By Jerucifer, Arts & Events Editor

As the fog rolls in, the excitement of spooky events, haunted tours, and local fall festivals ramps up! Things are certainly getting pretty spooky!! Here’s what I’m most excited about for the week of 10/10…

Get Your Bay Area Retro Neighborhood Gear!

We have the coolest retro looking shirts so you can look fly while repping your SF or Oakland neighborhood!

Grab a shirt, tank, tote, hoodie, or baby onesies right here.

Partners’ Events

Hubba Hubba Revue: Vampires
10/15 | DNA Lounge | 375 11th St, SF | 7 pm | $15-35

Join us for an evening of BURLESQUE with *BITE* as San Francisco’s world-famous Hubba Hubba Revue sinks our teeth into a tantalizing showcase of TERROR & TEASE! — Join us in the main room at DNA Lounge, and we’ll show you *exactly* what we do in the shadows!

Spooked Live
10/13 | Fox Theater | 1807 Telegraph Ave, Oakland | 8 pm | $29.50-75

Be afraid. Question EVERYTHING.

The hit podcast Spooked comes to life onstage in Oakland as host Glynn Washington and guests celebrate Friday the 13th with a night of Snap Judgment live storytelling magic. Join us for amazing, true-life supernatural stories from people who can scarcely believe they lived them. Featuring stories by comedian Jen Kober, Dr. Ray Christian, and John Blake, as well as performances by COVEN Dance and musicians Brijean Murphy and Doug Stuart. Come decked out in full Halloween costume for a chance to win the Spooked Live best-dressed prize!

Misfit Cabaret Monster Bash
10/20-10/28 | Alcazar Theatre | 650 Geary St, SF | 8 pm | $35-500

Never miss a Misfit Halloween! You’re invited to the 666th annual Monster Bash, the biggest spooky shindig in town! Featuring alive! music, zombie drag, killer klown burlesque, ghost aerial duos, henchman puppets, and a smashing costume contest!

This Week’s Giveaways

We Wanna Send You to deadmau5 & ZHU San Francisco Weekender Block Party!

We Wanna Send You to WHY 2K: Halloween Throwback Night!

We Wanna Send You to Ghost Palace!

We Wanna Send You to All Hallow’s Eve!!

This Week’s Events

Tuesday, 10/10

Galaxy Quest
10/10 | Balboa Theater | 3630 Balboa St, SF | 7:30 pm | $12.50-15

The alumni cast of a space opera television series have to play their roles as the real thing when an alien race needs their help. However, they also have to defend both Earth and the alien race from a reptilian warlord.

9th Ave: Daniel Clowes
10/10 | Green Apple Books | 1231 9th Ave, SF | 7 pm | free

Monica is a series of interconnected narratives that collectively tell the life story — actually, stories — of its title character. Clowes calls upon a lifetime of inspiration to create the most complex and personal graphic novel of his distinguished career. Rich with visual detail, an impeccable ear for language and dialogue, and thrilling twists, Monica is a multilayered masterpiece in comics form that alludes to many of the genres that have defined the medium — war, romance, horror, crime, the supernatural, etc. — but in a mysterious, uncategorizable, and quintessentially Clowesian way that rewards multiple readings.

SF Performances Presents: Calder Quartet, Timo Andres
10/10 | Herbst Theatre | 401 Van Ness Ave, SF | 7:30 pm | $50-70

Winners of the prestigious 2014 Avery Fisher Career Grant, they are widely known for the discovery, commissioning, recording and mentoring of some of today’s best emerging composers

An Evening with Artist and Author Rukmini Poddar
10/10 | Book Passage | 1 Ferry Building, SF | 5 pm | free

In this mind-opening and beautifully illustrated guide, popular artist Rukmini Poddar guides you through the steps to creative self-reflection, giving your emotions a physical representation through lines, shapes, colors, and more. With exercises tailored to beginners and experts alike, readers will learn basic drawing skills and take them all the way to mapping their emotional landscape.

Draw Your Feelings will stretch creative muscles you didn’t know you had. At the end of the journey, you will transform the way you interact with yourself and the world.

Wednesday, 10/11

THE BURTON BAR – A HALLOWEEN SPEAKEASY POP UP
10/11-11/7 | Storek | 149 9th St, SF | times vary, check schedule | $15

Love Halloween & Tim Burton? An awesome Tim Burton inspired, immersive Halloween bar is coming to town this October! For the month of October you can experience haunting decor, themed drinks and spooktacular quests! Head down to this local speakeasy for some secret, dark cocktails.

