There Will Be No Halloween For The Gays

San Francisco's annual Halloween party in the Castro has been cancelled this year!

Click here to read a great article in today's New York Times about the gentrification of gay neighborhoods and what that means for the homosexually inclined.

Posted: Oct 30, 2007 at 12:38 pm / Email this »

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149 comments to “There Will Be No Halloween For The Gays”

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I heart Santa Cruz! (especially at Halloween!) says – reply to this

101

Re: Mary Jane –
I wish I was there in SC (& unfortunately never made it up to SF for Halloween, but makes sense that they closed the Castro w/ all of the violence going on)…Haven't found too much culture or a sense of community in Tampa Bay YET & Halloween pickings are slim compared to the festivities in SC (but I'll be there in "spirit" ). Have a happy Halloween & kiss a banana slug for me!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO EVERYONE ELSE TOO!
anom says – reply to this

102

Perez, you're an idiot. Try doing a little more research next time before you post something. I live in SF and the celebration has been canceled because last year 9 people were shot, not to mention the numerous other fights and stabbings. And as far as one person's comment about the politicians, the mayor is one of the few that legalized gay marriage here in sf; he is definitely pro everything and can be found every year at the gay-lesbian-bi-trans parade and celebration (which is the biggest in the country by the way)
bunnymeee says – reply to this

103

Perez? You can't gain a level of acceptance and then be pissed when straight people are comfortable enough with your culture and lifestyle to raise their children next door. You can't be keep your neighborhoods totally gay and expect people to treat you equally. Do you want to be just a person living their life the way they want? Or do you want to be different and segregated? Chose one.
bunnymeee says – reply to this

104

Re: bunnymeee –
CHOOSE. Choose one. meh.
Christina from SF says – reply to this

105

POLK STREET IS THE NEW CASTRO FOR HALLOWEEN!

really, I have been in this city long enough and all the locals know that castro isn't worth going on Halloween. Overcrowded, people shoving you, violence, and you cannot even get into a bar or a place to eat. Been there done that and we are all over it over here.
sf resident says – reply to this

106

castro halloween isn't a gay halloween party just because its in a gay neighborhood..and im sad its being shut down but since it has become so violent in the past couple of years (shootings, stabbings etc.) its probably a good idea!
jimmyjazz says – reply to this

107

THERE ACTUALLY IS A GOOD WAY TO LOOK AT THIS. WE'RE BECOMING MUCH MORE MAINSTREAM AND THEREFORE OUR PARADES DON'T HAVE THE BANG THEY ONCE HAD WHEN WE HAD TO BE MILITANT. WE'RE NO LONGER ON THE FRINGES OF SOCIETY…HANGING OUT IN HOLE IN THE WALL BARS WITH NO NAME POSTED ON THE OUTSIDE OF IT. WE NO LONGER HAVE TO RIOT LIKE OUR PRESECESSORS DID IN THE STONEWALL RIOTS OF 1969.
I MYSELF DON'T GET FIRED UP BY POLITICS AS MUCH. IT USED TO BE THAT THIS TIME OF YEAR I WOULDN'T BE HERE..I'D BE OUT POUNDING THE STREETS FOR MY GAY SUPPORTIVE CANDIDATES FOR CITY COUNCIL. MY PARADE IN SOUTHERN OHIO IN JUNE THOUGH SEEMS TO BE DRAWING MORE PEOPLE THOUGH. THIS YEAR I SAW MORE STRAIGHT COUPLES WITH LITTLE KIDS THAN EVER BEFORE. IT WAS AMAZING. I RODE ON A TRUCK THAT WE DRESSED UP AS A PIRATE SHIP AND WE DRESSED UP LIKE PIRATES FOR OUR LOCAL LEATHER BAR. THERE WAS A SEA OF PEOPLE AS FAR AS THE EYE COULD SEE. I WASN'T EXPECTING SAN FRANCISCO TO CANCEL HALLOWEEN THOUGH. I GUESS IT WAS FOR SAFETY REASONS? IT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN FOR LACK OF INTEREST. I SAY PROTEST DAMNIT AND ROCK THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!
justjak says – reply to this

