Halloween in the Castro
On this day, November 1st, teachers throughout Northamerica are suffering the wrath of cranky kids recovering from their Halloween sugar highs. San Francisco is no exception, where children and adults alike spend countless hours preparing the ultimate costume for the occasion.The Castro district is notorious for its Halloween party, where several blocks are cordoned off and stages are set up for performances in the street. Although in the Castro it's difficult to tell who is dressed up and who is simply wearing their normal attire, it is a great opportunity for people-watching.
Sadly, over the years, the event has become increasingly dangerous as some take advantage of this crowded, less-than-sober forum. Outbreaks of violence are now, unfortunately, a part of the experience. This year, in an effort to curb the violence, the city imposed an 11:00pm curfew and increased the police presence by 25%. Figuring that it would be a relatively low-key event, Seth and I decided to take a stroll down to the Castro after dinner and see what it was all about. Admittedly, it was a bit strange to have to wait through a security search line-up before entering this street event (are metal detectors next?), but it was worth the wait to see what was on the other side: some of the most elaborate and well-thought-out costumes I have ever seen. There were lots of women (and men) taking advantage of the occasion to wear that skirt that's just a little too short, but also many creative efforts including action figures, cartoon characters and famous personalities.
I was more than stunned watching the 11 o'clock news last night to hear that after we'd left, 10 people were injured by gunfire and several other suffered stab wounds. So much for the extra security - our first Halloween in the Castro may have been our last.
Few people know that Halloween is actually a holiday that grew out of the November 1st All Saints Day celebration. There are several version of its origin, but it seems that the Celts who, like many others, begin every day at sunset the night before, morphed the event into All Hallows Eve, which ultimately became Halloween.
Throughout Latin America, All Saints Day (Dia de Los Santos) is a celebration that involves weeks of preparation. Click here to listen to our podcast about the event.
To contrast your experience with mine in Toronto, we went to a neighbourhood show that blew us away in its good naturedness. We had been told that there is a home only 3 blocks away from us in Riverdale, where we live in Toronto, that puts on a Halloween show for the neighbourhood every year. Apparently two film producers live there and they put a good effort into it. So we innocently headed over at about 8pm to see what it was all about. We knew it was more serious than we expected when we saw that the road had been closed, a stage, lights, video screen and speakers had been set up. The 15 minute show that followed was the most ambitious neighbourhood production one could imagine. The story was about saving the Halloween holiday, which is at threat of being cancelled because it's too dangerous - Santa has been kidnapped! It starts with a video with puppets that had us all on the floor laughing, then the characters wearing fairly serious costumes get on stage, Santa is rescued and Halloween is saved. The biggest surprise was when the cast, made up of small kids and adults from the neighbourhood, all break into a clearly well-rehearsed song about Halloween.
This was a show made with kids in mind but, funny enough, all adults were completely taken in as well. Apparently they change the show every year and it runs 3 times in the night to make sure no one misses it. Kudos to our neighbours for a memorable Halloween and for starting this great tradition!
Posted by: Veronica | November 02, 2006 at 07:08 AM