If you’re a fan of an illicit, edgy atmosphere then this is the bar for you!

Some Like it Hot! Open Mic Variety Nite
10/11 | Oasis | 298 11th St, SF | 6:30 pm | $20

Host PS Marilyn and Special Guest Shameless Heather will bring you a night of talent extraordinaire. Most of which will come from our fantastic Audience. Our amazing piano accompanist will be Joe Wicht to tickle the ivories and ebonies.

Have you ever wanted to be up on an Internationally renown stage performing? Well here is your chance: Singing, Dancing, Juggling, Contortionist, Comedian, Violin, Guitarist, Accordion or Exuberant Clapper and Whistler. We want you there with us!

Islands
10/11 | The Chapel | 777 Valencia St, SF | 8 pm | $20-24

Islands sprouted out of the kindred x-ray vision of Nick Diamonds and J’aime Tambeur, two rag-tag youths from the weird side of the tracks. Previously, they’d worked together in sludge-crust band The Unicorns. This time they’d be exploring a music best catalogued as other, in what seems a tribute to the timeless sound of great pop music.

welovesf Gala w/ Rob Garza, Ben Browning, Honey Mahogany + More
10/11 | St Joseph’s Art Foundation | 1401 Howard St, SF | 6 pm | $100+

Celebrate San Francisco’s Diverse Community: An Exclusive Evening at Saint Joseph’s Art Society

Join us for a curated evening of arts, music, comedy, and culture, hosted by the legendary Honey Mahogany. Headliner DJ performances by Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation and Ben Browning of Cut Copy. Savor gourmet bites from Che Fico and Burke & Black and enjoy crafted cocktails.

Thursday, 10/12

Red Light Lit
10/12 | Shack15 | 1 Ferry Bldg #201, SF | 6:30 pm | $25-50

Join us for an intimate evening of poetry, dance & live music. Featuring writers Peter Bullen, Rohan DaCosta, Amber Flame, Jennifer Lewis & Christine No, dancers Cora Cilburn, ArVejon Jones & Tristan Ching Hartmann, and musicians David Williams and Mary Simich.

Red Light Lit is devoted to writers, artists, and musicians who explore love, relationships, sexuality, identity, and gender. Since our founding in 2013, we have published 10 literary journals and produced over 100 live shows. In 2019, Red Light Lit published the poetry anthology Love Is the Drug & Other Dark Poems; and in 2020, it published Unearth [The Flowers] by Thea Matthews, its first single-author poetry collection.

Women’s Audio Mission’s 20th Anniversary Fundraising Event
10/12 | Herbst Theatre | 401 Van Ness Ave, SF | 7 pm | $100+

Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) is proud to announce its 20th-anniversary celebration featuring Neko Case! Join WAM friends, sponsors, board and staff on October 12, 2023, at the prestigious Herbst Theatre in San Francisco to celebrate WAM’s 20 years of growth into multiple world-class training and recording environments that use music and media arts training and mentorship to serve thousands of girls, women, and gender-expansive people each year, inspiring them to amplify their voices, become the innovators of tomorrow and #ChangeTheFaceOfSound! The event promises to be a night to remember, with an impressive lineup of performers and a remarkable collection of auction items. The audience is limited to 400 attendees, so secure your spot soon!

Mae
10/12 | Bottom of the Hill | 1233 17th St, SF | 7 pm | $30

From the moment of their inception, MAE have existed in the cross-sectional spaces of creation. Art and innovation. Intricacy and accessibility. Beauty and chaos. Head and heart. Theirs was a meticulous crafting of soundscapes; painstakingly deliberate and blissfully spontaneous.

After Dark: California Coastal Sounds
10/12 | Exploratorium | Pier 15, SF | 6-10 pm | $20

The Exploratorium is your playground after dark! Wander the galleries, sip a cocktail, and choose your own adventure with 600+ interactive exhibits. Peek into our workshop for exhibits in development and the tools and machines that help bring them to life. And don’t miss The Great Animal Orchestra, our summer exhibition featuring a symphony of wildlife sounds from around the world, made visible through real-time spectrograms.

