Love Is In The Air Along S.F.’s Market Street

Thousands of people dressed in neon wigs, sparkly butterfly wings, tutus – or occasionally nothing at all – and danced, hula hooped and hugged their way down San Francisco’s Market Street on Saturday for the city’s sixth annual celebration of love.

Based on Berlin’s Love Parade, San Francisco’s LoveFest was renamed this year to LovEvolution to avoid legal action from the promoters of the Love Festival in Los Angeles who had trademarked their name. But potential lawsuits – or the dire economy or the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – didn’t appear to be on anybody’s mind.

“It’s people coming together, having fun, dancing their asses off and just forgetting the world’s troubles for a day,” said Sterling Alexander, who danced wearing silver devil horns affixed to his bald head and red, feathery wings.

Also celebrating were several people dressed as hot dogs, a man in a furry pink outfit walking on stilts, a girl giving out free hugs and bare-chested men offering free kisses.

The event shut down Market Street between Second Street and Civic Center and was expected to draw 10,000 revelers. Shoppers and tourists on the busy thoroughfare looked downright perplexed, several stopped to ask what the 20-plus floats blaring electronic music as scantily clad people gyrated on them were all about. The naked man covered in gold body paint and carrying a red bow and arrow proved particularly worthy of double-takes.

Megan Lehrer, 18, and her friends had traveled from Discovery Bay for the event and looked like extras from the movie “Flashdance” in headbands and ripped T-shirts.

“It’s cracking – it’s fun!” she said. “It’s about peace and love.”