On April Fool’s Day, a San Francisco tradition, the 45th Annual St. Stupid’s Day Parade, has finally returned to let attendees celebrate stupidity and just letting go.
This is the first time the parade has happened since 2019, due to the pandemic.
The parade started at the Transamerica Building at noon and then headed up Columbus Street to Washington Square Park. The public was invited to participate and act as silly as they wanted. They were also encouraged to bring pennies, to toss at the Banker’s Heart sculpture, and socks for the traditional sock exchange.
Ed Holmes, the parade’s founder and head of the so-called Church of the Last Laugh, said many were confused at first but ended up enjoying the event.
“A lot of bewilderment. Tourists going, ‘Hey, WTF, what is going on?’ But then, you see these smiles break out from the sheer silliness of people’s costumes and the signs, the noise, the parade, the color, and people just light up,” he said.
Holmes originally founded the parade in 1979 to mock people over-concerned with material wealth, according to The San Francisco Standard. The parade - centered around the fictitious “patron saint of parking meters” St. Stupid - has grown and developed its own traditions over the years.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