Roller Disco
10/12 | The Midway | 900 Marin St, SF | 6:30 pm | $20

Get ready to lace up your roller skates and groove to the rhythm as the iconic Church of 8 Wheels and Beats Drop Cancer join forces to present an electrifying Roller Disco Skate Night at The Midway!  Expect DJs, food and drinks prepared by The Midway’s onsite café, Madam Zola’s Fortune. Skate rentals will be available on site!

30 Year Anniversary Exhibition + Opening Reception
10/12 | 111 Minna Gallery | 111 Minna St, SF | 5 pm | free

111 Minna Gallery is pleased to present their ‘30 Year Anniversary Exhibition’ featuring the works of 40 artists that have worked with 111 Minna Gallery since its inception in 1993!

This exhibition (30 years in the making) will be curated by 111 Minna co-owner David Scott Mabry and will feature works by several of the Minna curators over the years, including Sacha Eckes, Irene Hernandez-Feiks, Jay Howell, Micah LeBrun, Ron Turner and D Young V. In addition to the works of Minna’s list of talented curators, the show will feature the works of numerous artists who helped establish 111 Minna Gallery as a San Francisco institution over the last three decades. The exhibit will be on display through January 12, 2024.

Green Film Festival of San Francisco
10/12-10/22 | Roxie Theater | 3117 16th St, SF | 6 pm | $10-17

The Green Film Festival of San Francisco is interested in exploring all aspects of “environmental film” whether they be compelling documentaries, adventure films or narrative fiction films and midnight movies with environmental themes. Films have been curated into themed sections which pair projects with complimentary subject matter to create a cinematic journey for our audiences. Through this experience the festival hopes audiences can begin to engage with sustainable solutions to the problems facing the planet.

Friday, 10/13

TAYLOR SWIFT – THE ERAS TOUR
10/13-10/31 | Cinelounge Tiburon | 40 Main St, Tiburon | times vary, check schedule | $13.13-19.89

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. Music. Directed by Sam Wrench. From AMC, (Color, 2023, USA, 170 minutes, not rated) Starring Taylor Swift. The cultural phenomenon continues on the big screen! Experience TAYLOR SWIFT THE ERAS TOUR Concert Film, spanning a 17-year award-winning musical career, beginning October 13, 2023. Immerse yourself in this once-in-a-lifetime concert film experience with a breathtaking cinematic view of the history-making tour that Ben Sisario of The New York Times called “A Cultural Juggernaut”. Taylor Swift Eras attire and friendship bracelets are strongly encouraged!

THEGOODNEWS. • Oakland Art & Music Funktion
10/13 | The Golden Bull | 412 14th St, Oakland | 7 pm | $10-20

October’s lineup for THEGOODNEWS. art & music funktion includes: Del The Funky Homosapien • CTZN • Fanatik Onbeats • Lord Takim • plus special guest emcees.

They
10/13 | The New Parish | 1743 San Pablo Ave, Oakland | 8 pm | $25

Innovative Los Angeles-based duo that combines their various R&B, hip-hop, rock, and pop influences like Nirvana and New Edition.

Shrek Rave
10/13 | The Regency Ballroom | 1290 Sutter St, SF | 9 pm | $18-38

Shrek themed rave. It’s dumb, just come have fun!

Saturday, 10/14

How Weird Street Faire 2023
10/14 | Howard & 2nd St, SF | 12-8 pm | $20-40

THE 24TH ANNUAL HOW WEIRD STREET FAIRE!

 

The longest-running dance festival on the West Coast returns on Saturday, October 14th. How Weird Street Faire presents “Time Travel: Stargate,” an unforgettable day of music, art, costumes, and dancing, centered at Howard and 2nd Streets in downtown San Francisco, CA. Noon-8 p.m. All Ages. Wheelchair Accessible. Children 5 and under do not need tickets but must be accompanied by a paying adult.

Bearrison Street Fair 2023
10/14 | Harrison & 11th St, SF | 12-6 pm | free

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc.®️, (SPI) in collaboration with The Bears of San Francisco (BOSF), is excited to announce a wide range of entertainment options for Bearrison Street Fair 2023. With this year’s “Under the Big Top” theme, there is more to see and experience than ever before! Wrestling and deadlifts return, with fantastic performers, distinctly “Bearrison” midway games, and unique contests showcase the diversity and fun of San Francisco’s LGBT+ community.

