Oct 2
Castro Halloween safety plans take shape
John Ferrannini READ TIME: 3 MIN.
San Francisco police reviewed their plans for the Castro Night Market set to take place on Halloween with members of the Castro Merchants Association at their monthly meeting Thursday. The event will be different than the old Halloween events in the LGBTQ neighborhood.
First is the matter of securing the necessary permit. To that end, Chris Carrington, a gay man who is co-founder of CG Events, which is producing the night market, told the Bay Area Reporter October 2 that approval of the street closure for the event will be discussed at the October 9 meeting of city’s Interdepartmental Staff Committee on Traffic and Transportation, or ISCOTT. The meeting begins at 9 a.m.
Because October 31 falls on a Friday this year, the Castro Night Market, usually the third Friday of the month, will be held on the fourth Friday of the month, as the B.A.R. was first to report in August. In the past couple of years, the merchants held a daytime event on Noe Street on the Saturday before Halloween, as community leaders sought to resurrect Halloween festivities without the nighttime concerns.
At last month’s merchants meeting, President Nate Bourg, a gay man, wanted to make it very clear that while there will be an evening market with street closures on Halloween night in the Castro this year, “It’s not Halloween back in the Castro like 15, 20, 30 years ago.”
Halloween has had a long, tortured history in the Castro and was eventually shut down over a decade ago following violent incidents. In recent years, community leaders have attempted a Halloween comeback but at a fraction of the size and shorter duration than the original unofficial street party.
Mission Station Captain Sean Perdomo told the merchants that, “We’ve ordered in 130 to 140 police officers” for the Castro Night Market that will be on Friday, October 31, from 5 to 10 p.m. He asked barkeeps to stop serving liquor to-go – as is custom for the event as it activates the new Castro entertainment zone allowing for outdoor alcohol consumption – one hour before the 10 p.m. end time.
“When people start to loiter when the event is over, that’s when we start to see problems start to manifest,” Perdomo said.
The Castro Upper Market Entertainment Zone, established by the Board of Supervisors and Mayor Daniel Lurie earlier this year, allows for alcohol to be consumed outdoors during special events. Thus far, it has only been utilized by the night market at its usual time of the month, which are the third Fridays. It will be utilized for this Sunday’s Castro Street Fair.
The entertainment zone is only possible because of state legislation – Senate Bill 76 in 2023 and SB 969 in 2024 – that allow local jurisdictions to designate outdoor areas where people can consume open containers of alcohol during special events, such as when streets are closed to traffic for street fairs or night markets. They were introduced by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), a Castro resident who framed the legislation applying to the Castro fair as a common sense reform.
The SFPD’s James Pandolfi helps the department coordinate special events. At the merchants’ meeting he said that, “Our goal is to make sure everyone is safe and has a great time.
“Our goal is to keep Castro [Street] open to traffic,” he added, adding there will be 25-30 parking control officers, as well as security guards, “to help with the whole thing.”
Pandolfi said 18th Street should be reopened by last call “so it doesn’t become another party from 2 to 4 o’clock in the morning.”
Perdomo concluded, “We do anticipate it’s going to be a good event.”
The inaugural Castro Wine Walk at 6 p.m. October 9 will also use the new entertainment zone, according to Nate Bourg, a gay man who is president of the merchants association.
Eleven businesses will be participating. “So, you’ll be able to legally take your drink from here [The Academy, where the meeting was held] to Canela as long as you finish before you walk in,” he said.
