San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Best places to show off your Halloween spirit
Be prepared to enjoy full-on spookiness and fun for Allhallows Eve in 2022. With something for everyone — parties, scary immersive installations, scavenger hunts, tricks and treats — this year the challenge will be choosing where to go and what to see next.
Explore the fresh autumn air and Halloween happenings with The Chronicle’s guide to events and activities to help ensure a frightfully good time:
Kat Robichaud’s Misfit Cabaret: “Bite” A dark popculture vampire medley with burlesque, drag, live music and more.
8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Oct. 14-15 and 21-22. $25-$450, reservations required. Alcazar Theatre, 650 Geary St., S.F. krmisfitcabaret.com
Halloween Meltdown with John Waters: The two-day, all-agefriendly outdoor festival will once again feature John Waters as host of the festivities. It’s scheduled to include a costume contest, food and wares vendors, a haunted house and live music from Amyl and the Sniffers, Shannon and the Clams, the Spits, Fuzz, Lydia Lunch, Whateverglades, Sheer Mag and others.
Noon-9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9. $59-$179, vaccination or negative test proof and reservations required. Mosswood Park, 3612 Webster St., Oakland. halloweenmeltdown.net
Lake Merritt Gardens Autumn Lights Festival: The 11th annual benefit event for the Friends of the Gardens will offer locally produced, illuminated art displays exhibited throughout the themed gardens of Lakeside Park. It is scheduled to include a kids fun zone, live entertainment, a beer garden, vendors and more.
6-11 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 13-15. $7-$25, under 5 free. Registration recommended. Gardens at Lake Merritt, 666 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. gardensatlakemerritt.org
50th Annual Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival: Join the pumpkin mania at the longrunning annual event focused on all things pumpkin. With live music and kids entertainment on three stages, roaming performances, pie eating contests, food and drinks, a costume parade and contest, picka-pumpkin patch, giant pumpkins, vendors and more, you are sure to find something to please.
9-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 15-16. Free admission. Main Street, downtown Half Moon Bay. pumpkinfest.miramarevents.com
USS Hornet Monster Bash:
Wear your favorite costume and dance to live music from the Cocktail Monkeys. Take a break, and have a beverage and a bite before making your way below deck for frightful fun in the “Haunted Sick Bay” installation.
7 p.m.-midnight Saturday, Oct. 15. $30, reservations required. USS Hornet, 707 W. Hornet Ave., Alameda. 510-521-8448. uss-hornet.org
Sonoma County Zombie Movement: Arrive ready to lurch with a zombied-out mob around Healdsburg Plaza. Meet at West Plaza Park next to the farmers’ market parking lot between 2 and 3:30 p.m. for the costume contest. Creep along the rambling path toward the plaza. Proceeds will benefit Community Matters and Safe School Ambassadors .
1-6 p.m. Oct. 16. Free-$30, registration required. West Plaza Park, 101 North Street, Healdsburg.
bit.ly/SonomaZombie
Make: Halloween: Collaborate with artists and makers on creative design projects at the museum after-hours. Make a ghostly self portrait in etchedglass; create a Heimat diorama; design a glowing charm bracelet, inspired by the “Iris Eichenberg: Where Words Fail” exhibition. Explore Dia de los Muertos ofrenda-making activities with artists and librarians of the SFPL Mission Branch. Cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages and snack options will be available.
5:30-9 p.m. Oct. 20. $8-$10, under 12 free. Reservations required. Museum of Craft and Design, 2569 Third St., S.F. 415773-0303. sfmcd.org
Howl-oween for Hounds Fundraiser/Doggie Costume Contest:
Join a family-friendly evening set to include a dog costume contest, raffle and treats with proceeds benefiting Nobody’s Perfekt cat and dog rescue. Dogs can socialize while you sip a drink. Food truck will be on site and live DJ sets will provide extra ambiance.
5:30-8 p.m. Oct. 20. $12-$20, registration required. 215 Washing
ton St., Oakland. nobodysperfekt dogs.org
Sundown Cinema: “Addams Family Values” Sundown Cinema presents the season finale with a Halloween-time screening of “Addams Family Values” and a costume contest with prizes.
5 p.m. Oct. 21. Free. Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, McLaren Park, 40 John F. Shelley Dr., S.F. 415621-3260. sanfranciscoparks alliance.org
Virtual Studio Series: Animate a Werewolf Howling: Learn to use traditional hand-drawn animation techniques to make an illustration, in a workshop that explores the myths surrounding cryptids, such as werewolves, and how they are represented in the world of animation.
10:30 a.m.-noon Oct. 22. $13$18, registration required. Walt Disney Museum, 104 Montgomery St. in the Presidio, San Francisco. 415-345-6800. waltdisney.org
East Bay SPCA Fall Festival and Open House: The event will include shelter tours, face painting, kids activities, pumpkin decorating, food trucks, a fall market with local vendors, interactive demonstrations and more.
