Halloween Guide 2009

Performances

The San Francisco based Shadow Light Theater brings to life an ancient form of storytelling using opaque figures in front of an illuminated backdrop to create the illusion of moving images. It’s a fitting art form for Halloween, when SLT will present a free performance with live music at 7pm in Union Square. Or catch the troupe’s “Ghosts of the River” at the Brava Theater from October 28th to November 8th 2009.

The Royal Underground Theater Company presents “Jekyll and Hyde: The Gothic Musical” from October 9-31st. On Halloween night there will be a post show party with cash prizes for best guest costumes, candy, and more.

Now in it’s 30th year, The Lesbian Gay Chorus of San Francisco will present the horror opera "Halloween in the Castro" at the Eureka Theater. Merging local politics with murder and mayhem, the show is a biting, in-your-face social commentary about what has gone wrong with Castro Halloween. The show runs October 23rd to 31st.

“The Woman in Black,” a ghost story in the tradition of Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe, comes to San Francisco from London. Not only an audience favorite, the show has won multiple drama awards and was “One of the most brilliantly effective spine-chillers you will ever encounter” by the Daily Telegraph. The show runs October 23 to November 14.

Celebrate Halloween with one of early film’s great masterpieces, “Nosferatu,” a re-imagining of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” Experience this movie as it was meant to be seen and heard: with live accompaniment. Dennis James plays the San Francisco Symphony’s incomparable 8,264-pipe Ruffatti organ.


Activities for Families

The ninth annual Halloween Costume Walk will feature interactive performances and games for kids. Hosted by local performer The Unique Derique and featuring live music by Chelle! & Friends, the event welcomes children under ten and their families for a parade in their Halloween finery.

Creature Features, an Exploratorium Halloween, presents a host of eerie attractions ranging from giant insects to a haunted Victorian house on wheels. In addition, the cinema arts program will present live music and “sinister celluloid” featuring the work of local filmmakers and musicians. Parents will appreciate the cash bar, which opens at 5:30.


Club Events

The 7th annual Halloween masquerade ball Thriller will rock the cushy Westin St. Francis hotel in Union Square. Don a costume, expect big crowds, and enjoy the open bar from 9:30 pm until 2:30 am.

Winner of many “best dance club” awards by local publications, Bootie presents Halloween Booootie: a Monster Mashup Spectacular at the DNA lounge. Bootie calls itself “the first monthly mashup party in America...spinning only the finest bootlegs.”


Other Events

The yearly Dia de Los Muertos Procession and Festival of Altars will take place in Garfield Park on November 2. All interested parties are welcome to create altars in honor of their ancestors, loved ones, and friends that have passed. Five local artists have been commissioned to build a large-scale altar installation.