Celebrating love in the City
By Brittany Benjamin
After second-hand marijuana smoke inhalation, countless naked men and blaring basses, it's going to take a full year for noses, eyes and ears to recover from LoveFest 2007. Not that anybody is complaining.
Thousands of people of all ages -- including many Santa Clara students who traveled together on the 10 a.m. Caltrain-- gathered in the streets of San Francisco on Saturday for the parade that celebrated crazy clothing, techno music and, of course, love.
About two dozen floats were covered with sound mixers, DJs and outrageously dressed dancers.
"LoveFest is a portrayal of how great San Francisco can be," said sophomore Jaya Pareek, who experienced the parade for the first time. "You can wear really ridiculous clothing and dance like no one is watching. It's so carefree and nonjudgmental."
While the parade started on the corner of 2nd and Market streets and culminated in Civic Center, the party lasted into the wee hours of the morning, with the official after party taking place at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium from 9 p.m. until 4 a.m.
"The best part was when everyone congregated in front of City Hall," said sophomore Lauren Adamson, who had previously attended LoveFest. Last year, Adamson didn't follow the parade to Civic Center and missed the festivities inside.
"It's ironic that a bunch of people are celebrating love in front of a place that is usually considered serious and political. It's something that could only happen in San Francisco," Adamson said.
The LoveFest parade brings out the best of San Francisco, including its many bizarre characters. It's common to see scantily dressed women, men on stilts and cross-dressers, all while listening to different raging mixed beats and variations of rave and techno music.
While this may be a turn-off to some people, many Santa Clara students find the craziness appealing.
"LoveFest is like if all of SCU partied together on one day for one giant day party," said Pareek. "You just have a great time."
Contact Brittany Benjamin at (408) 551-1918 or brbenjamin@scu.edu.