The Samhain season is so rich with witchy, magic-y, fun, spooky (and sacred) events that I have created a list of all the ones I know about for this year. Some are scary, some are not - if it includes costumes or pumpkins or honouring the Beloved Dead, I've probably included it!
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Halloween Virtual Advent Calendar
Silly, Spooky, Gothy Fun!
Parental discretion advised. May not be safe for work, unless you work some place super awesome!
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Alameda Point Pumpkin Patch
October 1-31, 10:00AM-10:00PM
Speer Family Farms, 2153 Ferry Point, Alameda
Free admission, $20 for all-activity wristband
We are family owned and operated by third and fourth generation Oakland natives. All of our pumpkins are sourced locally from small to medium sized farmers. We offer a wide variety pumpkins, squashes, and gourds. We have attractions ranging from 4 story ship slide, petting zoo, jumpy houses, kid play areas, mazes for your families enjoyment.
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Piedmont Avenue Pumpkin Patch
October 1-31, 9:00AM-8:00PM
Piedmont Avenue Pumpkin Patch, 4414 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland
Free admission, $8 for Haunted House
http://pumpkinpatch.info (site plays music)
Walk through our Halloween store at 4414 Piedmont into a Pumpkin Wonderland. We carry over 15 varieties of pumpkins, from tiny Muskins up to Atlantic Giants, Orange, Red, White, Bumpy, Ribbed, Green, and Multi-Colored. We also carry corn stalks, corn, gourds, straw, and straw bales. After you pick out a pumpkin, come into the store and purchase a carving kit and candles to make your Jack O’ Lantern unique. Also, decorate your house and yard with spider webs, giant spiders, tombstones, skeletons, and scarecrows.
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Halloween on Lemos Farm
October 1-31, 9:00-5:00PM (closed Monday, October 3)
Lemos Farm, 12320 San Mateo Road (Hwy 92), Half Moon Bay, 650-726-2342
see website for detailed schedule and prices
Getting your Halloween Pumpkin is more fun at Lemos Farm! We have large pumpkin patches with hundreds of beautiful pumpkins for you to choose from.
In the Halloween Season (September and October), our Choo-Choo Train turns into a spooky Ghost Train (not too spooky, fun for the whole family). Don't forget to visit our Scare Zone! One Haunted House is for little kids. The other Haunted House is for kids of all ages, where we'll scare the yell out of you!
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Arata Pumpkin Farm
October 1-31,
Weekdays 9:00AM-7:00PM, Weekends 9:00AM-8:00PM
Arata Pumpkin Farm, 185 Verde Road, Half Moon Bay, 650-726-7548
see website for schedule, list of attractions and prices
You can lose yourself in our 6 acre corn field and pumpkin river. Try to challenge yourself intellectually and physically in our 2 acre world famous Minotaur's Labyrinth Hay Maze. Take a walk on the wild side and adventure into our Haunted Barn. Relax and enjoy yourself on our Hay Ride. Step back in time while you watch our Gladiators do battle in our coliseum built out of hay bales. Or you can let the kid's play in our Play Land playground with Miniature Hay Maze, on the Children's Train Ride or have fun with our animals in the Petting Zoo. We also have many picnic areas throughout the farm, at Arata Pumpkin Farm we have something for everybody.
We also have dozens of varieties of pumpkins and sizes. We have a special pumpkin for everyone in your family! Feel free to give us a call, send us an email or just come to the farm. We would love to see you.
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Cornfield Maze in Livermore
October 1-31
G&M Farms, 487 E Airway Boulevard, Livermore, 925-447-3276
see website for detailed schedule and prices
Coupon for $1 off admission
It twists, it turns, it dead-ends - it’s six green acres of good old-fashioned family fun!
It’s the G&M Farms Cornfield Maze and Pumpkin Patch in Livermore, the farm that is so fun it has been featured TWICE on the David Letterman Show! Bring the whole family - there’s harvest fun for all ages at G&M Farms, and it’s easy to find, right off I-580 at Isabel Avenue in Livermore.
Find your way through the maze, then enjoy G&M Farms’ huge Pumpkin Patch with pumpkins of all sizes - the kids can pick their own! For Mom, there’s fresh produce, decorative gourds and Indian corn. Your little ones will love G&M’s farm animals and the free straw bale maze and corn box. Weekends feature Pony Rides, Pedal Carts, and our new attraction The Barnyard Blasters! plus don’t forget to ride G&M Farms’ famous Cow Train!
G&M Farms Cornfield Maze and Pumpkin Patch was voted Best Seasonal Attraction in the East Bay by Diablo Magazine, and when you see it, you’ll believe it!
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Santa Rosa Pumpkin Patch
October 1-31,
see website for detailed schedule
Santa Rosa Pumpkin Patch, 5157 Stony Point Road, Santa Rosa, 707-331-6653
Free admission, see website for cost of some activities
Get lost in Sonoma County’s largest corn maze! The Patch is family owned and offers a unique experience to the Northern Bay area. Our family looks forward to seeing you and your family this fall season. Our award-winning pumpkin patch offers 8 acres of pumpkins to choose from, a huge 8 acre corn maze (with a long and short route) and a variety of fun family activities.
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Uesugi Farms Pumpkin Park
October 1-31,
see website for detailed schedule
Uesugi Farms, 14485 Monterey Road, San Martin, 408-778-7225
Free admission, $5 parking on weekends, see website for cost of some activities
Train Ride
Pumpkin Pete’s Enchanted Hayride
Corn Maze
The Cow Train
Butterfly Valley
Bootsie The Bee & Bootsie’s Honey Hut
Carousel
Pumpkin Blasters
Pony Rides
Petting Corral
Pumpkin Pyramid
Hay Jump
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Scarecrows in Downtown Benicia
October 1-31
on display in front of businesses throughout downtown Benicia
Free
Scarecrows are on display throughout the month of October. Businesses on First Street and throughout Benicia will show off imaginatively created scarecrows. A directory of participating businesses will be listed on Benicia Main Street’s website and available at all participating businesses. Three mystery judges will pick 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in Best Scarecrow. The public is invited to vote on “People’s Choice” by picking up a ballot at participating businesses, Benicia Main Street, or during the Thursday night Farmers Market. Voting ends Monday, October 17; selected winners from the mystery judges and “People’s Choice” will be announced shortly thereafter.
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Pirates of Emerson Haunted Adventure
various dates October 1-31,
see website for detailed schedule
Alameda County Fairgrounds, 4501 Pleasanton Avenue, Pleasanton
5 thrilling haunted attractions plus dead entertainment nightly!
One price admission includes these 5 attractions:
Pirates of Emerson
Laboragory
Holiday Horror
The Dark Gauntlet
The HackShack
In addition to our 5 Haunted attractions, other events include:
Melted Metal
Clown Chaos
Misfortune Teller
Frightmares Sideshow
...and more!
Scary fun for adults who like to be scared! Beware!
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San Francisco Ghost Hunt Walking Tour
with Christian Cagigal
Select dates October 5-November 20, 7:00PM
Tours start at 1801 Bush Street, San Francisco
$25, advance registration required
Walk to some of San Francisco's most notorious haunted places.
Hear thrilling stories based on documented research.
Discover weird and wonderful San Francisco history.
Feel tingles go up your spine.
*And maybe even SEE a ghost yourself...
The San Francisco Ghost Hunt Walking Tour is a historical walking tour of the Pacific Heights neighborhood, one of the few neighborhoods to survive The Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906.
You'll walk a mile on tree-lined streets in a safe residential area with fine Victorian architecture. You'll learn about real historic names of San Francisco - how they lived, how they died, and the reports of their hauntings ever since. We don't make it up. We just report it. You'll enjoy 90 minutes to 2 hours of guaranteed unearthly fun!
Strange things have happened on the San Francisco Ghost Hunt Walking Tour: orbs have appeared in photographs, coldspots have been felt indoors, acorns have been known to pelt people on the back (but only the really mean people). Keep an eye out, your senses open, and your camera ready (an EMF app couldn't hurt either) and you might have your own strange experience, too. Overall, the spirits we visit are safe and they won't follow you home. Otherwise, that would have a bad effect on our sales.
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Shocktoberfest 17: Pyramid of Freaks
presented by the Thrillpeddlers
Thursdays-Saturdays, October 6-November 19, 8:00PM
The Hypnodrome, 575 10th Street, San Francisco
$30-$35
The 17h Annual Extravaganza of Terror & Titillation includes five new one-act performances:
The Haunted House
A Classic Grand Guignol Thriller
by Marc Bonis-Charancle. English version by Richard Hand & Michael Wilson
The Hellgrammite Method
A Modern Mortality Tale Probing the Horrors of Parasitic Dipsomania
Written and Adapted for the Thrillpeddlers by William Selby
(original Twilight Zone version broadcast Nov. 5, 1988)
Demon Train To Sodom
A World-Premiere Pulp Fiction Musical by Scrumbly Koldewyn
Pyramid Of Freaks
A World-Premiere Black Comedy by Rob Keefe
A Lights-Out Spookshow Finale
Created by Nicholas Torre
This annual festival of Grand Guignol horror theatre and black comedies plays as a Limited Engagement - only 22 performances.
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A Very Bloody Misfit Cabaret
Hosted by Kat Robichaud
Friday-Saturday, October 7-8, 8:00PM
The Great Star Theater, 636 Jackson Street, San Francisco
See website for ticket information
Mein Damen und Herren! Mesdames et Messieurs! Ladies... and Gentlemen!
It's Showtime!
So bare your fangs, mount your brooms and fly to the craziest underground variety show in the most haunted theater in all of San Francisco! At Misfit Cabaret, we are the things that go bump in the night!
Doors Open at 7:00PM, Show Starts at 8:00PM
Kat Robichaud proudly presents A Very Bloody Misfit Cabaret - a night of decadence, bawdiness, and damsels (not) in distress. Come experience the fantastical variety show everyone is talking about!
Featuring Kat Robichaud and The Darling Misfits as your hosts! Robichaud (who was a top 10 finalist on The Voice) has incredible vocals that effortlessly balance everything from razor wit to raw emotion, and the Darling Misfits completely nail the nuances of bombastic, arena-sized rock n' roll that would make Queen proud.
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Candlelight Tours of the Winchester Mystery House
various dates, October 7-31, tours start every 10 minutes, 6:30-11:30PM
see website for schedule and ticket details
Winchester Mystery House, 525 South Winchester Boulevard, San Jose
$35-$49 - may sell out!
For 10 nights only in October come experience our all-new Halloween Candlelight Tour here at the legendary Winchester Mystery House, one of America’s most celebrated haunted mansions.
In a foreboding and Gothic atmosphere, you are led through the labyrinth-like house via candelabra where you'll discover what the restless spirits have in store just for you!
Curious souls can only experience the Halloween Candlelight Tour during 10 select nights in October: 7 & 8, 14 & 15, 21 & 22 and 28 - 31.
Guided only by candlelight, the morbid lure of darkness and what might exist on the “other side,” you will tour the bewildering maze of rooms, which are frozen in a state of arrested decay or resplendent in Victorian grandeur. Although touches of festive Halloween abound, the atmosphere is heavy with foreboding as an unseen presence seems to be watching at all times.
This nighttime tour of the intimidating, century old mansion will give your imagination an opportunity to run wild. You will be taken to locations in the house where paranormal activity has been cited by both employees and visitors alike. Each tour group is sure to punctuate their journey through the mansion with nervous exclamations of "Did you hear that?", "What's that in the corner?", "Do you see what I see!?”
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Downtown Benicia Ghost Walk
Select dates in October, 8:00PM
meet at 90 First Street, Benicia
$25, reservations required.
Ages 12-17 must be accompanied by adult.
For more information, please call 707-745-9791
Spooky tales of the paranormal history of Benicia are revealed on this exciting, interactive, and fun Ghost Walk with paranormal investigator Deborah Hogarty and Serena Desoto. Step into the shoes of a paranormal investigator and meet the ghosts of Benicia’s past. Good walking shoes and flashlight are recommended. Limited capacity on tours and lasts approximately 2 hours, depending on what entity the group encounters. 12 years and older permitted on tours. Ages 12-17 must be accompanied by adult. Tours are $25 per person. Prepaid reservations are required by calling 707-745-9791.
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Mysteries of Samhain
Friday-Sunday, October 7-9
Mendocino Woodlands, 39350 Little Lake Road, Mendocino
See website for registration information
Share in an intense weekend of Reclaiming style, Earth-based spirituality, magic, and community!
Bay Area Reclaiming ritual planners invite you to join us in the redwoods at Mendocino Woodlands as we weave a web that crosses the generations.
Mysteries of Samhain is a do-it-ourselves, community-style camp. This is a magical intensive, not a festival or a drop-in camp. We ask that people plan to attend the entire event (unless advance arrangements are made) and be committed to creating camp culture.
