Thousands turn out for Folsom St. fest

Downpours of rain occasionally alternated with bright, even blazing sunshine, but that didn’t keep away the thousands from Sunday’s Folsom Street East celebration of leather, rubber, S/M, and kink on the strip of West 28th Street from 10th to 11th Aves. What proved new this year were an emcee and a closing musical act who both were nationally known — porn impresario Chi Chi LaRue, above, manned the stage throughout the show spanning hours and rocker Bob Mould came out at about 5:30 for a long and well-received musical set. One of LaRue’s treats for the audience was an elaborate performance of perhaps-simulated sex among a group of muscled leather dudes carefully obscured, in deference to New York City law, by a shower curtain held up at both ends of the stage. The roughhousing behind the curtain certainly was convincing, even entrancing — and throughout the 20-minute piece, as it were, a giant dildo molded in the shape of the Empire State Building was periodically raised and lowered behind the curtain.