After a Halloween hiatus last year due to the ongoing pandemic, San Francisco is hosting spooky, fun-filled events throughout the city this weekend. We’ve rounded up several free-to-attend events to celebrate spooky season each day this weekend. So get out your costume box, bring your pumpkin carving skills, and don’t forget to wear a mask.

 

Friday, October 29

The Salvation Army’s Kroc Center is hosting a Tenderloin Fall Family Festival featuring games, activities, candy, and a costume contest with prizes. Food will be available from La Cocina and there will be information and resources about the different services the Salvation Army and its partners offer in the neighborhood. The Tenderloin Community Benefit District, Southeast Asian Development Center, Tech in the Tenderloin, Kid Stock, the Boys and Girls Club, and the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation will be on site, as will community ambassadors from Urban Alchemy and representatives from the Tenderloin SFPD station. The festival will run from 4-7 p.m. along the 200 block of Turk Street.

 

In the Bayview, a Trick or Treat Trail will run along 3rd Street between Armstrong and Jerrold Streets from 3-6 p.m. There will be pumpkin balloons and buckets along the route for kids and adults alike to get some sweet treats. Other decorations will turn the street into a spooky route to kick off the Halloween weekend right.

 

Saturday, October 30

Senator Scott Wiener will host his annual pumpkin carving contest at Noe Courts Park (4230 24th Street, near Douglass). Each attendee will receive a pre-scooped pumpkin and there will be pumpkin carving tools available. The contest will be judged by celebrity drag queens, including Juanita More!, Mercedez Munro, and Katya Smirnoff-Skyy. Prizes will go to the winners and food and drink will be provided to all attendees. The contest runs from noon to 3 p.m. and RSVP is requested at scottwiener.com/pumpkincarving.

 

Yerba Buena Gardens in SoMa is hosting its 21st annual Halloween Hoopla from noon to 2 p.m. in the Children’s Garden (799 Howard St.). Attendees will enjoy musical and circus performances while making Halloween-themed crafts at tables hosted by the Mexican Museum, the Children’s Museum, and the Museum of African Diaspora. The LeRoy King Carousel will be open and offering free rides from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and the celebration will end with a Halloween costume parade around the gardens. As an added perk, attendees will receive free entry to the Yerba Buena Ice Skating and Bowling Center’s Halloween Skating Competition and Performance Party, starting at 2 p.m.

 

In the Sunset, the Halloween edition of Last Saturday Live will mark the local mini-music festival’s last event of 2021. This month’s event will run from 2-7 p.m. at 37th and Pacheco, starting with a DJ set from BFF.fm and also featuring the Quilters, 14-year old Alexander James Rodriguez, the Sausville Spiders, and more. A costume contest will be judged by Guenivere Q, and local eateries will offer food for purchase ranging from mushroom-hemp burgers to bao to Texas-style smoked barbecue. Vendors featuring local wares will be set up throughout the music fest, including Bay Laurel Online, Fleet Wood, Reform Vintage, and San Franpsycho. The music fest intends to offer events again starting in the Spring of 2022.

 

Sunday, October 31

The Ferry Building is hosting a full day of Halloween events from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., where kids can visit an activity station to make arts and crafts and go on a scavenger hunt throughout the building to win candy prize. In the afternoon, there will be live artistic pumpkin carving and circus performers, as well as enter the photo booth costume contest. Participants can use the Halloween themed photo booth and share on social media using #ScaryBuilding for a chance to win a prize basket stocked with goodies and pet supplies from Ferry Building stores. Fog City Flea will have a Halloween-themed marketplace set up offering special seasonal goods during the whole festival.

 

The Tenderloin Merchants Association (TLMA) is hosting the neighborhood’s first pumpkin patch along Larkin Street from noon to 5 p.m. The 600 block of Larkin Street (near Ellis) will be transformed into a pumpkin patch featuring carving, painting, and other activities. Local restaurants and businesses will offer trick-or-treating opportunities and TLMA’s safety ambassadors will be present throughout the event.

 

For those seeking more outdoor fun, October marks Crosstober, a month-long celebration of the San Francisco Crosstown Trail. A guided hike is planned on Section 5 of the trail on Sunday, and the trail is free for all to enjoy throughout the city. Lace up your walking shoes or mount your bike to take on the full 17 miles, or find a route close to you using the trail website's Plan Your Trip option.

Be sure to observe all social distancing and masking requirements, and have a happy, safe Halloween weekeend.