation. Be creative at the expanding Art Alley, a vortex of varied expressions. Make new connections, and reconnect with old ones. And most importantly, have fun.

How Weird is open to all ages, is handicapped accessible, and alien-friendly. Unique vendors will offer creative goods for sale, including designer clothing, jewelry, art, decorations, games, and more. And there will be plenty of tasty food and drinks. This year will also feature local arts and crafts vending on Art Alley. How Weird transforms the city streets into something new and exciting, a space for personal transformation and collective growth.

What kind of place is How Weird?

A different place, a unique place, a fun place. A place where weird is normal, and creativity is valued over everything else. A place where relationships are formed, ideas are sparked, and happiness is had. How Weird is a demonstration of what is possible.

The How Weird Street Faire showcases the full spectrum of electronic dance music styles, using advanced sound technology to fill the streets of San Francisco with the vibrations of peace and the frequencies of fun. There will be 10 stages of celestial music and art, produced by some of the best sound collectives on Earth. How Weird 2014 will feature dance music stages by Enchanted Forest, Muti Music, Symbiosis Gathering, Northern Nights, Underground Nomads, Hookahdome, Opel, Opulent Temple, Urge Productions, Pink Mammoth, SF House Music, Temple Nightclub, Space Monkeys, Pulse SF, Global Village, Party Babas, Red Marines Festival, Happy Camp, The Boomtown Revue, Think You Can DJ Game Show, SomaFM, and more.

This year, How Weird introduces the Cosmic Dance Stage, featuring dancers of every kind from every place, showcasing the diversity of terrestrial bodies in motion. There will be free dance lessons throughout the day, and a special National Dance Week flash mob that you can participate in. The Cosmic Dance Stage will be next to the center intersection.

Dance is a highly respected art form, a powerful therapeutic tool, a great form of exercise, and a lot of fun. Traditionally, dance has been one of the primary expressions of human culture, used for communication, community building, healing, and religious ceremonies throughout the world. Preceding the spoken and written word, dance transcends barriers and differences. Everything that exists is in a complex dance of energy and vibrations, continuously moving and evolving. Dance is perhaps the best way of describing and understanding life, the cosmos, and ourselves.

Art has a way of reaching the farthest places. This year, How Weird will expand Art Alley and move it to Tehama Street. Come create at the new location, and enjoy the live and exhibited artwork and interactive Art Alley mural. Art Alley is curated by ArtIsMobilUs, a non-profit mobile public art gallery and roving arts incubator bringing art to lifeforms everywhere.

The center of the faire, at the center of the intersection of Howard and 2nd Streets, will be a special space mandala by Earth Peace Mandala. The mandala will be an interactive art piece, that you can help create. Come early to participate!

There is a $10 requested donation at the entrances to the faire, which includes a Magic Sticker. The Magic Stickers are worth hundreds of dollars in savings, and come with many free things. There will be discounts and specials at all of the vendors at the faire, and all of the faire bars. The Magic Stickers are how people can support the faire, while getting something back in return.

There will be 2 foodcourts at the How Weird Street Faire this year. You’ll find tasty food and beverages there, to sustain you during our trip through outer space. Save money with the Magic Sticker!

MOS EISLEY FOODCOURT

The Mos Eisley Foodcourt will be on Howard Street, between 2nd and New Montgomery. There will be a Cantina Bar and several Cantina Cafes. Come and enjoy your fine food, near the main entrance to the faire. Be entertained by dancers from around the world on The Cosmic Dance Stage, next to the center intersection.

FOODCOURT AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE

The Foodcourt at the End of the Universe will be on Howard Street by 1st Street. There will be several food trucks offering a wide range of options. Enjoy the epic scenery, and the galactic-class music and dancing of Uranus (the Super Stage of Bass) and Terminal 540. And don’t worry, no matter how many times you go there, you will never have the awkward experience of running into another you.

Costumes are required at How Weird. Come as yourself. Come as someone else. Come as something weird. Be the you you’ve always wanted to be. Space-related costumes are big this year.

Being weird leads to discoveries and seeing things differently, exploring new places and new ideas, boldly going where no one has gone before. How Weird embarks on a journey to outer space and inner space, taking the participants to other worlds and other points of view. How Weird is a space where each individual’s perspective is accepted, where diversity and uniqueness are appreciated, and where creativity is celebrated and valued. How Weird is also where similarities and common interests are discovered, and where layers of interconnections are formed.

Travelling to outer space can lead to a global consciousness and a greater understanding of ourselves. Travel writer Jodi Ettenberg wrote that, “Stepping outside of your own world (literally or figuratively) can lead to this sense of thankfulness and oneness, an emotional surge of compassion for just about everything.” This idea has been demonstrated by the astronauts who have left this planet and looked back on the Earth, referred to as the Overview Effect. Becoming aware of the fragile state of our planet, and its place in the cosmos, is necessary for us to become better stewards of this beautiful spaceship we call home. But you don’t have to leave the planet to experience “another world”, you can simply walk through the How Weird Street Faire, or better yet, dance your way through.

The How Weird Street Faire is a project of the non-profit World Peace Through Technology Organization, which aims to inspire peace through music and art. The How Weird Street Faire shows that in spite of our differences, we all dance to the same beat.

 

EVENT DETAILS:
The 15th annual How Weird Street Faire
“HOW WEIRD IN OUTER SPACE”
Sunday May 4, 2014 from Noon to 8pm
Centered at Howard and 2nd Streets, San Francisco, Earth
Main entrance at Howard and New Montgomery Streets
$10 requested donation (includes a Magic Sticker)
Use the hashtag #hwsf to talk about the How Weird Street Faire.
More info at HowWeird.org

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