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Here are the retro 90s flyer made by Terbo Ted,
along with the voice message he did for the How Weird World Faire info line.

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Here is the talk by Emperor Norton I on the history of eccentric people in San Francisco.

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You can support How Weird by donating on PayPal
https://paypal.me/wptto

Donations go through the 501(c)3 nonprofit World Peace Through Technology Organization (WPTTO), which produces How Weird. Donations are tax deductible. Thank you very much for your support!

We are also raising funds for every performer, artist, DJ, and speaker. Everybody involved with the How Weird World Faire is suffering right now because of the quarantine. There will be a way to donate directly to each person on the screen. Please donate to the artists during these difficult times.

And we are supporting two charities that are in need of urgent funds! Both have had a long relationship with How Weird. One is the Haight Ashbury Food Program, feeding homeless and disadvantaged people in the center of San Francisco. The other is the Masks for D6 campaign by Supervisor Matt Haney and the nonprofit United Playaz, which is providing masks and protection to people in San Francisco’s District 6, where the How Weird Street Faire takes place. Please give what you can.

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Letter from How Weird

We thank you for participating and staying weird! This is by far the weirdest How Weird, and the craziest year we’ve ever seen. Not quite what we were expecting. We miss you.

We are inspired by the enormous outpouring of love and togetherness happening all over. This is the 21st year of How Weird, and we have overcome extreme obstacles to continue producing the faire each year. How Weird brings diverse people together, and enables communities to connect. That is needed now more than ever as we find ourselves in a position where we all need support. How Weird also brings diverse culture to people, sharing creativity for all to be inspired, which is also much needed now. So we figure, if you can’t come to us, then we will come to you. Or as much of it as we can manage.

Today is the first How Weird World Faire. It has not been easy pivoting to cyberspace. It is a process, which will evolve in ways we can’t imagine. This year the online faire is in 2-D, in the future we will go other places. This year the interaction is limited, in the future it will be more immersive. We will continue exploring ways to do events online, and will feature things throughout the year. This year features two streams of music, plus two streams of art, performances, speakers, marketplace demos, films, and surprises. Most of it is live, and it will all be recorded and available to see in the future.

We’re creating this new cyber dance culture in real time, just like back in the 1990s when we were creating dance culture in real time, from one gathering to the next. Like in the 90s, the world wide web is emerging as a central hub in the new culture. While this lockdown may be temporary, and large gatherings will eventually return, what we create together now will open new opportunities in the future. Global gatherings are becoming mainstream.

Most of the livestreams will be from Northern California, but there will also be streams from Los Angeles and Australia and the UK. It is a true global festival. The technology that makes this possible, the world wide web, was invented in the 1990s. This year’s theme is also the 1990s, a return to the source to the time the How Weird Street Faire was envisioned and the culture that created it came into being. The web played an important part in the evolution of dance culture, and the city of San Francisco. In the midst of a pandemic, How Weird finds itself moving to the web as a last resort for maintaining community and cutlture across great distances. Similar to what was happening on the web in the early days. While this year is very different than any in the 90s, or since, there are some surprising similarities. One thing is certain, this is a very weird year.

We hope the world faire provides some relief from the chaos around us, and the isolation we are faced with. We come into your homes or phones or TVs to enourage you to stay safe and keep this pandemic in check. Let How Weird be the excuse for not going to a crowded beach, even though they were just closed. Let How Weird be the excuse to dress up in a silly costume, and share pictures of it with your friends to bring smiles and reconnect. Let How Weird be an excuse to call friends you haven’t seen in awhile and remember a fun time at the faire, then pick a music channel and dance the day away. Let today be the day when you are encouraged to be weird, to be creative, to dress up in costumes, and to share your awesomeness with the world.

Happy How Weird Day!

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