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Shrouded Tales
presented by the Hayward Area Historical Society
Fridays-Saturdays, October 7-8, 14-15, 21-22, 7:00PM and 9:00PM
see locations below
$15, Tickets must be purchased in advance
San Lorenzo Pioneer Cemetery, Hesperian Blvd & College Street, San Lorenzo
Friday-Saturday, October 7-8, 7:00PM and 9:00PM
Meek Mansion, 17365 Boston Road, Hayward
Friday-Saturday, October 14-15, 7:00PM and 9:00PM
McConaghy House, 18701 Hesperian Boulevard, Hayward
Friday-Saturday, October 21-22, 7:00PM and 9:00PM
Explore true tales of tragic ends, Victorian death traditions and superstitions, all sprinkled with a touch of the paranormal. Join our spirits and spooks for a bit of Halloween fun.
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The Pumpkin Train
Fridays-Sundays, October 7-23, 5:30-8:30PM
Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, 233 Blossom Hill Road, Los Gatos
$5 includes 1 train ride and 1 carousel ride.
$12 includes 1 train ride, 1 carousel ride, and 1 pumpkin any size.
VIP: $18 includes unlimited rides on the train and carousel on the night of purchase, plus one medium-sized pumpkin.
There is something in the air, and it smells like Pumpkins!
It's Halloween time at the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad and W.E. "Bill" Mason Carousel, and we are ready for yet another fun festive season at Oak Meadow and Vasona Parks.
The third annual The Pumpkin Train kicks off Friday, October 7. The event will run Friday through Sundays until October 23. Join us for spooky fun rides on the train and carousel, then pick out your very own pumpkin to take home! The snack shack will also be in operation offering sticky sweet treats.
Hours are from 5:30PM until 8:30PM, with the last train of the evening departing at 8:20PM. As always, please note that all times are weather permitting.
Only the most violent and aggressive have been detained at Bedlam Asylum. Barnabus, Baby Chuckles, Mister Giggles, all have started it to make themselves at home, and it isn’t a place you would call sweet. The evil doctors and nurses are only surpassed in their depraved experiments by the patients now turning the tables on them! Don’t become a victim! Find your way out. There are several ways in, but as the patients say… only one way out!
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NorCal Fear 2016: Bedlam Asylum
select dates, October 7-31, 7:00-10:00PM
Sonoma-Marin Fair, 175 Fairgrounds Drive, Petaluma
$15
NorCal Fear is back for 2016 with an all new haunted house experience. Keeping our reputation as the scariest haunted house in the Bay Area!
The Bedlam Asylum is usually a sleepy little facility, with the daily screams drowned out by the laughter of the sinister doctors and careless nurses. The patients could stand it no longer, and lead by long time resident Barnabus Von Slitten, the founder of NorCal, they have revolted! The patients have overrun the asylum! They wander outside on the grounds, barely contained by
the wall.
We need your help to get into the asylum see if there are any patients you can lead to freedom and try to escape with your life! We will help you to break through the outside building walls and get you through a secret service corridor into the asylum. From there, your on your own! Good luck.
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A Promise Not To Forget: DÃa De Los Muertos Exhibition
October 7-November 5
SOMArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco
Free admission, some special events are ticketed
Now in its 17th year, the annual Day of the Dead exhibition at SOMArts Cultural Center offers one of the most internationally diverse DÃa de los Muertos celebrations in the United States. Merging traditional Mexican altars with contemporary art installations, the exhibition presents a superabundant array of perspectives remembering, honoring, and celebrating the dead. Inspired by cherished relationships, current events, and personal and collective histories, more than 25 altars by over 50 participating DÃa de los Muertos artists build a dense environment of creativity that creates space for meaningful reflection and community engagement.
Chosen by father and son curators René & Rio Yañez, this year’s theme, A Promise Not to Forget, is a call to remember our ancestors and honor especially those whose lives have been unnecessarily lost due to violence. A Promise Not to Forget is dedicated to San Francisco poet, musician and activist Silvia Parra, known to many as Mamacoatl, and to Cynthia Wallis, departed partner of curator René Yañez. An artist in her own right, Wallis was well known as a photographer and Bay Area theater director. The third dedication to Martha Rodriguez honors the noted San Francisco visual artist who participated in SOMArts’ Day of the Dead exhibitions for several years.
A Promise Not to Forget will honor the victims of the tragedy at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando with several altars and interactive installations. Paying tribute to the queer, Latinx victims of violence at Pulse, A Promise Not to Forget will invite audience members to reflect on the possibility of a future without violence.
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History for Half Pints: Day of the Dead
Saturday, October 8, 10:00AM-1:00PM
HAHS Center for History and Culture, 22380 Foothill Boulevard, Hayward
Included with Museum admission
Bring the whole family down to the Museum for DÃa de los Muertos festivities! Kids will have the opportunity to decorate sugar skulls, create wonderful works of tin art, and produce DÃa de los Muertos inspired prints from artist Robert Wolff's wood carved stamps.
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Pumpkins in the Park
Saturday, October 8, 10:00AM-4:00PM
Guadalupe River Park / Discovery Meadow, 180 Woz Way, San Jose
Free
Pumpkins in the Park is a harvest fair for families with a strong environmental education component. It is designed to promote awareness of the Guadalupe River Park and celebrate the fall season. Pumpkins in the Park is held to raise funds and enlist supporters for Guadalupe River Park Conservancy. But, just as importantly, its purpose is to create awareness of the park and gardens and to bring families into the park for a day of learning and fun.
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H.A.G. Day (Happy and Giddy)
Saturday, October 8, 11:00AM-4:00PM
Cranberry Hill Mercantile, 1014 West El Camino Real, Sunnyvale
$25, please call 408-736-9151 to register
Drop in to make several projects (leave yourself enough time).
You must register!
We will have fun making Halloween themed projects and we will have yummy refreshments!
Bring your favorite paper crafting tools, wet & dry adhesives, and get ready to have a H.A.G. time!
Wear a costume and receive 15% off your purchases!
Welcome to Stamp on Over, the largest rubber stamping store in the South Bay Area! We are dedicated to the art of rubber stamping and consist of folks just like you - stampers who cannot get enough of this wonderful craft. We are always on the lookout for the latest and greatest in stamping trends. Come take a class with one of our wonderful teachers and learn some great new techniques!
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Jack O'Lantern Workshop - a Halloween Craft Night for Kids!
Saturday, October 8, 5:00-7:00PM
The Art Beat, 68 East Campbell, Campbell, 408-370-5002
$45 per person (includes food, all materials, 2 visits to the studio, and 2 firings)
Sibling discount available, Ages 5+
It's that time again! Our 11th annual make your own Jack O'Lantern! Make a clay Jack O'Lantern from scratch. Kids and adults will form the pumpkin, add, carve and make it your own. Drop the kids off or stay and make one yourself! Projects take about 2 weeks to dry, then you can come back and paint your creation at your convenience. Pizza and beverages will be provided.
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Alden Lane’s Annual Scarecrow Building Contest
Saturday-Sunday, October 8-9, 10:00AM-4:00PM
Alden Lane Nursery, 981 Alden Lane, Livermore
Free, please call 925-447-0280 to register
This contest is for anyone who has an imagination and loves to have fun! You can enter as a group or individually. Families are encouraged to have fun building together. We provide the frame and the straw; you provide the garnish and imagination, it’s tons of fun for everyone. If you really don’t want to build, just come to watch, and enjoy the fun. Warning! You’ll want to join in… so please call ahead to register and reserve your frame!
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Thomas and Percy's Halloween Party
Saturdays-Sundays, October 8-30, 11:00AM-7:00PM
Roaring Camp Railroads, 5401 Graham Hill Road, Felton, 831-335-4484
Free admission, see website for Steam Train tickets
Little engineers won’t believe their eyes - or their ears! This year, for the first time ever, Percy will be joining Thomas the Tank Engine on the rails! Also for the first time ever, Thomas the Tank Engine will be able to talk to his fans!
Dress up for Halloween with favorites Thomas and Percy, for a 20 minute train ride, entertainment, and fun filled activities for the entire family. Activities include: Temporary Tattoos, Face Painting, Storytelling, Videos, Train Play Tables, Pick a Pumpkin (small pumpkins for little ones), Cookie Decorating, Photos with Sir Topham Hatt, Thomas store, and entertainment.
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Haunted Hornet
on board the USS Hornet
Fridays-Sundays, October 8-31,
Fridays & Saturdays 7:00PM-Midnight, Sundays 7:00-11:00PM
USS Hornet Museum, 707 W Hornet Avenue, Pier 3, Alameda, 510-521-8448
$30 October 8-22, $35 October 23-31
Ages 10+
The Haunted Hornet is a high impact, actor-driven, haunted attraction located on board the Historic aircraft carrier USS Hornet.
After being decommissioned in 1970, the USS Hornet aircraft carrier was used to house a secret research facility specializing in deep sea research and Bermuda Triangle phenomena. Undergoing secret and extreme retrofitting, the ship and its crew set out to document what they might find. While out at sea, the crew were involved in the discovery of an unexplained occurrence which began to affect the entire team and the ship. Immediately after, the program was cancelled, items locked into storage and the ship was returned to Puget Sound for final mothballing.
Now 45 years later, we are finally able to access these secret parts of the ship…
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Various Halloween-Themed Movies
select dates October 8-31
The New Parkway Theater, 474 24th Street, Oakland
see website for details
Watching spooky movies is even more fun with comfy couches and pizza delivered right to your seat!
The New Parkway Theater is a community-centered cinema and pub located in Oakland’s Uptown district. Sit back and relax in our cozy couches while watching our new releases, cult classics, and fabulous special programming. Plus, enjoy yummy food and local beer and wine in our café or even delivered right to your theater seat all at affordable prices! Take a look at what’s playing in your second living room (your air-conditioned living room, that is)!
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Day of the Dead Doll Class
with Alexandra Von Burg
Sunday, October 9, 11:00AM-5:00PM
Textile Dream Studio, 2525 8th Street, #13-C, Berkeley
$105 includes kit
Many have been asking for it, so here it is! Sondra will help you make your own version of her skeletal Madonna, including the chest niche.
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Beetlejuice
part of the Cerrito Classics series
Thursday, October 13, 9:30PM
Cerrito Theater, 10070 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito
$9
https://cerritotheater.org/2016/10/01/beetlejuice-1988-at-the-cerrito-thursday-october-13-at-930-p-m
Halloween is just around the corner; time to take in director Tim Burton’s special brand of scariness at the Cerrito on Thursday, October 13 at 9:30PM!
Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam (Alec Baldwin) are a particularly charming couple, who love their life and their country home. But misfortune strikes when they die in a silly accident, and complications ensue.
They discover that they are now ghosts who still live in their country home, but it has been bought by an unbearable New York family, the Deetzes, with big remodeling plans. The ghosts hire Beetlejuice, played by Michael Keaton who advertises himself as an exorcist, to get rid of the Deetzes… but instead, life gets weirder and weirder.
Moviegoers are strongly advised to buy advance tickets at the box office or online, as many shows sell out. Arriving early is a good idea, in order to choose your seat and also order delicious food and wine or beer.
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Ghost Tours of Old Sacramento
Fridays and Saturdays, October 14-29, tours leave every 30 minutes 6:00-9:00PM
meet at Sacramento History Museum, 101 I Street, Old Sacramento
$15 adults, $10 youth ages 6-17. Children under 6 years old not permitted.
Advanced ticket reservation is required.
Come join the “ghosts” of early Sacramento on an eerie journey back in time! Beware of wayward miners, murder victims, and other colorful Gold Rush characters. Hear tantalizing tales of how folks lived - and died! - in our fair city.
Old Sacramento Ghost Tours depart from the Sacramento History Museum at 101 I Street in Old Sacramento. This mile long guided walking tour lasts approximately one hour. Each tour can accommodate up to 20 people.
Come dressed for the weather outside and wear comfortable walking shoes. Tours run rain or shine!
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Morning Flashlight Tour of the USS Hornet
Saturday, October 15, 8:30-11:30AM, and the third Saturday of each month
USS Hornet Museum, 707 W Hornet Avenue, Pier 3, Alameda
$35, Ages 13+
Bring your own flashlight
Beat the crowds and receive a special tour of areas onboard the USS Hornet that have not yet been opened to the public or have limited access during the day:
Combat Information Center (CIC)
Message Center (Radio Central)
Forward Diesel Machine Room
Ship’s Main Laundry
Special Weapons Storages
Brig
Catapult Machinery Room
Cobbler Shop
Dental Spaces
Following the guided tour, explore the rest of the museum on your own. (The guided portion of the tour lasts at least three hours and may vary from the above itinerary.)
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Floating Pumpkin Patch
Saturday, October 15, 1:30-6:00PM
Ridgway Swim Center, 455 Ridgway Avenue, Santa Rosa
$10 includes pumpkin
Tired of searching those dusty fields for your perfect pumpkin to carve or decorate? We are too! So we've put a fun spin on the tradition by creating a patch in the pool just for you! In addition to pumpkins, we've got plenty of other fun activities planned for the day - so bring your suit, towel and friends and make a day of it!