108

Re: paca – OH PACA…YOU PITIFUL BOOB. DON'T YOU HAVE ANY HILLBILLY SECOND BOY COUSINS YOU CAN GO SCREW IN THE BARN YOU IDIOTIC CLOSET CASE? WE'RE PRETTY BORED WITH YOUR EXTREMLY PATHETIC AND JUVENILE RANTS HERE.
innercitislut says – reply to this

109

This has nothing to do with gentrifaction!!!! If you wanna talk about that, then mention the cost of living in SF. GAY people in SF -DON"T- want this Castro party. WE live here and deal wit the shootings, stabbings and left over puke the next day. The party has become an excuse for idiotic sub-urban jerks to clog up the streets, drink too much and totally disrespect an otherwise happy and diverse community. Perez, you clearly have a very narrow understanding of what is means to be part of a gay community. Keep in mind that you live in LA and have put yourself up for sale just like every other young person craving success in hollywood. Your support of gay issues are starting to seem more like a way to promote youself and your web site. Spend some time in a community OTHER than fame/party/money obsessed Hollywood. You might cease to become the celebrity monster you are quicking becoming. You can't be an "outside" voice forever, especially with the amount of advertisment going on on this site. So SAD>
yelyah says – reply to this

110

canceled smansheled… anyone who lives in this area knows that it is still happening and everyone is still going!
Liza says – reply to this

111

Hey you all, I used to be a 911 dispatcher in San Francisco and this has EVERYTHING to do with the crime. Police cannot control the crowds in such a small place anymore and there is so much more crime than just 9 shootings. People are mugged, stabbed, raped and beat up. Unfortunatly, this kind of crowd needs to move to the park or to the convention center if it is going to continue.
jimmyjazz says – reply to this

112

Re: Christina from SF – SHE MAKES A GOOD POINT. I AM SO OVER CROWDS MYSELF. WE'RE IN THE SUBURBS NOW…EVEN WISTERIA LANE…HA HA….AND ALL OVER THE WEB. AND TV…DAMN I CAN FIND A WILL AND GRACE EPISODE OR DOWNLOAD BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF UGLY BETTY WHENEVER I WANT……AND I STILL REMEMBER THE DAYS WHEN OUR PIONEER ELLEN BROKE GROUND. WE HAD AN ELLEN PIZZA PARTY AT OUR GAY AND LESBIAN COMMUNITY CENTER AND PACKED THAT PLACE WITH FUN AND HOLLERING….AND SOME NETWORKS WOULDN'T AIR HER AND FALWELL CALLED HER ELLEN DEGENERATE AND RELIGIOUS RIGHT GROUPS CHEERED WHEN SHE WAS CANCELLED. NOW IT'S LIKE ..SOMEONE'S GAY…."YEAH AND…..?" NOW SHE'S HOSTING THE OSCARS EMMIES..AND ….GRAMMIES?….NO WAIT FOR THE GRAMMIES THAT WAS RYAN SEACREST..EASY MISTAKE..HA! NOW ELLEN HAS TO BUILD A NEW SHELF FOR ALL THESE EMMIES SHE'S GETTING……BUT YEAH…I HATE CROWDS AND VIOLENCE EVEN MORE…AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THE SF LOCALS ARENT TOO UPSET SO I WON'T BE EITHER. IT'S ALMOST LIKE WE NEED A COMMON ENEMY TO START UP THEIR SHIT AGAIN SO WE CAN GET OUR PARTY ON AGAIN. WE'RE BECOMING SO DAMN MAINSTREAM. I ACTUALLY FEEL KINDA BAD THAT THE NEXT GENERATION COMING UP WON'T EXPERIENCE THE INTENSE BONDING AND ACTIVISM THAT WE ALL SHARED.
thank god! says – reply to this

113

Any smart person in the SF gay community knows not to even go down there. It totally attracts all the wrong people. Gay bashers and stupid out of towners alike. They know where to party and everybody is better off and more accepted partying somewhere else anyways. Seriously we are happy that the wonderful district of the Castro is tainted by narrow minded scum and people that don't even live around here. This article is out of emotion and not fact. There is no blow to the gay community here and it will strive much peacefully without that party. Plus we locals know that the real Halloween fun was had last Saturday and and the exotic erotic ball.
Keep it in your pants, please says – reply to this