11 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 22. Free. East Bay SPCA, 4651 Gleason St., Dublin. 925-479-9670. eastbay spca.org
“Hocus Pocus” film screening with the San Francisco Symphony: Sarah Hicks will conduct the symphony in a program of works by John Debney, accompanying a screening of the 1993 Kenny Ortega film starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy.
7:30 p.m. Oct. 25. $50-$181, reservations required. Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., S.F. 415-864-6000. sfsymphony.org
Spooky Napa: Get ready for bone-chilling thrills as you
discover local haunts on a walk with local historian/columnist Rebecca Yerger during her 14th Annual Spooky Napa tour. Celebrate the supernatural season by attending in person or virtually on Zoom.
6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 26. Free, reservations required. Napa County Library, 580 Coombs St., Napa. 707-253-4235. countyofnapa.org
“Death By Aria” Kari LinksCoomans and pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg are set to co-host this Halloween concert, co-presented by Taste of Talent and Red Curtain Addict. The program will include performances from baritone Efrain Solís, soprano Maya Kherani, bass Kirk Eichelberger, mezzosoprano Nikola Printz, tenor Brenton Ryan and oboist Jesse Rex Barrett. Edward Nelson offers live DJ sets after the show along with themed cocktails, wine and hors d’oeuvres.
7-10 p.m. Oct. 27. $60-$100, vaccination proof and reservations required. Green Room, War Memorial Opera House, 401 Van Ness Ave., S.F. tasteoftalent.org
Cal Academy Presents: SuperNatural Halloween:
Come in costume ready to shake your bones at a silent disco in the aquarium. Enjoy a magic show and trick-or-treat stations around the museum; see live animal demonstrations; face painting and a spooky photo booth; chill at the teen lounge and explore during a fun night at the museum.
6:30-9 p.m. Oct. 28. $40-$60, under 2 free; reservations required. VIP ticket options available. California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, S.F. 415-379-8000. calacademy.org
Halloween 2022: “Witches on the Water” Join the Ohana Paddle Club and Mike’s Paddle in Alameda for a Halloween event on the water, to be enjoyed by participants and shoreline onlookers as well. Meet on the water at Crab Cove at 9:30 am. You can start off at Robert Crown Memorial State Beach, Mike’s Paddle(if you need to rent equipment) or Encinal Beach. The approximately one-hour route will
depend on the wind.
9-11 a.m. Oct. 29. Free. Mike’s Paddle, 1120 Ballena Blvd. #200, Alameda. 415-295-2925. ohanapaddleclub.org
Richmond Main Street Spirit and Soul Festival: Celebrate with community at a festival featuring live music on two stages, artisan vendors, food trucks, a youth zone, and community resource booths. Beer, wine, tea and cocktails available.
1-5 p.m. Oct. 29. Free; $20-$25; VIP tickets available, registration required . Macdonald Ave. between Marina Way and 16th St., downtown Richmond. 510-8290322. richmondmainstreet.org
Mexican Heritage Plaza School of Arts and Culture Presents: Avenida de Altares: San José’s Calpulli Tonalehqueh will kick off the event with a traditional Aztec ceremony, as La Plaza hosts its sixth annual Avenida de Altares festival. Attendees can view an outdoor exhibition of Day of the Dead altars created by local artists along Alum
Rock Avenue, while enjoying performances by local DJs, Mexican folklorico dance troupes, mariachi and South American musical ensembles along the way. At La Plaza there will be face painting, cultural activities, artisan vendors and an “Afterlife” exhibition curated and presented in partnership with Works San Jose. Community members— encouraged to come dressed in Day of the Dead costumes—can gather for a headlining concert from Southern California-based ensemble Quitapenas.
5:30-10:30 p.m. Oct. 29. Free, registration encouraged. School of Arts & Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose. schoolofartsand culture.org
Kay Kostopoulos: “Bell, Book and Candle” Kostopoulos will put a spell on you performing jazz classics such as “Witchcraft,” “Bewitched,” “That Old Black Magic,” “Old Devil Moon” and more, in a performance set to include story and literary references. Multi-reed player Noel Jewkes and other surprise guest artists will accompany. Costumes are encouraged.
8 p.m. Oct. 29. $18-$25, reservations encouraged. The Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley. 510654-3808. backroommusic.com
SFJazz Presents: “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
A special screening of director Wallace Worsley’s immortal 1923 silent-film adaptation of Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” starring Lon Chaney, will feature a live score performed on the cathedral’s 1934 Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ by organist-composer Dorothy Papadakos.
7:30 p.m. Oct. 31. $20-$35, reservations required. Grace Cathedral, 1100 California St., S.F. 866-920-5299. sfjazz.org
Anne Schrager is the calendar producer for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: listings@ sfchronicle.com