Hunt for your perfect pumpkin in the pool and then deck it out at our decorating station with all sorts of fun crafts! Plus, the pool will be open for pumpkin-splashing fun and we'll be playing games and handing out prizes all afternoon! This is a family event suitable for participants of all ages - so bring your buddies too!
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Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival
Saturday-Sunday, October 15-16, 9:00AM-5:00PM
see website for detailed schedule of events, entertainers and vendors
Historic Main Street, Half Moon Bay
Free
Autumn is a spectacularly special season on the fertile, scenic coast around Half Moon Bay, where the entire Coastside area bursts into a brilliant sea of orange and buzzes with excitement and activity to celebrate its bountiful and beautiful fall harvest. The dazzling journey is its own reward... the tunnel through Devils Slide is a sight to behold, plus the breath-taking views of seaside farm country dotted with vast, rolling fields of orange, scarecrows, barns, and pick-your-own pumpkin patches. It's the perfect time of year and the perfect place to celebrate the beauty and bounty of the Fall season, and Half Moon Bay does it like nobody else. The world-famous Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival is the season’s signature event, drawing hordes of visitors to the World Pumpkin Capital for an epic festival on historic Main Street.
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Goblin Jamboree
Saturday-Sunday, October 15-16, 10:00AM-4:00PM
see website for detailed schedule
Bay Area Discovery Museum, 557 McReynolds Road, Sausalito, 415-339-3900
$16.95
Don your best costumes and enjoy spooky family fun at this year’s Goblin Jamboree! The Bay Area Discovery Museum’s Goblin Jamboree is a two-day Halloween festival and fundraiser. Best for children ages 6 months to 10 years, Goblin Jamboree features an array of child-friendly Halloween programs and activities throughout the museum.
Children can enjoy STEM and art programs like pumpkin dissection, critter observation, ghost building, and haunted house architecture. Other activities include pony rides, a petting zoo, bounce houses, train rides, face painting, hay mazes, and glow-in-the-dark trains! The museum’s new Fab Lab, a high-tech maker space with 3-D printers and laser cutters, is going to be transformed into a haunted house.
Proceeds from Goblin Jamboree Fundraiser support the Bay Area Discovery Museum’s mission to ignite and advance creative thinking for all children. Thank you for your generosity and participation.
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Witches and Wizards Weekend at Playland
Saturday-Sunday, October 15-16, 10:00AM-5:00PM
Playland-Not-At-The-Beach, 10979 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito
see website for admission details
As Halloween creeps closer, Playland-Not-at-the-Beach becomes a bit more haunted and bewitched. This weekend, wizards and witches of all kinds can discover hidden magic potions, mysterious spells and mystical enchantments. Come in costume for special prizes!
Over 30+ pinball machines spanning seven decades, video games, Penny Arcade machines, challenging carnival games of skill, interactive displays and exhibits, miniature circuses, sideshow exhibits, baffling magic shows - they are all here waiting to entertain and amuse you!
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Tolay Fall Festival
Saturday-Sunday, October 15-16 and 22-23, 11:00AM-5:00PM
Tolay Lake Regional Park, 5869 Cannon Lane, Petaluma
Adults $5, Children 12 and under $3, parking $7 per car
The Tolay Fall Festival offers two weeks of old-time, nature-based fun each October at Tolay Lake Regional Park east of Petaluma.
More than just a pumpkin patch, the Tolay Fall Festival is a seasonal celebration connecting visitors with the beauty and history of this special park. Fall Festival activities and displays are low-key, hands-on, and educational by design.
Explore the Nighttime Creatures Barn with its exhibits of native and exotic snakes, birds of prey, tide pool animals, and taxidermied wildlife.
Venture into the Creepy Crawly Room, where tarantulas and scorpions glow under black lights.
Take a hayride to a pumpkin patch in the park’s back 40 and find the perfect Halloween pumpkin.
Visit a replica of a Native American village and try farm activities like wool carding and candle dipping.
Enter the World-Record Pumpkin-Seed Spitting Contest for a chance to win an exclusive title and a year of bragging rights.
Join experts in archery, fly fishing, and astronomy for hands-on demonstrations.
Participate in gunnysack races, find your way through a straw maze, and pet barnyard animals.
Enjoy food and desserts from local vendors or bring a picnic to enjoy at the park.
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Candle Lighters' Ghost House
October 15-30
see website for detailed schedule
Chadbourne Carriage House, 39169 Fremont Boulevard, Fremont
It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness. I don't know who said that first; I learned it from Linus van Pelt*.
But it's even better to have fun with the spooky darkness, so the Candle Lighters organization raises money for several Bay Area charities with their annual Ghost House.
Candle Lighters is a non-profit organization of nearly 130 women volunteers dedicated to raising funds for non-profit groups and community-based projects in the Tri-City Community. (Fremont, Newark and Union City). We consider ourselves a service and a social organization.
Candle Lighters raises donatable dollars solely through our annual Ghost House. Open during the last two weeks of October and based in a historical 19th century Carriage House, the Ghost House is an evolving family-oriented event.
Using a different theme each year, Candle Lighter members, families, sponsors and friends transform the site into an arena of goblins, ghosts, witches and warlocks, providing fun for the community.
In addition to the Ghost House itself, a midway of games, caramel apples, a country store and delightful food treats is created, again geared to entertainment for the entire family.
*My sweet baboo, of course. He has the sincerest pumpkin patch!
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Needle-Felted Owl
with Denise Marshall
Sunday, October 16, 11:00AM–5:00PM
Castle in the Air, 1805 Fourth Street, Berkeley, 510-204-9801
$110 includes materials, limited to 8 students
Oz the Owl has a look of kindness as well as wisdom. As a magical owl, he is a one-of-a-kind species unto himself! In this class, you will learn the basics of needle-felting with wool over a cotton wrapped armature. Denise will walk you through the steps of creating a basic head, body, wings, and talons. Oz’s eyes are created from hand painted glass cabochons, and his beak is made from polymer clay. Denise will teach you both of these processes, and will also have ready-made pieces available. When complete, Oz stands 8 inches tall. He would make a wonderful Halloween prop or a unique gift for any owl collector in your life.
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Community Celebration for the Days of the Dead
Sunday, October 16, 12:00-4:30PM
Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street, Oakland
$11.95 in advance, $15.95 at the door
Join us as OMCA comes alive for the 22nd annual community celebration honoring Days of the Dead traditions. Craft activities, tasty food, dance and music groups, colorful ofrendas, and ceremonia bring the community together for this healing tradition. Watch demonstrations of traditional Mesoamerican arts and cooking, and browse Days of the Dead merchandise by local artisans for your home altar at our mercado. Enjoy performances ranging from contemporary popular music to folkloric dance to mariachi. Join in a procession to open the celebration led by Aztec dancers and Days of the Dead committee members. View community-created altars throughout the OMCA Gardens paying homage to loved ones lost. Enjoy live performances featuring Gabriela Sepúlveda, Mariachi Tapatio, Ballet Folklorico Costa de Oro de San Lorenzo, and Bang Data at the 10th Street Amphitheater and the Main Stage at the OMCA Garden. A selection of festive food highlighting the Bay Area’s diversity of cuisines will be available for purchase from Off the Grid food trucks.
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Embroidered Sugar Skulls
with Robert Mahar
Sunday, October 16, 2:00-5:00PM
Handcraft Studio School, 510-332-6101
*New Location* 10368 San Pablo Avenue El Cerrito
$60 includes materials, limit 15 students
Join us in a handcrafted observance of DÃa de Muertos, celebrating the lives of those dearly departed, as we stitch non-traditional sugar skulls! We’ll transform a beautifully macabre 1903 medical illustration, custom printed on linen cotton canvas, into an ornamental embroidered calavera.
This workshop is best suited to those with very basic embroidery knowledge and experience. Instruction will focus on composition, design transfer techniques and building on basic stitches for more advanced, decorative effects. All materials (fabrics, embroidery floss, hoops and needles!) along with instructional diagrams are provided and included in the cost of the class.
Robert Mahar is an artist and designer who develops and teaches imaginative crafts and clever do-it-yourself projects through high-quality video tutorials and in-person workshops. The crafty content he develops and presents to his YouTube viewers, online audience and workshop attendees is often rooted in nostalgia, and his talent for reinventing old-school crafts with a decidedly modern twist has gained him a loyal following. With an education in studio arts and art history, he has worked in a variety of creative fields including 13 years as an appraiser of modern and contemporary art. When he’s not working in his downtown Los Angeles studio, Robert obsesses over vintage craft books and schemes ways to make it big as a doughnut connoisseur.
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Frozen Charlotte
with Bethany Mann
Thursday, October 20, 11:00AM–5:00PM
Castle in the Air, 1805 Fourth Street, Berkeley, 510-204-9801
$115 includes materials, limited to 8 students
Poor Charlotte didn’t want to put a coat on over her pretty dress… and now she’s frozen solid. Inspired by a cautionary poem written in 1843, Frozen Charlottes were popular “penny dolls,” often given as gifts, reclining in little coffins and accompanied by stern words of warning. (Ah, those fun-loving Victorians.) You will use a genuine vintage Frozen Charlotte and create her little warning book, coffin, and, if desired, a pretty dress for her to wear to her doom. The coffin has a mica lid so you can see Charlotte inside, the snow whirling around her.
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What is Day of the Dead?
with Anita De Lucio
Thursday, October 20, 6:30-8:00PM
HAHS Center for History and Culture, 22380 Foothill Boulevard, Hayward
Included with Museum admission
Find out more about the origins of DÃa de los Muertos with an interactive presentation by artist and cultural educator Anita De Lucio. Visitors will get to experience our Day of the Dead exhibit in new detail and will even get to taste some pan de muerto!
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Hangtown Halloween Ball
Thursday-Sunday, October 20-23
El Dorado County Fairgrounds, 100 Placerville Drive, Placerville
see website for ticket details
Located at the gateway of the picturesque Sierra mountains, Hangtown Halloween Ball creates a fantastic holiday-themed getaway for festival goers of all ages. Each year the event ushers in the harvest season with colorful Halloween themed ambiance and art installations, artist workshops and a diverse lineup spanning multiple genres of music. More than just a chance to get costumed, groove to great music, and get a little wild under the harvest moon; the four-night camping festival has become a treasured tradition for many.
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Womyn’s Spiral Dance
Honoring the Ancestors and the Crones
with Daughters of the Goddess
Friday, October 21, Marketplace opens at 6:30PM, Ritual begins at 7:30PM
Orinda Masonic Temple, 9 Altarinda Road, Orinda
This Event is for Cisgender Women
Adults $29, Teens 14-19 $5, Girls 13 and under Free
Craftswomen, Drumming, Chanting, Dancing in Community and Sisterhood.
Bring your drums, rattles, and a picture of an Ancestor for the Ancestor Altar.
For more information call 925-787-9739 or 925-787-9247 or e-mail Leilani at Leilani@DaughtersoftheGoddess.com
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North Bay Reclaiming’s Samhain and Annual Fundraiser
Friday, October 21, 6:30PM
Sebastopol Grange, 6000 Sebastopol Avenue, Sebastopol
Suggested donations of $10-$30, no one turned away for lack of funds
for more information, please call 707-484-7786 or e-mail northbayreclaiming@yahoo.com
*Please Note: this ritual takes place on a FRIDAY!
The veil is thin and the Beloved Dead are calling. Join North Bay Reclaiming for a Samhain ritual where we will dance with our Beloved Dead and honor this time of grief with our community.
Intention: From the well of our deep grief, we anoint ourselves with the strength and hope of our ancestors.
The North Bay Reclaiming community gathers for public rituals at all eight points of the Wheel of the Year. Rituals and gatherings are planned and facilitated by our Ritual Planning Cell with participation from our wider community.
Our rituals are open to folks of all ages, all genders, all physical abilities, pagans, non pagans, solitaries, covens, seekers, and the curious.
Cost is usually a sliding scale of $10 to $30, no one turned away for lack of funds. Money goes to reserve our venues (parks and The Grange), for ritual materials, event insurance, and a scholarship each year to help a community member attend California Witchcamp.
(All our public rituals are clean and sober events, so please, no alcohol or drugs at the ritual space.)
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Arcane: A Tale of All Hallows’ Eve
Fridays-Sundays, October 21-30,
see website for detailed schedule
Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Boulevard, San Francisco
see website for ticket details
Company C Contemporary Ballet will once again offer refuge to the wayward ghosts who haunt the Bay Area during Autumn’s October days.
The one-hour ballet, suitable for families with children as well as anyone who loves Halloween, tells the original story of Arcane, the star that sits at the hip of the harvest moon. Each Halloween, when the veil between life and death is most thin, she descends to Earth. She brings with her the “Voice of the Voiceless,” and with this voice animates all things to mischief and revelry.