114

Re: Landy –
"Sure, quit being so condescending, snookums"
Wow. You mean it's possible to NOT be condescending to dolts who are incapable of understanding history and reality?
Who knew?
GEEZ LOUISE says – reply to this

115

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! PACA! CAN'T YOU FUCKING GET YOUR NON-EXISTANT BRAIN OUT OF YOUR ASS, JUST ONCE? YOU MAKE THE SAME FUCKING STUPID COMMENTS OVER & OVER & OVER AGAIN. CAN YOU EVEN TRY TO MAKE A DIFFERENT OR INTELLIGENT REMARK, EVER? HAVE YOU EVEN DONE ANY VALID RESEARCH ON HOMOSEXUALITY THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE THE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH? OH WAIT, AND THEN SHE WOKE UP!
uh says – reply to this

116

because you can't go to a regular halloween party…
Jamie says – reply to this

117

It will still go on Perez. They are just saying that cuz "they" don't want all the ghetto ass people with guns coming from the S. bay/E. bay. But it will still go on for SF residents. They are still getting porto potties, what for if nothing is going on?
jimmyjazz says – reply to this

118

Re: Another Nobody – I DON'T THINK PEREZ INTENTIONALLY DELETES ANYONE. I THINK IT'S JUST THE COMPUTER SOMEHOW. I'VE HAD TROUBLE GETTING COMMENTS ON THAT WERE POSITIVE AS WELL AS NEGATIVE. I MEAN….DO YOU THINK HE HAS TIME TO PROOF EVERY COMMENT? I THINK IT'S JUST THE WEB….EVEN THE WWW CAN MALFUNCTION SOMETIMES. IF PEREZ CENSORED DO YOU THINK HE WOULD ALLOW ALL THIS VICIOUS ATTACKS ON HIM TO GO THRU. FOR EX, YOU'RE A BIG FAT PINK LEPRECAUN FUCK AND NOBODY LIKES YOU. WE HOPE YOU GET GANGBANGED BY A BIG BAD ANGRY BULL!!!!! SEE…THAT WENT THUR…..BUT I'M JUST KIDDING PEREZ! I THINK YOU'RE GENIOUS FOR GETTING RICH OFF OF SUCH A SIMPLE CONCEPT AND ALLOWING US TO GET INVOLVED AND HAVE THE INSTANT GRATIFICATION OF SEEING OUR OUTRAGEOUS COMMENTS IN PRINT. FOR EXAMPLE, I'M IN LOVE WITH LANCE BASS….I'M NOT KIDDING YOU ALL….AND I WANT TO KISS HIM ALL OVER AND SPOON WITH HIM ALL MORNING ON A CHILLY LAZY SUNDAY. I WANT SOME BASS ASS!!!!! OMG….I HAVE TO GO NOW AND THINK ABOUT WHAT I JUST SAID!!!!!!! THIS TIME I'LL USE MY OTHER HAND!!!
BB says – reply to this

119

As a former SF resident PEREZ I can tell you that the large majority of the people who attended the Castro Halloween were bridge and tunnel idiots that came into the city and didn't live there and most were not gay. Most gay people I knew hated Halloween in the Castro and stayed away or went out of town to avoid it. The cancellation had nothing to do with gentrification of a gay neighborhood. Ask 100 residents of the Castro and 99 will tell you that it should have been cancelled YEARS ago. The "revelers" were destroying property and committing crimes….save the Castro not destroy it!
kill fags says – reply to this

120

I love it ! All fags should be terminated
livingdoll says – reply to this

121

I love Halloween the party should go on! Ellen was SO ADORABLE dancing to the new Britney song/cd today
livingdoll says – reply to this

122

:) love Halloween Go Ellen ! Go Britney Trick or Treat Purrrez!??? HAPPY HALLOWEEN
thatswhatitis says – reply to this

