St. Stupid's Day

Our trip to the Bay Area included April Fool's Day, which in San Francisco means that it's St. Stupid's Day.

Begun 30 years ago by the First Church of the Last Laugh and its Bishop Joey, St. Stupid's Day features an eponymous parade through the city's Financial District, with stops along the way at the Federal Reserve Bank, Wells Fargo HQ, Citibank, and other illustrious institutions.

Here's what St. Stupid looks like:


Marchers come in costumes of every type (from birthday suits -- not kidding! -- to business suits, and everything in between), many with signs and carrying out individual acts of street theater. One person was crossing out logos on signs with colored tape. Another was dotting the letter "i" on any sign that didn't already have a dot. One recurring chant was "No more chanting!"


The woman below was my favorite. Smiling and friendly, she accosted everyone insight, including many bankers as well as tourists like us, selling shares of Bear Stearns for $2.00.


And the Doggie Diner mobile was there, too, following along in all its absurdist glory. I'm only aware of it from the comic Zippy the Pinhead, so it was pretty strange to see it in person!