The production mines a wide field of traditional, narrative, and theatrical inspirations from the Mexican Day-of-the-Dead holiday, poi ball spinning of the ancient Maori people of New Zealand, and Chinese and Greek mythology. Lots of stage magic and effects bring the story to life and augment the dancing. We’ve added new characters, music, and choreography to enhance this year’s production.
We are greatly inspired by the team of artists we have gathered to work on this extraordinary Halloween ballet.
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Halloween Train
at the Ardenwood Railroad Museum
Fridays-Sundays, October 21-30, 7:00-9:00PM
Ardenwood Historic Farm, 34600 Ardenwood Boulevard, Fremont
Adults $7, Children 3-12 $5
Climb aboard the train for a frightfully fun ride through the dark forests of Ardenwood. The entire family will enjoy the ghoulishly fun round trip ride on the haunted rails of the Ghost Train.
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Haunted Depot
Fridays-Sundays, October 21-30, and Monday, October 31
see website for detailed schedule
The Historic Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, 90 First Street, Benicia
Adults $6; Children under 6, $4
The normally mild-mannered Southern Pacific Railroad Depot has been mysteriously transformed into a frightful depository of ghosts, goblins and spirits luring you inside for a scare.
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Halloween Costume Contest and Sidewalk Stroll
Saturday, October 22, 10:00AM
City Park, 1st Street and Military W, Benicia
Free
Benicia Main Street offers a great time for kids of all ages during the popular Halloween costume contest and sidewalk stroll. The local merchants on First Street get into the spirit of the holiday for all to shop and enjoy. At noon there will be a Canine and Critter Costume Contest on the First Street Green with awards and treats.
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Spooky Times at Deer Hollow Farm
Saturday, October 22, 10:00AM-3:00PM
Deer Hollow Farm in Rancho San Antonio County Park, Cristo Rey Drive, Los Altos
$7 (in costume $5)
Deer Hollow Farm invites you to celebrate the spooky spirit of Halloween!
Explore haunted barns and a ‘dark forest’
Meet the farm animals in open pens
Treats, drinks and merchandise will be available for purchase
Try your hand at children’s activities and crafts
Make “sweet” spiders
Make chocolate bat finger puppets
Plant a seed to take home
Make bubbles, leaf prints
Explore a creepy touch table
Spooktacular ball toss
Our pens will be open: the goats, chickens, sheep and Luna the cow will welcome you and your family to celebrate Halloween at a 160-year old working farm in the middle of Silicon Valley.
SuperHero Street Fair brought to you by Climate Theater, Laird and Anon Events; strange otherworldly beings gifted with unique and indescribable superhuman strengths, powers and abilities far beyond those of mere mortal party, fair and festival producers. For over 30-years the dynamic duo of Joegh Bullock and Laird have been involved in the creation of inimitable and indescribable celebratory carnivals that honor the human soul, heart and spirit, including The How Weird Street Fair, Decompression Street Fair, Masquerotica, and Sea of Dreams.
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SuperHero Street Fair 2016: Dance of the Disco Jedi
Saturday, October 22, 12:00-10:00PM
290 Napoleon Street, San Francisco
$10-$50
Create your own SuperHero with personalized powers to share and astound the world! Who will YOU be?
Unlike any other fair or festival in this or any other universe, the SuperHero Street Fair, from the co-creators of the How Weird Street Fair, is an unrivaled amalgamation of breathtaking entertainment, music, art, dance, contests, interactive and immersive activities and feats of strength, games and challenges that brings together the single greatest gathering of jaw-droppingly beautifully adorned, costumed super revelers known to mere mortals.
The SuperHero Street Fair will be a unique opportunity for people to reveal their hidden talents. This year the SuperHero Street Fair asks, "How have you used your extraordinary power and abilities to help your community and those around you?" The SuperHero Street Fair will honor the good citizens of our fine metropolis with "SuperHero Awards" that celebrates the “superhero” within all of us.
No SuperHero is complete without swelling and majestic theme music to feel truly empowered and get the hair on your arms to stand up, that’s why the SuperHero Street Fair will feature 7 sonic stages of beats and breaks from the Bay Area’s leading EDM and Dance sound camps. Show off your best badass Batusi dance moves and gyrations from MUTI Music and the Venus Tour Bus, Enchanted Forest, Pulse, Dancetronauts, Santa Cruz Cypher Sessions, Solid Gold Jacuzzi, Trapeze and more.
You’ve spent a lot of time creating that one of a kind costume, so show it off to earn prestige and win prizes in the “Hero Vs Villain Kostume Kontest.” Try to out-clobber each other in the Gladiator Jousting matches and Superhero vs. Villains tug-o-war taking place every-hour-on-the hour, and immerse yourself in alternative worlds and good vs. evil scenarios in the Virtual Reality Intergalactic Zone.
The SuperHero Street Fair will host an array of art and interactive and immersive experiences from some of the Bay Area’s most talented League of Extraordinary Super Creative Types. Watch the drone races over the waterfront and Inflatable Floating Water Orbs as they ride the Islais Creek tide. Don’t miss SuperHero Master Piece Gallery, and be bedazzled by the Sky High Odditorium and North Bay AirART aerial acrobatic teams.
As night falls over Gotham, look for the SuperHero Street Fair Batman-type Skyblaster spotlight logo projected into the sky to help you find the party at night. Check out otherworldly art and lighting displays, including LED light artwork boardwalk by Animatronic Flowers, Solar Galaxies, Light Tunnel, Desert Spring, and Visikord, and escape into the Video Dance Light Wall after dark. Be sure to stroll through the expanded Light Sculpture Waterfront Garden, and don’t miss the multi-colored Lazer projections across the Islais Creek and the specially designed fireworks display designed by one of Burning Man’s firework teams.
If you need a new gadget or gizmo to augment your utility belt to continually combat evil in your dashing displays of daring do-goodery (or villainy), visit the expansive outdoor waterfront bazaar featuring a wide assortment of local crafts, amulets, trinkets, baubles and also fashion designers (in case your costume is not up to par). Additional exhibitions are provided by the Cartoon Art Museum, Jack Kirby Museum, and Mission Comics. Delectable edibles and adult beverages and potions (21+ to drink), will be served from a vast selection of the city's finest on-site food trucks. Additional new games and interactive experiences to be announced in the coming weeks.
SuperHero Street Fair brought to you by Climate Theater, Laird and Anon Events; strange otherworldly beings gifted with unique and indescribable superhuman strengths, powers and abilities far beyond those of mere mortal party, fair and festival producers. For over 30-years the dynamic duo of Joegh Bullock and Laird have been involved in the creation of inimitable and indescribable celebratory carnivals that honor the human soul, heart and spirit, including The How Weird Street Fair, Decompression Street Fair, Masquerotica, and Sea of Dreams.
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Zombie Brew Crawl!
Saturday, October 22, 2:30-5:30PM
Downtown Martinez
see website for ticket information
21+
The undead are coming to Downtown Martinez and they are thirsty for craft beer!
The Main Street Martinez fourth annual Zombie Brew Crawl is happening on the streets of Martinez and everyone is encouraged to join the crowd. Zombies will be walking around the downtown corridor of Martinez, sampling beers from over 23 great craft breweries stationed at various small businesses along Main Street.
Zombie costumes are optional, however there will be prizes awarded for the best individual costumes as well as the best group costume.
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The Halloween Happening
Presented by the City of San Ramon
Saturday, October 22, 6:00-8:30PM
Dougherty Station Community Center, 17011 Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon
$15
Recommended for ages 6-12
Dress in your coolest or scariest costume and join us for some Halloween fun at the new Halloween Happening! Enjoy a Halloween carnival including crafts, games and contests and more! Make a Halloween-themed snack and catch a creepy-crawly show! The night will end with a flashlight candy hunt!
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Sacramento Witches’ Ball
Saturday, October 22, 7:00PM-1:00AM
VFW Grounds 8990 Kruitof Way, Fair Oaks
$25
18+
The Sacramento Witches’ Ball is a fundraising event to support the PanGaia Festival, held in Fair Oaks, California each June. The Sacramento Witches’ Ball is sponsored by North Western Circles Association, a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to raising money in support of Stand Down Sacramento, Wildlife Care Association, and the Wounded Warrior Project.
Featured performer for 2016: Sharon Knight
Show off your costumes, enjoy the Cafe and the Green Fairy Absinthe Bar, browse a great selection of local vendors, and join the Drum Circle!
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Halloween Laser Spooktacular
October 22 and 29,
see website for detailed schedule
Fujitsu Planetarium at DeAnza College,
21250 Stevens Creek Boulevard, Cupertino
see website for ticket details
Celebrate Halloween with a fantastic display of laser lights and music under the planetarium sky.
Show features the following music:
Requiem - Mozart
Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr
People are Strange - The Doors
Pulstar - Vangelis
The Conversation - John Williams
Hot, Hot, Hot - Buster Poindexter
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Devil Went Back to Georgia - Mark O' Connor
Monster Mash - Bobby Picket
Beetlejuice - Danny Elfman
Ghostriders - The Outlaws
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All Hallows Fantasy Faire
Saturday-Sunday, October 22-23,
Saturday 12:00PM-11:00PM, Sunday 11:00AM-6:00PM
Mother Lode Fairgrounds, 220 Southgate Drive, Sonora
see website for ticket details
The Original All Hallows Fantasy Faire is a two day all inclusive costume play Celtic New Year's Celebration! Keeping the All Hallows tradition this year, the dead will be celebrated like never before! The Faire is deeply rooted in the beliefs of the Celtic people, but combined with all the fun and excitement of a modern Halloween.
Hundreds of visiting creatures and characters from your favorite fairy tales and Hollywood movies will come to life over this fun-filled family weekend! The Faire offers many exciting venues to hear live music, enjoy themed food and drink, buy unique items, and marvel at jugglers and magicians. Wear your new or old costume and get into the fun and thrills of the Faire! Music is always one of the favorites at the faire and this year will be more crazy & eclectic!
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Where History Meets Haunting: Inventions and Imaginations
Select dates October 22-29,
Family Program 12:00-4:00PM, Evening Program 6:30-10:00PM
The Rengstorff House, 3070 N. Shoreline Boulevard, Mountain View
$10 in advance, $15 at the door
Let your adventure in time begin here!
America in the 19th century was a rapidly changing and industrializing society and this year the Friends of “R” House are pleased to bring you; from the creators of the popular Where History Meets Haunting, Where History Meets Haunting Presents: Inventions and Imaginations. Come explore the vast wonders of the 19th century with a haunted Steampunk twist set in a historic house museum. Come learn about the imaginative ideas of the era and the real history behind them in this one of a kind interactive haunted house attraction.
Once again we will be offering two distinct programs, our ticketed evening program which includes all of the traditional sound and lighting effects along with the unparalleled interactive and immersive experience you have come to expect from the Where History Meets Haunting crew. If that’s not your interest we are again offering our daytime family programs, so, bring the kids out for an afternoon of trick-or-treating, fun, and a behind the scenes look at Inventions and Imaginations. Take a few moments and interact with our costumed interpreters and if you’re lucky, you just might stumble upon one of our Head Haunters or their co-conSPIRITors. See if you can get them to talk!
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Halloween Treasure Hunt
Sunday, October 23, 10:30AM-12:00PM
Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley Street, Palo Alto
$30 in advance, $40 on the day
Ahoy, Maties!
Bring your kids to Gamble Garden’s Halloween Treasure Hunt. Come dressed as pirates or in your favorite costume and explore for treasures in our Gardens. X marks the spot at the final treasure hunt stop with a magic show.
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Science Wizards of Halloween
Saturday, October 26, 10:00AM-12:00PM, 1:00-2:30PM
Coyote Hills Regional Park, 8000 Patterson Ranch Road, Fremont
Free, drop in
Parking $5
Ages 9 and up
https://apm.activecommunities.com/ebparks/Activity_Search/science-wizards-of-halloween/14504
https://apm.activecommunities.com/ebparks/Activity_Search/science-wizards-of-halloween/14504
Mystify, dazzle and astound your friends with magic tricks that seem impossible. We can't break the laws of nature, but we'll make you think we do. Learn about the science behind each feat of trickery. Ages 9 and up. Parent participation is required.
Please RSVP!
Costumes are encouraged!
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Witchy Rituals & Boozy Elixirs
Wednesday, October 26, 6:30-9:00PM
Gravel & Gold, 3266 21st Street, San Francisco
Free, RSVP required
Join us for a magical evening of witchy rituals & boozy elixirs with Sister Spinster and Gravel & Gold!
The event starts at 6:30PM with drinks & mingling.
At 7:00PM, Sister Spinster will guide us in a seasonal ritual and plant talk!
At 8:30PM, we will have a prize drawing! Purchase tickets here if you'd like to take part in the chance to win a Boob tote!
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Spooky Night Party
Wednesday, October 26, 7:00-8:00PM
Alameda Main Library, 1550 Oak Street, Alameda
Free
Games! Treats! Fun!
We’re having a Spooky Night Party!
