Dr. Motte, a German DJ who held a free, mobile acid-house party in the street, hosted the first Love Parade in Berlin, Germany. His celebration focused on love, freedom, and techno.

Love Parade originated in Berlin, Germany, where in July the city turns into a global go-to place for techno music. The festival is legally registered as a political demonstration that represents “peace, joy, and pancakes.” The first Love Parade took place in 1989, and it continues today as a German tradition.

LovEvolution is now America’s biggest music and dance festival. San Francisco has welcomed the love for the past six years. The festival is meant to celebrate tolerance, respect, peace, justice, evolution, and love. It is also a nonprofit fundraiser.

Attendees are encouraged to dance along with the floats and join in the celebration. This is not a festival for those who like to sit on the sidelines and just watch.

This is the first year a $10 entrance fee was charged. An optional $10 donation has always been recommended, but in order to keep up with the growth of the festival the fee has become mandatory.

The money will go toward providing better safety measures including traffic, police, and medical services. Organizers will also use the money to help pay city fees required to produce the event. Furthermore, the money will support Bay Area charities including Friends of the Main Library, Next Aid, The Center for Sex and Culture, Bay Area Young Positives, Burners Without Borders, Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity, and others.

Those who can’t spring the mandatory $10 donation can volunteer for the event and get in free. The event is all ages, and children under 12 can get in free.

For those who want to continue spreading the Love, the day of Love Fest has countless after-parties including the official after-party at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

Girls covered their nipples with feathers and stickers and flaunted body paint to cover the rest. College sweatshirts were also a hit for those who wanted to cover up. Creepy older men walked around—some asking, some not—to take pictures of people. On top of a peace-themed float, one couple was making their own love and weren’t discreet about it.

People from all over the world came to the annual LovEvolution to rave, spread the love, and support the causes—from peace to partying to promotion—represented by the various floats.

The parade started off at Second and Market Streets at noon. It headed down Market Street, ending at the Civic Center where attendees paid the $10 donation required to follow the floats into the center.

Partygoers danced their way from float to float, stopping at the food concession stands. This year’s event boasted a new electronic stage, which hosted performers 3L3Tronic, KJ Sawka, Star Culture, LA Riots, Kenji Williams, and The Mutaytor.

The floats were a spectacle to see, some of their creators included Jewels of Fire, Tantra, The 6th Element, Local Love, Mighty Pink Mammoths, Temple of Boom, The GreenHOUSE effect, HOMOCHIC, The Red Light District, and Solid Gold Jacuzzi. Each of the floats blared music and boasted dancers dressed to match the theme of the float.

Just walking through the festival is an experience that ought not to be missed. The array of crazy, barely-there costumes and the swarms of people they barely covered was fascinating.

Alcohol, weed, ecstasy, acid, and whatever else you felt like ingesting flowed freely. Many people who normally don’t engage in drug use said they chose to do drugs at LovEvolution as a special occasion. One man was walking around with a sign on his chest that read: “I want to buy e.”

The swarms of people made it almost impossible to run into friends you might have known there. You could have known 100 people at the festival, spent the whole day walking around the Civic Center, and not have seen a single familiar face.

For good reason, the festival ended at 8 p.m. The warm and sunny day had turned into a cold, windy night. The streets were completely trashed. Broken cups, food containers, and glass blew into your calves as you walked out.

The line for the official after-party was a hundred people strong and just getting started. Public buses were a godsend, since an open taxi was rarer than a sober LovEvolution attendee.