Results tagged “halloween”

ABC 7 has this report about Halloween in SF, sans bridge traffic, and it turns out business was still strong at places like Rouge on Polk (which has $500 bottle service at the booths!) and Teatro ZinZanni, which both depend heavily on their East Bay following. The turnout in the Castro -- while still festively large with many gays doing their one night of drag for the year -- was not as huge and unruly as in previous years (one reveler in the video notes the lack of "riff-raff"), and there were plenty of cops on hand telling everyone to stay on the sidewalks.

              

Friday's Critical Mass was particularly colorful this month in celebration of Halloween. We saw the group go by outside A.C.T before the start of Mamet's November, and the theater crowd was into it.

      

It's that time of year, when creepy kids (and a few scary adults) invade Belvedere Street in Cole Valley and show those amateurs who used to haunt the Castro how it's really done. Or as one wag put it: "It's Burning Man for kids." But whatever comparisons you want to make, it's a lot of fun. A few highlights above and more pictures here.

If crowded bars and flashmobs aren't your thing, check out this short list of fun events taking place on Saturday, brought to us by FuncheapSF. FuncheapSF also recommends perusing Haunted Bay for even more Halloween activities.

On Halloween night of the first year that the Halloween kibosh began in the Castro, 2007, KRON 4 provided this coverage from the scene. There is an amusing bit with a very drunk woman face-down in the street, as well one indignant nun who would like everyone to know (perhaps including the police) that "this is our neighborhood!" (meaning the gays'). For more on what went down in 2006, see this article here.

NBC Bay Area has a cute gallery of a number of extremely involved and expensive Halloween costumes, including those guys who constructed two functioning, human-sized iPhones, and a guy who made a working, life-size Gameboy costume as well. What they call "supremely awesome" we call "trying too hard," but then again for Halloween we're fans of just drenching ourselves in the $11 bottle of theatrical blood we bought three years ago. Our only annual expense is the shirt we're wearing, which must be thrown away afterward, but yes we know lots of other people spend LOTS of money preparing for this holiday, and cheers to them. (And yes, the working iPhones are quite impressive.)

With the Bay Bridge out of commission "indefinitely," doesn't that mean there'll be far fewer East Bay teenagers coming to the city for Halloween and therefore fewer events of the stabbing/shooting variety? After watching the (somewhat lackluster) Halloween episode of Trauma the other night, in which the Castro is talked up as the biggest Halloween party destination in the world, we feel like maybe it's time for some impromptu planning. Sure, there's always BART... but why can't we reclaim our big, crazy holiday party in the face of such transportation adversity? All we know about right now (apart from dozens of individual parties) is this Embarcadero FlashDance, but we'll be sure and let you know if we hear of anything else.

No, not this. Nor this. And certainly not this.

Something called "Take Back Halloween: Part One" will go down at the Embarcadero this year. Brought to you by the same folks behind FlashDance and Black Rock Roller Disco, the All Hallow's Eve party is, we assume, a non-city-sanctioned event, thus it should promise to be a fun one. (Though, this could be a clever ruse by the city to get people to a locale other than the Castro. Hm. Crafty.)

Looking to cause mayhem and hate in the Castro this Halloween, teenagers? Look elsewhere. (SFist's official stance on Halloween in the Castro's ruination is this: scary, scary teenagers are to blame. They always are.) The Castro is, once again, not having a massive bash on Halloween night. SFGate has the police department's official press release. Ahem:

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Let's check in on the Board of Supes shall we? The Chron's Insider column brings us a couple notes on Board happenings this week, noting firstly the non-news that Michela Alioto-Pier has too few allies left and therefore can't get anything done, such as her proposal to allow public comment at committee meetings. Sad.

What a fun concept. Red Union Hair Salon has launched its 2nd Annual Severed Head Contest, in which students and stylists from participating beauty schools and salons transform mannequin heads into fabulous pieces displaying their talent for creating amazing hair and make-up. Anything goes, from outright stunning, funny, and thought provoking, to scary and ghoulish.

Holy Great Pumpkin, folks! That there on the left is one large gourd, eh? So much so, in fact, that it was awarded first prize at the annual Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival. On Saturday, Don Young of Des Moines, Iowa, beat around 80 or so contenders with the 1,658-pound, 5-feet-4 tall monstrosity above.

And the current lead for Most Awesomest Costume tonight goes to this guy.

Holy crap, McCain was right about socialists / commies / "they" taking over the country!!!

No, not really.

This guy was simply Awesome.

Because it's dumb. And uninspired. And played out to shreds. And 543624564 other terribly droll people will do the exact same thing. Don't believe us? Head to the intersection of Castro (Market and 17th Streets) today, where Sarah Palin look-alikes will gather to -- sigh, fucking christ -- "fan through the city looking for Joe Six-Pack." Really, if you don't play a character called "Liz Lemon" for a living, then nix the Palin getup. For something groundbreaking, you should try a sexy devil outfit or Frank Chu costume instead.