Free and open to children from kindergarten on up. Kids who frighten easily may not wish to attend.
Costumes are encouraged!
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Playland Halloween After Dark
Thursday, October 27, 6:00-10:00PM
Playland-Not-At-The-Beach, 10979 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito
$10
18+
Come play some Haunted House pinball in full costume at Playland-Not-at-the-Beach's after dark Halloween party. Get ready for spooky magic, mystery, treats and games, with no kids allowed. Awoooo!
Over 30+ pinball machines spanning seven decades, video games, Penny Arcade machines, challenging carnival games of skill, interactive displays and exhibits, miniature circuses, sideshow exhibits, baffling magic shows - they are all here waiting to entertain and amuse you!
Enchantations is a delightful magik shop owned by Tina and Sabrina Hodges. We will start gathering at 6:30PM to get to know each other, snack and peruse the wonderful items in the shop. The shop is open until 7:00PM, at which time the doors will be closed, so punctuality is vital. There is street parking and spaces behind the shop. The shop phone is 408-508-5900 if you have any questions.
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An Evening of Shamanic Sound Healing
with Sean Michael Imler
Thursday, October 27, 6:30PM,
and the last Thursday of every month
Enchantations, 2160 Winchester Boulevard, Campbell
Donations accepted
We're getting close to Samhain when the veils are thinnest. This month's theme looks to be resolving unfinished business. What's yours? Using sound, chant and our connection to spirit to bringing healing and resolution, even on the ancestral level.
Shamanic Sound Healing is a way to bring our intentions for healing into manifestation. Join Sean Michael Imler, who will lead the group through a shamanic journey that’s called upon by spirit for the evening. Sometimes there’s a teaching. We will then collectively focus on healing while chanting, and lastly connect through sharing.
Enchantations is a delightful magik shop owned by Tina and Sabrina Hodges. We will start gathering at 6:30PM to get to know each other, snack and peruse the wonderful items in the shop. The shop is open until 7:00PM, at which time the doors will be closed, so punctuality is vital. There is street parking and spaces behind the shop. The shop phone is 408-508-5900 if you have any questions.
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RiffTrax Live presents Carnival of Souls
Thursday, October 27, 8:00PM
re-broadcast on Monday, October 31, 8:00PM
see website for local event details and tickets
Fathom Events and RiffTrax are excited to bring Carnival of Souls to the big screen for a LIVE riff on Thursday, October 27 followed by a special re-broadcast on Monday, October 31.
Kick-off your Halloween season with a night of laughter as the guys who make movies funny, Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, take on the spooky 1962 cult classic Carnival of Souls.
When young Mary survives a horrible car crash, she tries to start her life over with a new job in a small Utah town. But along the way she’s haunted by a gaunt pale figure in a nice suit who leads her to an abandoned old pavilion on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. Soon Mary doesn’t know if she’s awake or dreaming, alive or dead, which makes her really dull at parties.
In its first big screen presentation since a recent full-color restoration, Carnival of Souls as riffed by the RiffTrax crew is weird, creepy, very silly and the perfect Halloween treat.
Now in our tenth horrifying year, this pirate-themed attraction was created by artist David Scott Harris.
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House of Blackbeard
Thursday-Monday, October 27-31, 6:30-10:00PM
private home, 980 Janet Lane, Lafayette
$15
House of Blackbeard is a family-friendly and date night fright customized interactive walk-through that will get your heart racing just in time for Halloween. Arriving October 27th in Lafayette, come meet Blackbeard and all his wives as you tour around and through his dear ole mum's house where all Blackbeard's prized possessions seem to find their way.
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Scaregrove
Friday, October 28, 3:00-9:00PM
Stern Grove, 2750 19th Avenue, San Francisco
$8
Join us for Scaregrove, our wild Halloween event at Sigmund Stern Grove. This family-friendly event features carnival rides, a haunted house, costume parade, live entertainment, food for sale and more!
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Halloween Zoo Night
Friday, October 28, 5:30-8:00PM
Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo, 1451 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
Included with Museum membership
Join us for a fun and spooky night at the JMZ! This is a special, Club JMZ only event.
Dress up in your Halloween costume
and the JMZ
Enjoy pizza, drinks, and other treats in the zoo
And more!
Not yet a member or need to renew your membership? Enroll online or on-site at the Junior Museum & Zoo. Questions? Contact Julie at julie@friendsjmz.org or (650) 326-6338.
The Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo shines as a community gem and strives to engage a child's curiosity in science and nature. In the heart of Palo Alto, the JMZ continues its mission with the support of the Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo and its generous member and donor base.
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Halloween Twilight Hike at Coyote Hills
Friday, October 28, 5:30-8:30PM
Coyote Hills Regional Park, 8000 Patterson Ranch Road, Fremont
$4, pre-registration required
Parking $5
Ages 5 and up
Spend a SPOOKtacular evening as we hike the hills looking for hobgoblins, witches, and ghosts during sunset. Find out the ancient origins and modern traditions of Halloween. Don your costume to seek out wandering souls along the trail. Return for treats and a campfire story.
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Marine Masquerade
Friday, October 28, 6:00-8:00PM
Seymour Center, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz
Adults $8, Children $6, Ages 2 and Under Free
Join us for a Magical Mystery Marine Masquerade Adventure!
Kids - dress up if you wish, be a seal or a fish - and bring your parents for a night of scavenger hunts, creature crafts, flashlight tours to a whale of a skeleton, a shipwreck story, costume
parade, music, and more.
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SuperNatural Halloween at the Academy of Sciences
Friday, October 28, 6:30-9:00PM
California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco
Adults $50, Children $35
Spooky skulls and spine-tingling specimens await! Grab your costumes for a ghoulishly good time trick-or-treating your way through the Academy after dark.
Come enjoy!
Trick-or-Treating, Dancing, Face Painting, Magic Shows, Scientists and Specimens, Live Animal Shows, Giant Pumpkin Carving, Crafts, Photo Booths, Food and Drink
Proceeds support Academy programs including school field trips for 150,000 students annually.
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Ship of Spirits: Dinner with a Medium & Flashlight Tour
on board the USS Hornet
Friday, October 28, 6:30PM-Midnight
USS Hornet Museum, 707 W Hornet Avenue, Pier 3, Alameda
$65, must book in advance
Bring your own flashlight
Ages 12+
Please join us for a catered dinner in Hangar Bay 3 with Medium Mariah Kunau as she makes contact with your unseen hosts.
Your dinner host and lecturer will be acclaimed parapsychologist, ghost hunter and mentalist, Professor Loyd Auerbach followed by a “flashlight tour” of the most notorious haunted locations on the ship. This includes areas not yet open to the general public, such as the Combat Information Center (CIC), Mess Deck, Sidewinder Missile Assembly Room, Sick Bay, and others.
Ages 17 & Under must be accompanied by a paying Adult.
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Witches Ball and Samhain Celebration
presented by the Sonoma County Pagan Network
Friday, October 28, 7:00PM
Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center, 2050 Yulupa Avenue, Santa Rosa
$5-$10 suggested donation, no one turned away for lack of funds
For 16 years it has been our privilege to hold our annual Witches' Ball and Samhain Celebration for the Pagan community of Sonoma County. Once again we invite you to come and celebrate and feast with us. Costume or ritual garb is encouraged.
This year’s evening’s festivities include:
Ritual
Dinner With The Dead
Witch And Wizard Hat Contest
Special performances by Michael Jackson impersonator Quintin Starks and Firelight Society!
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Hallowine 2016!
Friday, October 28, 8:00-11:00PM
Rock Wall Wine Company, 2301 Monarch Street, Alameda
$25
21+
Join us for an evening of Halloween shenanigans! Bay Area legend DJ Alex Mejia will keep the party rockin' while you sip amazing wines, commemorate your awesome time in our haunted photo booth, get creeped out by our spooky sensory bar and play some pumpkin games! Come in costume for a chance to win some awesome prizes.
Admission includes a souvenir wine glass and your first glass of wine. Flights, wine by the glass, and food will be available for an additional charge.
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Groundswell Halloween Gathering
Friday-Tuesday, October 28-November 1
Groundswell Institute, 18500 Highway 128, Yorkville
See website for registration information
It’s time to gather once more beneath the redwoods and the stars to celebrate our lives and the lives of those who have come before. Known by many names, Samhain, Halloween, All Souls Day, this holiday is a time of not only tricks and treats, but also of tributes and remembrance. It’s a time when the veils between the living and the spirits are thin, so we invite the honored dead to dance and play and fuck and grieve with us.
The days are already beginning to shorten as we head towards the darker seasons of the year. What better way to spend those dark days than in the embrace of your fabulous queer family? Together, we will be dancing, playing, circling, sharing, feasting, fucking, holding each other in joy and sorrow. Together, under a new moon sky full of stars, we will cast new intentions for the coming months and release those pieces of ourselves that keep us from realizing them. Together, we will continue calling in a new, queerer reality.
Consisting of a non-profit retreat center and a residential ecovillage, Groundswell is dedicated to helping LGBTQ people lead healthier, more fulfilled lives and giving them to tools to create change in the world.
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Halloween ComicFest
Saturday, October 29
your local comic book store - see website for participating shops in your area
Celebrate Halloween at Comic Book Shops!
Your local comic book specialty shop is a great destination for the latest Halloween and horror pop-culture products and merchandise: from comics and graphic novels to costumes, toys and more! Plus, each shop has great Halloween events planned, so make sure you find your closest destination and come in and see what haunts your local comic book shop!
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Downtown Livermore Halloween Carnival
Saturday, October 29, 11:00AM-4:00PM
Historic Downtown Livermore, McLeod Street between First and Second Street, Livermore
Free admission, $5 for some activities
Join us for the Kidz Town Halloween Hay Day – Livermore's favorite, family tradition with new activities this year!
The Downtown hosts Halloween fun activities for families with children in the 5th grade and younger! Kids will enjoy the costume contest, pumpkin carving contest (pre-carved and submitted between Wednesday, October 26th and Thursday, October 27th) carnival games, Halloween themed activities and downtown business trick-or-treat and truck-or-treat!
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Halloween at Howarth Park
Saturday, October 29, 11:30AM-12:15PM, 12:45-1:30PM, or 2:00-2:45PM
Howarth Park, 630 Summerfield Road, Santa Rosa
$5 Pass: includes trick-or-treating and access to the Fun Zone
$12 Deluxe Pass: includes same as above plus a train, carousel, and pony ride
Join us for the 11th annual Halloween at Howarth! Dress in your best costume and come trick-or-treat throughout one of Santa Rosa's most popular parks! Plus, hop on Howarth Park's train and carousel with your costumed friends and catch a pony ride too!
Children ages 12 and under will trick-or-treat through the park at treat stations hosted by local Santa Rosa businesses and organizations and can then enjoy Howarth Park's many other attractions. In the event of rainy weather, call 707-543-3425 the morning of the event for a status update.
Yu'r crew will have the best Halloween ever!
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Pirates in the House! Aargh
Saturday, October 29, 12:00PM and 3:00PM
Falkirk Cultural Center, 1408 Mission Avenue, San Rafael
See website for ticket information
Thar "Fancy Scallywag!" be Pirates in th' House. Put on your best Pirate gear, br'n your crew an' come th' Falkirk. Join a pirate crew fer grog an' a feast. Set out on th' grounds fer pirate treasure. A "Curse Th' Powder Chest!" festive Hallow'n event fer children o' all ages. Eat an' be merry an' find your buried treasure wi' carbunculously real pirates.
Event included "pirate feast" with real pirates, treasure hunt, individual treasure and halloween tricks and treats!
Yu'r crew will have the best Halloween ever!
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Spooky Celluloid
Part of the Saturday Cinema series
Saturday, October 29, 1:00PM and 3:00PM
Exploratorium, Pier 15, San Francisco
Included with Exploratorium asmission
Get ready for some Halloween mischief! Experience the classics with your kids as Felix the Cat, Betty Boop, and creepy characters appear on the screen in stories filled with fright as well as delight. All will be presented on 16mm film. Films include Felix the Cat Switches Witches (1927, 8 min.) by Pat Sullivan, Betty Boop's Hallowe'en Party (1933, 7 min.) by Dave Fleischer, Bimbo's Initiation (1931, 7 min.) by Dave Fleischer, and Silly Symphonies Skeleton Dance (1929, 7 min.) by Ub Iwerks.
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Day of the Dead Martinez
Saturday, October 29, 2:00-8:00PM
Main Street Plaza, Main Street and Estudillo Street, Martinez
Free
Celebrating the Mexican tradition of honoring the ancestors. Bring photos, flowers and mementos of loved ones to place on altars. Dress in traditional Dia de los Muertos skeleton motif. Traditional skull face painting. All ages welcome.
Altars created by local artists, traditional foods and music, family activities, costumes encouraged.
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Pumpkins on Pikes
Saturday, October 29, 2:00-10:00PM
Tara Firma Farms, 3796 I Street, Petaluma, 707-765-1202
$20 includes a pumpkin, Children under 6 Free
Pumpkins on Pikes is one of those very special events where magic is created and experienced by all who attend.
