The beat will not go on for San Francisco’s raviest street fair of them all, as the How Weird Street Faire has announced it will not put on the event in 2025, nor any years in the future.

We thought there might be more to the story last May when How Weird Street Faire was abruptly “postponed” not even 48 hours before the street festival’s gates opened. Organizers blamed morning rains in the forecast, though that sure didn’t stop multiple other outdoor events scheduled that same day from taking place. But those same organizers pulled it together to reschedule the event for late September, indicating that maybe all was well.

All was not well. But SFGate broke the news Wednesday afternoon that the How Weird Street Faire was pulling the plug on the annual event, and that this past September’s 25th anniversary iteration would be its last ever.  

"Outwardly, the event this year appeared as a raging success, and in many ways it was with thousands of costumed revelers and no major incidents," How Weird Street Faire founder Brad Olsen said in a statement to SFGate. "But the risk of producing independent outdoor events like How Weird without sponsorship or grants is just too overwhelming. Thank you San Francisco, and all our How Weird patrons over the years. It was a fantastic time. We are sure the music will play on.”

“COVID was really the beginning of the end,” Olsen added in a follow-up interview with the Chronicle published today. “The cost of production after the pandemic… it was like everything doubled."

Olsen is absolutely correct that the fair and festival circuit is facing serious economic headwinds. Just this year, we’ve seen the cancellation of 4/20 on Hippie Hill, Oakland’s popular Hiero Day festival, and Mendocino County’s Sierra Nevada World Music Festival. Heck, even Burning Man, the traditionally well-moneyed bonanza that is somewhat the inspiration for How Weird Street Faire, is hurting financially at the moment.  

How Weird organizers say they hope some other production company will take over the increasingly costly management of this event, and keep it going. But considering SF City Hall’s ongoing efforts to boost events downtown, one wonders if officials should be putting more efforts into helping the struggling but established events with solid track records, rather than focusing solely on new, unproven events.  

Related: Saturday’s How Weird Street Faire Abruptly ‘Postponed,’ Not Even 48 Hours Before the Event [SFist]

Image: How Weird Street Faire via Facebook