123

perez, you need to actually talk to someone from SF- every year they say it's cancelled in attempt to make it some what safer? it will go on, let's hope 9 people don't get killed this time-wtf was that about, stupid punks, running it for the rest!!!
markyboy says – reply to this

124

Thanks for the link to the great article Perez. Otherwise I would have missed it ! Have a wonderful Halloween from Markyboy !
Stephanie says – reply to this

125

This is diging deep Perez. Please start stating the facts. The Castro Party is canceled due to increase violence over the years at this event. Please get your facts straight. Maybe talk to someone who actually lives in San Francisco…like me.
nikki says – reply to this

126

what a shame. a few thug idiots have to ruin the fun for everyone else. hopefully everyone will find something cool to do and not be too upset about the festivities being canceled!
dex says – reply to this

127

It has nothing to do with gay bashing, in fact , quite the opposite! I live in the Bay Area and have been going to the Castro on every Halloween since the 1987. In the last five years the party and celebration of Halloween have turned from a warm and exciting evening celebrating the diversity of the City, by street performance, costume, and community, into what is now a night of Drunks and Gaybashers. Some people and businesses have been really hurt in the last few years, and that is why it is being curtailed.
tiffaney says – reply to this

128

Perez, you owe the entire San Francisco an apology for your unresearched biased post.

stop making everything into a gay "issue". Castro might be well-known across the country for the gays there, but that's not the reason why it's cancelled.
NV says – reply to this

129

Duh someone was stabbed at the party last year.
moira says – reply to this

130

(from a castro street resident)

fantastic article perez! it was so informative and all encompassing- especially about a subject that people dont know much about. (somehow, though, a lot of the people commenting are not really referencing the poingancy of the article.)

the castro needs a break. what i get to see, from living here, is the broken spirits of my neighborhood the morning after this event. because, it is not a fair representation of this space, who we are here, and what we stand for. though this is a historic blow, this is also the wishes of the residents here, and the cancellation is overdue.

like one of the sisters said in the article- every day is halloween here- come and celebrate with us whole heartedly sepratly from this. the castro hosts events year round, and we love and need the support of the public.

happy halloween!
dex says – reply to this

131

You said it best Moira !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
matthew says – reply to this

132

Halloween in the casrto is nothing like before……you could walk around, get a beer, see 7 drag queens on roller skates in vegas showgirl costumes coasting down 18th st. Now it packed shoulder to shoulder most people NOT in costume and Oh yeah! possible get stabbed or shot by a gang banger out for a good time…..Us gays have found someplace safer to go!!!!! NOT the castro
Esfer says – reply to this

133

I live up the street from the Castro. I will say that violent crime is on the upswing. This past year, there were gay men raped and robbed in the Castro. San Francisco is facing a huge crime problem due gangstas and thug life jackasses. It was reported that violent street crime in SF is up by 600%, while the rest of the country watched street crime fall by 25%.
siennaBabe says – reply to this

134

FUCK I KNOW I WAS GOING TO GO THIS YEAR
Amalia says – reply to this

135

Pretty sure if we had a straight rights parade it would be discrimination or if we had just straight parties it would be too. GET OVER YOURSELVES YOU HOMOSEXUAL FREAKS! You don't deserve any better than the rest of us!
It's here. says – reply to this

136

I've felt this coming for awhile now. This eerie feeling of something occurring. I've seen it in the over-the-top zealous crackdown on cruise areas around the country. The topic of bathroom sex between men being discussed on the nightly news to remind the country how sick gays are, and how ashamed gays should be of themselves. Chris Hanson popping up everywhere to remind us that perversions live right next to you, and the only thing worse than a terrorist is a pedophile. Gay people will cease to exist. Gay culture will be obliterated. Gays will only be gay in private. Nothing said or shown. It's here. The new order of the world is taking shape.
redsonja1313 says – reply to this

137

The New Yorkers seem to ne able to make News Years work every year. This may have started as a gay celebration but it has long since become just anothe large scale Hallowwen party. There are more heterosexual in attendance at the LA Halloween Party then Gays and it is also in the "gay area" of town. Of gays are truly striving for = rights. Let's call it West Hollywood and The Castro neighborhoods and skip the whole "gay mecca" crap. As really if most truly felt they were equal it wouldn't matter they would just be people living an area
joe mama says – reply to this