The festivities start in the afternoon with great food, music and pumpkin carving. Everyone will get the chance to display their Jack O’ Lantern on a pike in the corn field. When the sun goes down the pumpkins are lit. It is a truly heart warming feeling looking over the glowing corn field to see the individual creations of all who attended.
Pumpkin included with admission.
$10 BBQ plate will be available for dinner.
Bring:
Special carving tools
Blanket (if staying after dark)
Favorite dessert (If participating in dessert potluck)
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Community Seed Samhain Ritual
Saturday, October 29, 5:00-9:00PM
Masonic Temple, 828 N. Branciforte Avenue, Santa Cruz
suggested donation of $8-$20, no one turned away for lack of funds
for more information, call 831-469-0336 or e-mail info@communityseed.org
Community Seed presents
Samhain 2016: Going to your own Funeral
This ritual is not recommended for youngsters.
See website for details about Potluck Feast.
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Howl-O-Ween Family Sleepover
Saturday, October 29, 6:00PM-Sunday, October 30, 10:00AM
Happy Hollow Park and Zoo, 1300 Senter Road, San Jose
$65 per person
Ages 5 and up with an adult
Be our overnight guest for a howling good time & enjoy the thrill of the zoo after dark!
During your adventure, learn the truth about "scary" animals through Halloween-themed activities (including Trick-or-Treat stations), games, live animal encounters, and night tours. Your adventure includes a late-night snack and a hot breakfast the next morning, including pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and more! Please note: dinner is NOT included.
Bring your own tent to tent camp in the Crooked House Meadow or sleep indoors inside the Learning LODGE. Indoor sleeping is limited and must be requested at the time of registration by contacting the Education Department. Please eat dinner before you arrive or pack a picnic dinner to bring with you. The Picnic basket restaurant will not be open.
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Wake the Dead
Halloween celebration with Celtic all-star Grateful Dead jam band
Saturday, October 29, 7:00PM
Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley
$31 in advance, $33 at the door
What could be more fitting? Wake the Dead plays the Freight for Halloween, or, if you prefer All Hallows’ Eve, a time to remember the dead and the Grateful Dead, with the world’s first Celtic all-star Grateful Dead jam band. They’ve recently brought their unique brand of musical alchemy to the Summer of Love, much to the delight of Deadheads, folkies, rockers, and lovers of Irish reels. The Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit, the Youngbloods’ Get Together, Stephen Stills’ Love the One You’re With - all receive the band’s unique Celtic twist.
The band features Maureen Brennan on harp, Cindy Browne on bass, Danny Carnahan on vocals, fiddle, octave mandolin, and guitar, Kevin Carr on fiddle, whistles and uilleann pipes, Sylvia Herold on vocals, Paul Kotapish on mandolin, guitar, and jaw harp, and Brian Rice on percussion. Their shows tend to sell out, so get your tickets early and enjoy a show that’s sure to be spooky, freaky, and exquisitely other worldly.
Celebrate the most ghostly night of the year in the haunted splendor of the Presidio Officers’ Club. Bewitch the dance floor to the spellbinding swing of Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums featuring Miss Carmen Getit, enjoy trick or treat twirls by the San Francisco Jitterbugs, divine your future with our resident Fortune Tellers, and savor diabolical specialty spirits whipped up by our acclaimed Arguello restaurant. Don’t miss San Francisco’s finest evening of fiendish fun!
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Halloween Dance: The Masquerade Macabre
Saturday, October 29, 7:00-10:00PM
Doors open at 6:15PM, Dance Lesson at 6:30PM
Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Avenue, San Francisco
Free, registration required
18+
Experience events that capture the spirit and vitality of the Presidio... past and present.
Celebrate the most ghostly night of the year in the haunted splendor of the Presidio Officers’ Club. Bewitch the dance floor to the spellbinding swing of Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums featuring Miss Carmen Getit, enjoy trick or treat twirls by the San Francisco Jitterbugs, divine your future with our resident Fortune Tellers, and savor diabolical specialty spirits whipped up by our acclaimed Arguello restaurant. Don’t miss San Francisco’s finest evening of fiendish fun!
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Halloween Ecstatic Dance
Saturday, October 29, 7:00-11:30PM
Sweets Ballroom, 1933 Broadway, Oakland
$20
Join us as we come together to dance and celebrate both the living and the dead on this night when the veils between worlds are thinnest.
Come dressed in a representation of your alter ego. Is it friend or foe? Angel or devil? You choose, but choose wisely because you will be dancing together all night long!
The Ecstatic Dance Community helps create safe and sacred containers for free-form conscious dance in cities and towns around the world.
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Paranormal Workshop & Investigation at McConaghy House
Saturday, October 29, 7:00PM-3:00AM
McConaghy House, 18701 Hesperian Boulevard, Hayward
$75, Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance
18+
Experienced investigators lead attendees through McConaghy House, with access to all non-restricted areas. Many paranormal research groups have investigated the two locations and found them to be very active sites. Data collected on previous investigations include electronic voice phenomena (EVP), cold spots, touches, apparitions and much more.
Proceeds support the maintenance and preservation of the historic sites
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Hallows Fireside Concert with Sharon Knight and Winter
Saturday, October 29, 7:30-10:30PM
Fireside Room at BFUU, 1924 Cedar Street, Berkeley
$15 in advance, $20 at the door
Come join us for a Samhain show in the Fireside Room at the BFUU. We’ll play songs from our new album, Portals, some crowd favorites, and our song from the Green Album, a compilation of eco-themed songs by a boatload of Pagan artists such as Damn the Bard, SJ Tucker, Kellianna, Wendy Rule, Tuatha Dea, & many others. 25% of proceeds from this album go to the Rainforest Trust, who buy up acres of rainforest for preservation purposes. So far over 5,000 acres have been preserved on behalf of The Green Album alone!
Festival Favorites Sharon Knight and Winter are internationally touring musicians in the mythic-Celtic vein. Their penchant for combining fierce and gutsy bravado with ethereal beauty, a hearty dose of fantastical lyrics, and an obvious love of storytelling has inspired their own style, "Neofolk Romantique". This often sound less Celtic and more "Folktales that ran away with the Faeries at the turn of the century and took cover in an old trunk bound for the circus, which was then commandeered by pirates." This suits them fine.
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Sebastopol Halloween Costume Party
Saturday, October 29, 7:30PM-Midnight
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center, 390 Morris Street, Sebastopol
$12 in advance, $15 at the door
Join us for a frightfully good time!
Come dance the night away dressed in your best costume! Featuring the music of Frobeck, Mr. Music and The Love Choir. Catered delights, plus wine, beer and spirits will be for sale.
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Monsters Bash 2016: Swing Horror & 80s Frights
on board the USS Hornet
Saturday, October 29, 7:30PM-1:00AM
USS Hornet Museum, 707 W Hornet Avenue, Pier 3, Alameda
Kick off your Halloween onboard the Haunted USS Hornet!
Live Music by Lee Presson and the Nails and Flock of Seagirls.
Swing and 80’s Dance Music by DJ Terrifying Tom LG
$500 cash prize for the winner of the Costume Contest
GHOULISH Entertainment!
The first half will feature Halloween-themed Laugh Track City improv games and scenes inspired by audience suggestions and participation! The second half will showcase “The Wheel of Scary Genres,” where the cast will perform an improvised movie based on a suggested title and scary movie genre! Will it be a teen slasher? A ghost story? A zombie western apocalypse? There’s only one way to find out!
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Halloween Spooktacular Show
Saturday, October 29, 8:00PM
Made Up Theatre, 3392 Seldon Court, Fremont
$15
One show featuring TWO unique acts!
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The Haunted Hourglass- a very Gorey Halloween
Saturday, October 29, 8:00PM-2:00AM
Cat Club SF, 1190 Folsom Street, San Francisco
$35-$55
As the sands of time trickle into our 17th Annual Edwardian Ball Season, we would like to pause a moment and reflect back on our haunted, humble origins. Consider the venerable Cat Club, birthplace of our beloved Edwardian celebration at the turn of the last century... And so we are delighted to return to where it all began, for The Haunted Hourglass, or, a Very Gorey Halloween.
Join Rosin Coven, Founders of The Ball, as they bring Gorey to life onstage... with friends Dark Garden, Miz Margo, The Klown, Decay, Speakeasy Syndicate, DJ Fact.50, Glass Eye Shadow Pictures, Tyler Ryan, Blue Victrola, and more, in a dark, intimate, elegant and whimsical Edwardian soirée.
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Phantasm: A Karnival of Mischief
presented by Opel
and the Vau de Vire Society
Saturday, October 29, 9:00PM-Midnight
San Francisco Armory, 1800 Mission Street, San Francisco
see website for ticket details
It doesn’t get much more Halloween than a Saturday night in San Francisco in a haunted castle in the heart of the city. Enter Phantasm, one of the Bay Area’s most epic Halloween gatherings now in its second year! Featuring a top notch eclectic line up of special guests in the super funk duo that is Chromeo, + breaks & electro legends The Crystal Method, & the unique performance spectacle of Vau de Vire Society, the best cross section of locals from your favorite Burning Man and city crews, Big Art, an immersive midway, a kinky laced VIP area on the Upper Floor, and much, much more… What is Behind the Funhouse Door? Will it entice you, scare the shit out of you, freak with you, or caress you? Come find out.
From the production minds behind such stellar and forward thinking fun offering such as New Bohemia NYE, Opulent Temple, Edwardian Ball, Masquerotica, Hell in the Armory, Night of the Living Bass, the Soiled Dove, Bohemian Carnival, and so much more.
Step into a midway of careening colors and karni oddities, surrounded by big beats and dangerous performers where you’re not quite sure where the audience ends and the show begins. The haunted halls of the Armory will come alive on Halloween as we co-write the next chapter in epic spooky avant garde gatherings.
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Boo at the Zoo
Saturday-Sunday, October 29-30, 10:00AM-3:00PM
Oakland Zoo, 9777 Golf Links Road, Oakland
included with Zoo admission
Visit Oakland Zoo for our annual Halloween event, Boo at the Zoo! Stroll the Zoo in costume and collect yummy treats.
Ride the spooky Boo Train and join the first-ever Boo at the Zoo Dance Party. Plus, get your face painted, make treats for the animals, and see how the animals at Oakland Zoo celebrate Halloween.
Kids in costumes receive a free ride ticket!
Bay Area Science Festival Teams Up with Oakland Zoo
For the fourth year in a row, the Bay Area Science Festival has helped make this Halloween event a science-themed weekend - featuring a scavenger hunt-style trick or treating adventure, up-close animal encounters, spooky interactive stations, and a Wildlife Theater presentation focused on creepy crawly animals.
Child friendly activities will take place throughout the Zoo, including a treat table where families can create Halloween goodies for the Zoo’s animals.
Boo at the Zoo is a day-time opportunity for families to bring out their noble Ninja Turtles, tiny Tinker Bells, precious Princesses, and spectacular Superheroes to an outdoor adventure filled with spooktackular fun.
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Jack O'Lantern Jamboree
Saturday-Sunday, October 29-30, 10:00AM-4:00PM
Children's Fairyland, on the shore of Lake Merritt at Grand Avenue and Bellevue, Oakland
$10
On the last weekend in October, join us to celebrate with fun and games that are more delightful than frightful.
Come in costume and enjoy a spooktacular extravaganza with:
Unlimited rides
Parades
Goody bags and treat stations for kids (while supplies last)
Two jumpers, one for little kids and one for bigger kids
Arts and crafts
Pirate school
Balloon twisting
Special performances
Costumed fairy-tale characters
Shows by our Children’s Theater Program and Storybook Puppet Theater
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Halloween Costume Weekend at Playland
Saturday-Sunday, October 29-30, 10:00AM-5:00PM
Playland-Not-At-The-Beach, 10979 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito
Adults $15, Children $10
What could be spookier, safer or more fun than Halloween all weekend at Playland-Not-at-the-Beach? Our Halloween Costume Party weekend gives trick-or-treaters chances to play carnival games, FREE PLAY pinball, win prizes and more! Prizes for everyone who comes in costume.
Over 30+ pinball machines spanning seven decades, video games, Penny Arcade machines, challenging carnival games of skill, interactive displays and exhibits, miniature circuses, sideshow exhibits, baffling magic shows - they are all here waiting to entertain and amuse you!
Check out our collection of animal skeletons and brains, help us sort through mealworms (if you dare), and meet some of our creepier animals to learn the science behind their unique characteristics.
Drop in for imaginative craft-making based on the Presidio’s natural and cultural heritage. Featuring different crafts every weekend!
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Happy Creepy Hall-oween
Saturday-Sunday, October 29-30, 10:00AM-5:00PM
The Lawrence Hall of Science, 1 Centennial Drive, Berkeley, 510-642-5132
Free with admission
Celebrate Halloween with Science!