Castro shut down got you blue? We've got you covered. We're giving a pair of tickets away today and tomorrow to see Mr. Roboto's Halloween bash with the Heavy and a bunch of great DJ's. Yes, there is a costume contest. You can buy tickets here.

Did you know the Home for Halloween campaign, the effort to get unsavory elements out of the Castro during Halloween night, is still in effect? It is. And their site -- which features a concerned, bejeweled black man all aghast, paired with a selection of autumnal squashes -- will tell you that the Castro is a no-go this year.

    

At least he is in this elaborate, spooktacular, very San Francisco Halloween display, found outside a Glen Park home. Curious, yes? But we think they should have added pantyhose to Palin's legs -- you know, to go with the strappy, open-toed shoes. Because you know she would wear them together.

Now that Walgreens across the city have designated an entire aisle to bags of fun-size candy, vampire teeth, and orange/black home accents, Halloween season is here. Yay! And what that comes the nonsense of City Hall, still bickering about this year's city-sanctioned Halloween bash.

As SFist first reported back in March, Halloween in the Castro (as you knew it) is dead. But! The formerly violent celebration will be resurrected "at a parking lot near AT&T Park as a multicultural celebration." It'll be planned in two parts: one part family party, one part adult party. The family fun (4 to 9 p.m.) will feature a Burning Man art installation, local youth performers, a Dia de Los Muertos exhibit, and parade, and more. The adult party (8 p.m. to midnight) has Destiny's Child's Michelle Williams, tranny performances, a $31 price tag, and booze. (But what we really want to know is this: are the streets in the Castro going to shutdown again that night?)

As we mentioned last March, Halloween in the Castro as you knew it has been canceled. Boo. The City's official Halloween celebration will instead move to SOMA in the parking lot of AT&T Park. It seems this year's bash will "include an early evening, free gathering for kids and a more adult-friendly, paid event later in the evening, which will feature local musicians and artists." The Entertainment Commission, sigh, is also looking to put on a party at Pier 39. How the city will pay for the event marketing, whether or not booze will be sold, and if gang rapes will see an all-time high on Stillman Street is still up in the air. But we do know that the Castro will probably end the being the place to be again come 10/31.

What with Halloween colliding on a Friday this year -- -- the city of San Francisco has wasted no time, so to speak, in attempting to look like it's trying to make the holiday a spooktacular event again. Laura Fraenza, 45, New Jersey native and ballet enthusiast who has worked with Bill Graham Presents and Cirque Du Soleil, was just hired as SF's new Events Coordinator. But that title is a bit broad; she's here to (hopefully) make Halloween in the Castro the sublime and safe event that it once was. God bless her. BAR reports:

Our sources tell us that Halloween in the Castro as we knew it is now dead. Long live a dull and tedious San Francisco.

The three boys who took part in the shooting death of Ichinkhorloo "Iko" Bayarsaikhan in Washington Park in Alameda last Halloween, and then reportedly boasted about it, were sentenced in juvenile court today. One of the teenagers, the 16-year-old, will spend seven years behind bars, but the other two first-degree killers, the unidentified 15- and 13-year-old, were ordered to attend the Rites of Passage program, which is "a structured camp in the Nevada wilderness."

Starting this week, as we all know by now, Palme d'Or-winning writer/directer Gus Van Sant starts filming Milk on our pretty yet smelly streets. But Gustave needs your help, folks. On Monday night, Feb. 4, and Friday night, Feb. 8, he will require you use your thespionic skills during several march reenactments. If you go here and register, you will be used. All ages, races and genders are just dandy; however, you must be 18 or over to participate. Alas.

Violence at SF nightclubs has been all the rage this year - all nine days, that is - and now a summit is being held this month in order to curb the violent tomfoolery. A few choice incidences to refresh your memory: Marcus Pepper, 26, was killed on New Year's Day outside a Ninth Street warehouse SOMA party; Clarence Corbin 34, was shot outside Jelly's Dance Cafe in Mission Bay; Club Vessel was, well, Club Vessel; and much to no one's surprise, two women were attacked by two male Antiochians outside 715 Harrison this past Sunday.

(Ew. Not like that.)

Cris takes some time off the Bonds case to support her lady. No one pulled out a bitch's clump of hair. That's the big news. Oh, and some other stuff happened, ahem: The Club's membership voted tonight on the February 2008 ballot and the June 2008 State Senate primary, and the endorsements are... Prop 92 (Community College Funding) - Yes Props 94 - 97 (Gaming Compacts) - No Prop A (Neighborhood Parks Bond) -...

SFist interviews the Reverend Billy of "what would jesus buy?"

Demian Bulwa at the Chronicle reports on some depressing info found in the search warrant affidavits filed in court by police in the Halloween murder of Ichinkhorloo "Iko" Bayarsaikhan. The teenagers who supposedly gunned down "Iko" bragged about shooting her soon after they fled the scene on an AC Transit bus back to Oakland. According to the story: As the youths rode an AC Transit bus back to Oakland afterward, one of the suspects...