138

this only shows how gays move in, make everything nice and wonderful and then assholes who happen to be straight move in and ruin all the fun! everytime! how the hell are we supposed to fight back?
Siobhan says – reply to this

139

The Castro party was canceled because there was a shooting last year - hello!!! Several people got SHOT. Luckily no one was killed. I live in the city and was there and it was a scary night! The year before people were stabbed! The party has gotten way too big to control. The Castro is not being held to stricter standards. SF is the city of gays - come on. Attend the Castro Street Fair for goodness sakes - you'll see all the naked men in chaps you can handle!
Rose says – reply to this

140

It's being canceled because 9 people were shot last year. Something that shouldn't happen in small San Francisco. Too many b+t trouble making outsiders.
And stay out!
El Bob says – reply to this

141

So what am I going to do with this big fucking bowl of Kandy Koated Kondoms now?!
coco chanel says – reply to this

142

Re: Amalia – #140 why don't you clean out your twat you fucking shit wad? I bet you have maggots crawling out of your dirty crusty asshole!!
CoCo Chanel rules the runway says – reply to this

143

Re: Amalia – #140 I'm gonna take a used tampon and ram it down your throat then I'm gonna make you fingerfuck your twat til you bleed to death you maggot infested peice of garbage …then i'm gonna smash your face into a pile of dogshit til you die
I live in San Francisco says – reply to this

144

2 thing are going on here. Gays no longer feel the need to live apart from the rest of society. That is a positive thing. Gay neighborhoods were a form of protection. Now, this is not as necessary as it was in the past. However, this party in the Castro attracts violent homophobes from out of town. Cops report confiscating semi-automatic weapons at the security entrance, along with a variety of guns & knives from attendees looking to target gays. This used to be an open street party. Now everyone has to funnel through a checkpoint, to determine if they are armed. THIS IS NOT AN ANTI GAY CRACKDOWN.
Alexis says – reply to this

145

Downtown Santa Cruz on Halloween sucks balls now that it's basically a cattle run through chain link fences with flood lights and PIGS all around!! feels like a costumed concentration camp. Besides Santa Cruz is a shit town. Instead of shutting the Castro party down the city should regulate the amount of people coming in and make it safer for party-goers instead of ruining something so many people look forward to. what's next? bay to breakers?new years eve? lame…
NailOnTheHead says – reply to this

146

Pal, despite what others may think, you have absolutely hit the fucking nail on the head. Finally the truth is on the table. Amen brother.
P666 says – reply to this

147

Re: Allison – Now tell me again exactly what "we wanted" and how we "got it". Clearly you are homophobic enough to still think this is a gay thing and not a community thing. I seriously doubt that you would be saying this if you had to sit at home yearly on Halowwen just to protect you home and keep people from defecating on you drive way. And when you open the window and ask them to please stop they throw their beer bottle at you, breaking the window instead. These are all bridge and tunnel losers riding the coattails of a San Francisco tradition but with the addition of alcohol induced pure rage. I live smack in the middle of the Castro and every year am shocked by the disrespectful behavior that happens on my own property.
I am happy to say that tonight it is Halloween and almost midnight & the streets are basicly as dead as your view of and connection to the gay community. Stay over your bridge and under your tunnel honey.
Oh and IT IS ALL ABOUT US, haven't you heard?
lowkey says – reply to this

148

People get stabbed and shot on Castro on Halloween. Last year there was a shooting. It has nothing to do with the fact that it is a gay neighboorhood or that it is expensive and, inadvertantly, has been substantially gentrified. Castro has been expensive to live in. It has more to do with the fact that people were shot in 2006 dipshit
Eva says – reply to this

149

Guys the cancellation of halloween @ Castro has nothing to do with hate towards gays or the gay neighborhood. there were around 8 deaths each year at the parade! i know because i have gone the past four years! gavin newsom loves and appreciates the gay community of San Francisco but ignorant poeple brought violence each year and , as the mayor, he really had to do something about it! San Francisco loves our Castro community!!!!