Start your Halloween early and celebrate all weekend long during Happy Creepy Hall-oween.
From pumpkin lifts in the Ingenuity Lab to giant trebuchet demonstrations with UC Berkeley’s Pioneers in Engineering program, you’re sure to find the perfect way to celebrate with science.
The Hall’s Animal Discovery Room is getting in the Hall-oween spirit with the help of some of our spookier Animal Ambassadors.
Check out our collection of animal skeletons and brains, help us sort through mealworms (if you dare), and meet some of our creepier animals to learn the science behind their unique characteristics.
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Dia de Los Muertos Masks
Creative Family Fun at the Presidio
Saturday-Sunday, October 29-30, 11:00AM-4:00PM
Presidio of San Francisco
Free
Saturday:
Come get creative during Dia de Los Muertos mask-making and learn all about the Presidio’s connection to Mexico.
Drop in for imaginative craft-making based on the Presidio’s natural and cultural heritage. Featuring different crafts every weekend!
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Haul-o-ween 2016: The Hound of the Hibernians
Saturday-Sunday, October 29-30,
Obtainium Works, 510 Pennsylvania Street, Vallejo
Spooky Speakeasy Haunted House 4:00-7:30PM,
Adults $5, Children under 12 Free
Come to our annual Haunted House! This time with a 1920s speakeasy theme. Fun for the whole family!
The Hound of the Hibernians Murder Mystery 7:30-11:00PM
Appetizers, Cocktails, Dinner, and Show $35,
Show only $15
Yes! That's right! For two nights only! It's a scary variation on the classic Sherlock Holmes story: The Hound of the Hibernians, A Murder Mystery will shock you and possibly get slobbered upon! Ewww!
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Halloween Trunk-or-Treat Spooktacular
Sunday, October 30, 10:00AM-2:00PM
along Main Street, Martinez
Free
We're teaming up with local businesses to provide a safe place for you to enjoy Halloween festivities. Instead of walking house to house, visit creatively themed and decorated car trunks and shops lining downtown Martinez to collect candy and treats.
The Trunk or Treat and Store to Store event will happen on a Sunday, in conjunction with the Farmers Market. The Market will be on the 600 and 700 blocks of Main Street and the 500, 800, and 900 blocks will be filled with Trunk or Treat cars. Many stores throughout the downtown area will also be open and handing out treats.
Treat bags and maps will be handed out to Trunk or Treaters in the Main Street Plaza, adjacent to Starbucks on Main Street.
Face painting in the plaza will be provided by the City of Martinez Parks and Recreation Department.
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Fruitvale Dia de los Muertos
Sunday, October 30, 10:00AM-5:00PM
along East 12th Street between 33rd Avenue and 37th Avenue
and in Fruitvale Village, Oakland
Free admission
Dia de los Muertos is the most anticipated family event of the year!
This is a beloved festival that has been rooted in our community, honoring Mexican tradition while generating modern interpretations that connects with a broad spectrum of demographics.
Come and enjoy the flavors of Latin American cuisine and enjoy a day filled with entertainment, art and community. Fun for the entire family. There will be continuous entertainment on two stages.
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Halloween Free Day at the Exploratorium!
Sunday, October 30, 10:00AM-5:00PM
Exploratorium, Pier 15, San Francisco
Free
Help us celebrate Halloween a day early on October 30 when we open our doors to the public for free.
The Exploratorium isn't just a museum; it's an ongoing exploration of science, art and human perception - a vast collection of online experiences that feed your curiosity. Explore at the intersection of science, art, and human perception.
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Haunt the History Park
Sunday, October 30, 11:00AM-3:00PM
History Park, 1650 Senter Road (Entrance at 635 Phelan Avenue), San Jose
$5
This scare-free annual event has become a tradition, with trick-or-treating, family-friendly events, and arts and crafts activities. Trick-or-treating stations will be set up at the historic homes in History Park and are sponsored by the History San José Education Department, History San José docents and History San José’s affiliates.
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Bewitching Tea
Sunday, October 30,
three seatings 11:00AM, 1:00PM, and 3:00PM
Camellia Tea Room, 838 First Street, Benicia
$45 (includes tax and gratuity), reservations required
Featuring:
Traditional Afternoon Tea
Fashion Show
Party Favors
Haunted Hat Contest
Proceeds benefit Safequest of Solano County and STAND of Contra Costa County, non profit agencies that serve victims of domestic violence. Event is sponsored by Camellia Tea Room and Soroptimist International of Benicia. For more information or to make a reservation, please call 707-746-5293.
Camellia Tea Room is located in a beautifully restored 1897 building in historic downtown Benicia. Lace curtains, ivory tablecloths and fresh flowers on each table, tea served in bone china teapots and an ornate ceiling featuring Bradbury & Bradbury Art Wallpapers make for an elegant and relaxing atmosphere. In addition to afternoon tea, we serve lunch and desserts, and everything is made fresh daily in our kitchen. We offer more than 40 fine loose leaf teas.
Welcome!
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Halloween Hoopla at Yerba Buena Gardens
Sunday, October 30, 12:00-2:00PM
Children's Garden, Yerba Buena Gardens, 799 Howard Street, San Francisco
Free
Our 16th annual Halloween Hoopla features interactive performances and games for kids under 10 and their adults, and the return of the Yerba Buena Pumpkin Patch! The program culminates in the eagerly awaited Halloween Costume Parade, where everyone is welcome to show off their Halloween finery.
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Trick-or-Treat in Downtown Campbell
Sunday, October 30, 5:00-7:30PM
Historic Downtown Campbell
(along E Campbell Avenue between Harrison Avenue and Winchester Boulevard, Campbell)
Free
Come to Downtown Campbell for our annual Halloween trick-or-treat to be held, for the first time, on Halloween itself! We'll carry on rain or shine.
Trick-or-Treat, 5:00-7:00PM: Downtown restaurants, shops, and boutiques will be open and will welcome little goblins with sweet treats! Books for Treats: the Campbell Rotary Club will be giving away free books as treats to kids in front of Palazzi Salon.
Costume Contest, 7:00-7:30PM: Bring your kids (ages 0-12), yourself, and your pets (dogs, cats, frogs?) dressed in their finest. The contest, featuring multiple categories and fun prizes for children and pets, is free of charge and everyone is welcome to participate.
Enjoy Downtown Campbell while having a fun and safe Halloween with the kids!
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Reclaiming's Spiral Dance
A ritual to honor our beloved dead and dance the spiral of rebirth
Sunday, October 30, doors open at 6:00PM, Ritual begins at 7:30PM
Come early to view the altars, for pre-ritual music,
and to hear the names of the Beloved Dead
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Howard Street, San Francisco.
see website for admission details
A ritual to honor our beloved dead and dance the spiral of rebirth
2016 Intention: In the Presence of our Beloved Dead, we dance, create community and wield Love to effect change.
The holiday popularly known as Halloween is the time of year known to witches as Samhain, when the veil is thin between the worlds of the living and the dead. We gather to remember and honor our ancestors, our Beloved Dead, and all those who have crossed over. As we mourn for those we love who have died this year, we also mourn the losses and pain suffered by the Earth, our Mother. Yet even as we grieve we also remember and honor the sacred cycle of life, death, rebirth and regeneration, celebrating the births of our children born this year, and our own vital connections to the Earth and each other, in which we ground our hope.
The first Spiral Dance ritual was held in 1979 to celebrate the publication of Starhawk’s book, The Spiral Dance (Harper and Row) Starhawk, a founding member of the Reclaiming Collective, wrote the original script which remains the heart of the ritual, though it has been altered and embellished over the years by her and many other people. Traditionally, the Spiral Dance calls upon the energy and talents of musicians, artists, poets, dancers, craftspeople, singers, technicians, priests and priestesses from the Reclaiming Community and beyond, and we are grateful to everyone who helps to create this magical experience we all share.
This is a participatory ritual and pageant which has become a central event in the Wheel of the Year for many in the Reclaiming Community and beyond. Over 1,200 people join in this observance of the Witches’ New year, and the event raises funds which support the work of Reclaiming throughout the year.
When we dance the Spiral, young and old together, we remember and honor our own past at that same time that we renew our vision and embrace the future. Let it begin now!
Come in costume or take advantage of our in-house costume booth provided by the San Francisco Opera Costume Shop for a chance to win SF Opera Lab swag or tickets. Costume optional but don't forget your dancing shoes for a live DJ following the performance!
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San Francisco Opera Lab - Halloween Edition
Sunday, October 30, Doors open at 7:00PM, show at 8:00PM
OASIS, 298 Eleventh Street, San Francisco
$25, 21+
Gals, ghouls, and divas in drag abound at our next SF Opera Lab Pop-Up on October 30 at OASIS. Join San Francisco Opera artists on the eve of Halloween for some operatic debauchery with a touch of drag macabre. Grab a cocktail and brush up on your lip-syncing skills and your opera herstory as legendary drag superstar, Heklina, takes you on a wicked ride full of highs and lows - notes, that is!
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All Hallows Read
Friday, October 31
wherever you please!
All Hallow’s Read is a Hallowe’en tradition. It’s simply that in the week of Hallowe’en, or on the night itself, you give someone a scary book.
Scholars have traced its origins as far back as this blog post. http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2010/10/modest-proposal-that-doesnt-actually.html
Neil Gaiman says (well, said, in the aforementioned blog post):
“I propose that, on Hallowe'en or during the week of Hallowe'en, we give each other scary books. Give children scary books they'll like and can handle. Give adults scary books they'll enjoy.
I propose that stories by authors like John Bellairs and Stephen King and Arthur Machen and Ramsey Campbell and M R James and Lisa Tuttle and Peter Straub and Daphne Du Maurier and Clive Barker and a hundred hundred others change hands - new books or old or second-hand, beloved books or unknown. Give someone a scary book for Hallowe'en. Make their flesh creep...
Give a scary book.
If you don't know what kinds of books there are, or what would be appropriate for the person you're giving a book to, talk to a bookseller. They love to help, most of them. (The ones that don't tend not to be booksellers for long.) Talk to librarians. (Do not plan to give away their books though, unless they are having a library sale.)
That's it. That's my idea.
Scary book. Hallowe'en.
Who's with me?
Neil”
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Fourth Street Halloween Fest
Monday, October 31, 2:00-5:00PM
Fourth Street Shops, 1834 Fourth Street, Berkeley
Free
Trick or Treat at Fourth Street Shops!
Free Face Painting by Dinnie's Delights
Free Photo Booth by Photo Laboratory
Free Scary Hair Booth by Keter Salon
Live Music by this old band
and Special Events at the Shops!
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Nautical Nightmares: Twilight Halloween Sail
aboard the Schooner Freda B with SF Bay Adventures
Monday, October 31, 5:45-8:15PM
boarding at Sausalito Yacht Harbor, Slip 907, 100 Bay Street, Sausalito
$65
Join the captain and crew of the traditional Schooner Freda B for a special Halloween Sail all about the Ghosts, the Legends and the Lore of the Bay Area. Set sail to catch the sunset and twilight hour on the bay. Learn about bootleg gangsters like Baby Face Nelson, and Sausalito's Madam, Madam Mayor Sally Stanford and their rise and fall on our local lands. Discuss the many shipwrecks and things that go bump in the night.
Prize for Scariest Nautical Costume!
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Dr. Kergan's Creature Caravan
Saturday, October 31, 6:00PM-Midnight
private home, 9585 Broadmoor Drive, San Ramon
Free
The ultimate Steampunk Halloween display!
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Samhain Candlelight Vigil
Monday, October 31, 7:00-9:00PM
The Sacred Well, 536 Grand Avenue, Oakland
Free, candles may be purchased
Join us at The Sacred Well in Oakland for a special Samhain candlelight vigil.
You are invited to bring or purchase a plain jar candle, and The Sacred Well will provide art materials so that you can decorate a sacred candle in honor of your ancestors. You are also free to bring your own images to glue onto your candle(s).
7:00-8:00PM: Candle Decorating
Candles may then be placed on the large Ancestor altar we will have built for this day.
8:00-9:00PM:
Candlelight service and group divination for the Witches' New Year
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History Mystery Tour
on board the USS Hornet
Monday, October 31, 7:00-10:00PM
USS Hornet Museum, 707 W Hornet Avenue, Pier 3, Alameda
must be age 12+
$35, must book in advance
Bring your own flashlight
Is the USS Hornet really haunted? Come spend an evening with us and find out! Come aboard and learn about the Hornet’s more chilling history as you tour the ship after hours. This is your chance for an exclusive, after-hours tour of the ship! Traverse the decks in small groups while investigating our most well-known “paranormal hot-spots.” During our History Mystery tour, you will learn the history of the Hornet while investigating the ship with one of our experienced crew members in the dead of night.
Your behind the scenes tour includes areas aboard the ship that have not yet been opened to the public, virtually untouched since the ship’s decommissioning over forty years ago, as well as other eerie spaces that have been reported to host unseen visitors. Tour participants must be at least 13 years old.
