Some thoughts on preparing for Folsom:

Many years it is very hot, with several cases of heat stroke and nearly universal sunburn. Wear sunscreen and hat, and bring lots of water, or plan to wait in long lines for beverages. One year in ten might have some rain. Check the forecast.

You'll be standing all day on hot asphalt. Very little seating is available, except in the Janus members-only booth. Expect your feet to safeword. Some people use insoles.

You'll be tightly packed among exuberant people, most of whom are wearing boots, so open-toe footwear is vulnerable. Likewise, toward the end of the day there's a lot of slop underfoot. We wear boots. Some people carry after-fair slippers.

You'll be walking on irregular asphalt, but sometimes unable to see the ground, so if you wear stilettos, you may want a strong steady arm to rely on.

For clothes, once you're inside the Fair, anything goes: leather, gear, drag, fetish, uniform, animal garb, full nudity, etc. There are lots of people in drab too.

People sometimes carry lightweight comfy shoes and a warmup for after fair. It typically gets chilly and windy about 5 pm.

Scening is permitted and fairly common. Several booths provide charity scenes, and vendors allow trying their wares. I've done a raw, intense street scene with cops watching, without a problem. During a scene: avoid blocking traffic (we were on a side street), make sure it looks consensual, and don't endanger passersby.

Expect a very wide range of sexualities, orientations, and fetishes. There is always a huge gay male presence, both leather and not.

The crowd is 300,000+, so it's hard to meet up with people, and slow to get anywhere. Make some arrangement how to rejoin your group if you get separated. Ninth and Folsom is the mid-point, but still much too big. Specify e.g. "the north-east corner, at the curb". Also, it takes a long time to walk one block during the fair; allocate 40-60 minutes to go end-to-end. During the peak, it may be faster to detour via a parallel street -- Howard or Harrison.

Parking is challenging, less so before 11 am and after 4:30. Driving is unbearably slow near the fair, due to diverted traffic. Plan to walk some distance. Public transit is crowded too, but often fun.

Buy your transit ticket in advance. I've waited over 20 minutes at the bart ticket machine on Folsom Sunday. Buy round-trip, and know your route in advance. If you can avoid changing trains, you'll have less sardine game.

There is usually a supervised bicycle parking area, perhaps near Ninth and Harrison.

Early in the day is usually better, since there are fewer tourists, smaller crowds, and less heat. The last hour can be nice too, although everyone is tired, and many are drunk.

If you're thinking of patronizing the bootblack station, by a ticket early. Normally they honor the lowest ticket number first. So if you come back later in the day, you're probably next in line.

Closing time (6 pm) is taken very seriously. A vendor who sells after 6 can be banned from future years. If you're still choosing color, buy the thing at 5:58, then decide which one to take afterward. I.e. no money changes hands after 6pm, or the vendor is banned. Some booths are required to close earlier (even by 5 pm), due to their location. The police start enforcing vanilla laws at 6, so stop scening and cover up. Also, the city street sweepers and homeless scavengers descend, so leave the area unless you're helping dismantle a booth. Sober volunteer labor is always welcome.

Some booths, mainly on access streets, are required to close before 6pm. Inquire. Get your important things done early.

FSF now attracts lots of non-players, as well as thousands of players of all types and orientations. Many of the tourists are genuinely curious, but some are just gawkers.

There are lots of cameras, both still and motion, at FSF. Many people will ask permission before photographing, some will not. Almost everyone ends up in the background of somebody's happy snaps, and some of these are posted on the web, or even in "girls gone wild" type commercial videos. Therefore, some people alter their appearance, to give plausible deniability: "Gosh, that photo does look a bit like me." Typical alterations include sunglasses, hats, wigs, face paint, and face bondage (e.g. pony bridles). Avoid wearing your vanilla-life garb at FSF. The amount of camera attention you get depends on the outrageousness of your look. Among a quarter million exhibitionists, it's not hard to fade into the background if you wish.

Portable toilets are provided on side streets, but usually have a long line. Some guys go in two at a time.

Bring money or credit cards; there's a lot of interesting toys and clothes. Most vendors are either crafters/manufacturers or storefronts (web and/or brick retailers). The booths of storefronts typically sell the same stuff at the same prices as usual. The makers often sell a broader range of things, for about 2/3 of retail, and they often pay the sales tax themselves. If haggling is your fetish, try it the last half hour with vendors who have a long trip home.

If you see something you like, and consider leaving it while comparison shopping, make sure it's not the last one. Things often sell out at FSF. And if you've never seen it before, don't expect to find it on the web later - carpe diem.

If you might be shopping, bring a sturdy bag, e.g. a zippable backpack. Smaller booths don't have bags, and plastic bags don't stand up to the jostling crowd.