Off Sunset Festival

Off Sunset Festival logo

Off Sunset Festival
Frequency	Annual
Location(s)	Silver Lake, Los Angeles, United States of America
Inaugurated	2013 (2013)
Website	www.offsunsetfestival.com

Image of Off Sunset Festival crowd, taken on April 27, 2025

Stage at Off Sunset Festival 2025

Off Sunset Festival is an annual kink, leather subculture, and alternative sexuality street fair in Los Angeles, California. The event has historically served as the conclusion to "Los Angeles Leather Pride" in March, ^[1] but beginning in 2025, has been moved to late April in favor of milder weather. The event, sometimes referred to simply as "Off Sunset", takes place on Santa Monica Boulevard in Silver Lake, just "off" Sunset Boulevard. ^[2] The event is considered by some to be the spiritual successor to the Sunset Junction Street Fair, which was last held in 2010. ^[3]

The Off Sunset Festival Community Grant Program rewards select local non-profit organizations that offer community services and beneficial programs in Silver Lake and surrounding areas. ^[4] As of 2025, the program has donated more than $25,000 to such groups, including Los Angeles Rebellion, Silverlake Conservatory of Music and TransCanWork. ^[5]

History

2025 Off Sunset Festival held next to an Erewhon Market location, contrasting the longstanding LGBT+ community with recent gentrification.

In response to gentrification and the closure of several local gay bars in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, Off Sunset Festival was launched in 2013 to celebrate the neighborhood's rich LGBT+ history. ^[6] One of the event planners, Hunter Fox, has noted that "From the neighborhood-uniting mission that inspired Sunset Junction to the Black Cat being declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, we have seen much strife turn to progress in our community. We want this to be a celebration of who we are, where we live and how far we’ve all come together." ^[7]

The event is held in collaboration with local leather bar Eagle LA. ^[8]

See also

• Folsom Street Fair
• Sunset Junction Street Fair

References

1. "LA 'gears up' for Off Sunset Fest to cap off Leather Pride". Bear World Magazine. March 23, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
2. "Building Community". The Fight. April 1, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
3. Falling James (March 28, 2019). "GoLA Pick: Off Sunset Festival". LA Weekly . Retrieved April 3, 2025.
4. "LA Leather Pride to Culminate with 10th Annual Off Sunset Festival". Bear World Magazine. March 20, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
5. Homer Marrs (April 24, 2025). "Kink, Drink, Music, Community: Off Sunset Returns to L.A. Sunday". Bear World Magazine. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
6. Mark Ariel (June 3, 2014). "Off Sunset Festival". The Fight. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
7. "Off Sunset Festival" . Retrieved April 3, 2025.
8. "Building Community". The Fight. April 1, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.