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The Night Circus Halloween Soirée
Monday, October 31, 7:00PM-Midnight
San Francisco Location TBA
$120
"The circus arrives without warning... It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night."
Please join us for an intimate and elegant Halloween-night soirée celebrating Erin Morgenstern's modern classic, The Night Circus.
For one night only, enter into a world of unexpected sights and sounds amidst the black & white stripes of Le Cirque des Rêves. Music, magic, dance, and mystery await, nestled amidst a unique venue with sweeping views that shall be revealed at a later date.
Your ticket also includes a seat at the legendary Midnight Dinner, featuring delicious foods and thought-provoking conversation, plus a complimentary glass of wine, bubbly, or non-alcoholic drink. Cash bar and complimentary hors d'oeuvres available throughout the night.
Paradox Media and Dark Garden are proud to bring this event to you. Our mysterious, yet to be disclosed location will be announced soon…
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RiffTrax Live presents Carnival of Souls re-broadcast
Monday, October 31, 8:00PM
see website for local event details and tickets
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaconda_(film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkX5t5ZJLEk
Fathom Events and RiffTrax are excited to bring Carnival of Souls to the big screen for a LIVE riff on Thursday, October 27 followed by a special re-broadcast on Monday, October 31.
Kick-off your Halloween season with a night of laughter as the guys who make movies funny, Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, take on the spooky 1962 cult classic Carnival of Souls.
When young Mary survives a horrible car crash, she tries to start her life over with a new job in a small Utah town. But along the way she’s haunted by a gaunt pale figure in a nice suit who leads her to an abandoned old pavilion on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. Soon Mary doesn’t know if she’s awake or dreaming, alive or dead, which makes her really dull at parties.
In its first big screen presentation since a recent full-color restoration, Carnival of Souls as riffed by the RiffTrax crew is weird, creepy, very silly and the perfect Halloween treat.
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Niles Altar Walk
Wednesday, November 2, 2:00-8:00PM
Niles Town Plaza, 37592 Niles Boulevard, Fremont
Free
Come Celebrate the Day of the Dead With Us!
It’s time to break out that tequila for great-grandpa Lopez! Time to cook up Tia Lupe’s favorite tamales! Time to bring some marigolds and have a chat with great-great-grandma Luisa! Bring a jar of atole for Uncle Nesto!
Altars open for viewing at 2:00PM.
Open all day, with a Closing Ceremony at 8:00PM.
Open all day, with a Closing Ceremony at 8:00PM.
The Dia De Los Muertos / Day of the Dead celebration is spiritual in nature, all inclusive, and does not discriminate based on race, religion, lack of religion, sexual orientation, or creed. This is a not-for-profit, local event put together by volunteers. The hope is that it will create unity within our community through what we all have in common; the experience of losing someone in death and honoring their life. We encourage everyone to join us in recognizing our past together.
A community altar will be in place for all to contribute anything of non-valuable sentiment and photos. (Please bring copies, not your originals.)
We will feature entertainment and refreshments per our tradition!
We are also encouraging people to plan on making it a day with your family! Food vendors will be on site, and of course Niles local eateries will have delicious grub available for purchase.
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Dia de los Muertos San Francisco
Wednesday, November 2, 7:00PM
Parade starts at 22nd Street and Bryant Street, San Francisco
and leads to 26th Street and Harrison Street
ending at the Festival of Altars in Garfield Park, 4:00-11:00PM
Festival of Altars organized by Marigold Project
Festival of Altars, 4:00-11:00PM, Garfield Park, 26th and Harrison Streets
We welcome you to make an altar for a loved one that has passed away. Making a Day of the Dead altar is a way for us to honor the life of someone who is no longer with us and to remember our ancestors. Each year, hundreds of personal altars line the perimeter of Garfield Park.
All candles must be in GLASS containers, no open flame candles are allowed at the park.
Procession organized and led by Rescue Culture Collective
Ritual assembles at 22nd and Bryant 6:00-7:00PM
STARTS at 22nd and Bryant at exactly 7:00PM, and moves along Bryant to 24th Street
CONTINUES along 24th Street to the corner of 24th Street and Mission
CONTINUES along Mission Street to 22nd Street and turns on 22nd Street
CONTINUES along 22nd Street to Bryant Street
CONCLUDES at the corner of 22nd and Bryant Street
Help keep Day of the Dead Alive!
Let's ensure that Day of the Dead SF remains a true community supported event. Please consider making a donation via our chip-in page. Every dollar counts and no donation is too small. All proceeds go to securing park permits and artistic expression at Garfield Park.
About Day of the Dead:
Dia de los Muertos is a traditional Meso-American holiday dedicated to the ancestors; it honors both death and the cycle of life. In Mexico, neighbors gather in local cemeteries to share food, music, and fun with their extended community, both living and departed. The celebration acknowledges that we still have a relationship with our ancestors and loved ones that have passed away.
In San Francisco, Day of the Dead has been celebrated in the Mission district since the early 70s with art, music, performances and a walking procession, which help us contemplate our existence and mortality - a moment to remember deceased friends and family, and our connections beyond our immediate concerns.
Day of the Dead is an alcohol-free event with no vendors or booths of any type. Please honor this tradition and do not attempt to sell goods on the premises of Garfield Park.
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Barry and Maya Spector's Day of the Dead Ritual
Saturday, November 5, 9:00AM-6:00PM
Hillside Church, 1422 Navellier Street, El Cerrito
$30 if paid in advance, $50 if paid at the door.
Pre-registration required. No one refused. Work scholarships available.
Whether or not we have recently lost loved ones, we all carry a heavy load of grief and stress simply by living in these times. When we can’t find ways to drop the weight of this emotional burden, we can become hopeless, bitter or numb. Letting it go makes room for a new kind of imagination to enter. The release of these emotions requires a safe space and a caring community.
We will take a full day to help each other remember our ancestors and our personal and collective losses. In some traditions, this is the time of year when the veil between our world and the unseen world is thin; it is an opportune time to complete any unfinished business that prevents us from fully participating in life. This will be a day of mourning and remembrance, but also of great beauty and celebration. There will be poetry, storytelling, drumming, altar-building and chanting from African, Celtic, Mexican and other traditions.
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Dia de los Muertos in Old Sacramento
Saturday, November 5, 10:00AM-5:00PM
Sacramento History Museum, 101 I Street, Old Sacramento
Adults $6, Children 6-17 $4, Children 5 and under Free
Celebrate Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, at the Sacramento History Museum!
This annual event is the largest Dia de los Muertos celebration in Sacramento and features a traditional ceremony, Aztec dancers, great food, vendors, and more!
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DÃa de los Muertos Community Festival Santa Cruz
Saturday, November 5, 1:30-7:00PM
Museum of Art and History at the McPherson Center, 705 Front Street, Santa Cruz
Free
Celebrate the dead with an all-ages festival throughout Downtown Santa Cruz.
Experience vibrant dance performances. Get your face painted. Indulge in delicious food. Join in on a procession to enjoy more dance, music and outdoor altars at Evergreen Cemetery.
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Le Bal des Vampires
presented by PEERS
Saturday, November 5, 6:30PM-Midnight
Alameda Elks Lodge, 2255 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda
Tickets must be purchased in advance - see website for details
$35, advance purchase required, may sell out
Waltz the night away in a beautiful candlelit ballroom with the San Francisco Bay Area's most glamorous Undead at the 23rd Annual Le Bal des Vampires.
Suggested costume is evening dress of the century and country of your "rebirth." This may include dress uniform, period costume (authentic or fantasy) or vintage or modern evening dress. There is no dress code for the ball (We certainly don't expect Spike to attend in black tie!), but you will see some of the most gorgeous and creative costumes of the social season at Le Bal des Vampires.
For costume tips, you may want to visit the PEERS photograph gallery for the 2014 Le Bal des Vampires.
This year there will once again be simultaneous dancing on two separate floors:
Our band in the elegant upstairs ballroom is the stylish but always dashing chamber ensemble Bangers & Mash. As usual, haunting waltzes dominate the program, but the evening will feature a variety of dance music from across the centuries - from 18th century Baroque contredanses to 19th century Victorian rotary and Viennese waltzes, polkas, and mazurkas; to elegant early 20th century tangos, blues, and fox trots and even some classic rock and roll Swing. Please note that the band's first dance set will start at 7:45PM sharp - 15 minutes earlier than usual. The dance sets will be unusually long, even by Bangers & Mash's high standards, so if you do plan to dance, please be certain to wear shoes or boots you can actually dance in.
For those preferring a more modern style of dance music and free-style dancing, join us downstairs at the Nightfall Club (located in the hall's atmospheric Ratskeller) for a wonderfully varied repertoire of dark music to stir the blood and spirit from 7:00 p.m. to Midnight. Hosted by our remarkable DJs, Dark Moon and Persephone, Nightfall also features a no-host (cash) bar and light refreshments for our mortal guests. Since only snacks are provided at the ball, we strongly suggest dining before the ball. For those interested in dining out there are a variety of restaurants within easy walking distance of the Lodge, especially on nearby Park Street
Our half-time show in the ballroom is a performance by the celebrated Theater of the Vampires. Not recommended for the faint of heart or for those who take the genre too seriously!
Guests may also enjoy quiet conversation, Tarot readings, and photography opportunities in the Lodge's elegant but comfortable Edwardian Parlor with its Baroque décor.
Our 23rd Le Bal des Vampires will be a night to remember. We suggest ordering your tickets early!
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Felted Crow Wall Hanging
with Denise Marshall
Sunday, November 6, 11:00AM–5:00PM
Castle in the Air, 1805 Fourth Street, Berkeley, 510-204-9801
$105 includes materials
Use colored wool as if it were fluid paint to discover a new and amazing creative process. During this all-day workshop with accomplished wool needle-felting artist Denise Marshall, you will learn the basics of needle-felting as well as a new wool “painting” technique. You’ll create your design using a background made of a rustic wool canvas, foreground wool of muted winter tones, and a crow with a prize fig in his beak. The background will have a textured, woven look. Curly, uncarded wool and yarns will also be on hand. Once finished, the final piece will measure approximately 12½ × 15 inches, and will hang from a small, wooden branch.
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ShadowDance
Saturday, November 12, 7:30PM-2:00AM
Oakland Metro Opera House, 630 3rd Street, Oakland
$25 in advance, $30 at the door
21+
Welcome Lovely Creatures!
Join us for an evening of DARKNESSSSS...
Our 2016 line up hopes to tear at your heart's strings, give you a feast for the senses and promises to reach inside and rip your heart from its chest!
Formal, creative, unique, individualistic, and gothic attire welcomed and quite frankly, requested.
Allow The Dark Side Of The Moon And All Her Loveliness And Glory Fully Enrapture You… Envelope You… Soothe And Comfort You…
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If you are looking for a spooky or splendid costume, here are a few places to seek what your heart desires:
Adira Dance and Costumes
2038 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, 408-269-0110
2038 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, 408-269-0110
Assistance League of Los Altos Costume Bank
169 State Street, Los Altos, 650-941-2610
The Belrose Costume Shoppe
1415 5th Avenue, San Rafael, 415-454-6422
Closet Capers
1211 Soquel Avenue, Santa Cruz, 831-425-7685
Costume Corner
3820A San Pablo Dam Road, El Sobrante, 510-222-9200
Costumes On Haight
735 Haight Street, San Francisco, 415-621-1356
Debbie Lyn’s Costumes
408-245-8720
Disguise The Limit
129 4th Street, Santa Rosa, 707-575-1477
http://www.yelp.com/biz/disguise-the-limit-costume-santa-rosa
http://www.yelp.com/biz/disguise-the-limit-costume-santa-rosa
Fantasy Clothing Company
1275 Folsom Street, Suite 100, San Francisco, 415-556-9900
Fun House Theatrical
120 East Fremont Avenue, Sunnyvale, 408-446-1755
The Magic Wardrobe
133 Estudillo Avenue, #202, San Leandro, 510-282-7764
Masque Arrayed
510-548-8252
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And because I don't want to exhaust myself, I'll end by referring you to these exhaustive lists of spooky events and other Samhain-errific attractions in the Bay Area:
http://www.ronniesawesomelist.com/halloween2016
http://www.funtober.com/halloween/sanfrancisco
http://www.ronniesawesomelist.com/halloween2016
http://www.funtober.com/halloween/sanfrancisco
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Have fun and revel in the spooky and the sacred during this, the height of the Pagan social season! Just remember to look both ways before crossing the street, wear reflective tape on your Skeleton Ninja costume (unless you have a sufficiently shiny aura), and have a grown up Priestess check all your candy to make sure it's not possessed by evil spirits. She may have to confiscate some of it - it's for your own good!
Honour the Ancestors! Respect the Otherworld Deities! And leave treats out for the Fey!
Molly, the Blue Horror of Dawn*
Anyone who recognized it gets a treat... let's see... how about some forced greengages?
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