RITUAL: A HALLOWEEN ART MARKET & ODDITIES SHOW
10/14-10/15 | The San Francisco Mint | 88 5th St, SF |12-8 pm | $10

Join us for TWO Days of the Strange, the Unusual, and the Creepy with frightfully-spooky wares, curious creatures, provocative circus entertainment, fortune telling, tricks, treats, workshops, and even special ceremonies to make the ultimate Sacrifice: pledge your undying love this Hallowday Season during Ritual, presented by the Menagerie Oddities Market. This Ain’t Yer Grannies Craft Scare!™

 

Mélia Mills’ The Allure of Thug Life
10/14 | The Marsh – Berkeley | 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley | 5 pm | $25-100

The Allure of Thug Life is a Hip Hopsical comedy about Mélia, an upper middle-class teen from Oakland who wants to be a gangster rapper.\

Picture a 15 year old girl who wants to fit in at her new high school, but is bullied regularly. Struggling to find her own voice, she discovers her talent—rapping and begins straddling the fence between the good life and thug life. Mélia longs to go from Riches to Rags and encounters Bullying, Boyfriends and Bullets! This is the riveting story of one’s journey to discover their authentic self and the lengths they will go to own it. If you’re scared, stay home. If you’re fearless, roll through for this wild ride!

AYLI 13-Year Anniversary w/ Ben UFO, Eris Drew, DJ Haram + More
10/14 | Public Works | 161 Erie St, SF | 9:30 pm | $13-30

As You Like It (AYLI) and Public Works invite to celebrate 13-years of community rooted in a shared taste in quality music, late nights and artistic self-expression. The Bay Area’s vast contributions to dance music culture run deep underground—a family tree rooted in psychedelic rave, radical funk, and electronic invention, steeped in global influences. Beginning in 2010, AYLI extended this sparkling legacy with a decade of parties dedicated to quality, intimacy, and an intensely local glow.

Ocular Oddities Family Tour
10/14 | Truhlsen-Marmor Museum of the Eye | 645 Beach St, SF | 2-3 pm | free

Join us at the Museum of the Eye for an all-ages museum tour that covers all things fun and eye-related around Halloween season. Ever wonder if bats are really blind or why black cats always have spooky glowing eyes in cartoons? Interested in whether pirates really wore eyepatches or not, and why? This tour is perfect for families with children ages 8 and up, and anyone young at heart.

A museum staff member will lead a 30-minute tour around the museum exhibits, followed by a 30-minute guided craft project where we will learn to make Ojo de Dios, a traditional Latin American yarn craft. Ojos de Dios (God’s Eyes) are also featured in the new special exhibition, Decoding the Eye: Signs & Symbols.

Sunday, 10/15

Lila Downs’ Día De Los Muertos: Dos Corazones
10/15 | Paramount Theatre | 2025 Broadway, Oakland | 7 pm | $43.50+

With “a stunning voice, a confident multicultural vision grounded in her Mixtec Indian roots” (LA Times), GRAMMY and Latin  GRAMMY-winning vocalist Lila Downs is one of the most celebrated singers of her generation. She brings a special night of music to the Paramount, celebrating Día de los Muertos, Mexico’s Day of the Dead, featuring folklorico dancing, stunning visual projections and more. A native of Oaxaca, Downs built a career bridging cultures and languages, both as a musician and social activist for humanitarian causes. Growing up as the daughter of a Mixtec singer and a renowned American photographer, Downs blended a deep passion for the traditions of her homeland with an ingrained wanderlust.

Daytime Party with DJ QBert, DJ Sep, Olly, MF Mama and TikTak
10/15 | Bandshell Music Concourse | 75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr, SF | 12-4 pm | free

San Francisco Recreation & Parks, ILLUMINATE, Church of Drum, and Bass and Rhythmic Remedies present a free, all ages event for the whole family! Featuring turntablism, breaks, juke, jungle, and drum & bass with DJ Qbert, DJ Sep, Olly, TikTak, and MF Mama

Sunday Streets Excelsior + Phoenix Day
10/15 | Excelsior District, SF | 11 am-4 pm | free

Celebrate 15 years of Sunday Streets SF transforming San Francisco streets into car-free community spaces for all to enjoy at events across the City in 2023. The Sunday Streets SF family will bring free recreational activities, health resources, music, dance, and fun to neighborhoods across SF, hosting the most visited Open Streets routes and 3 Community Block Party events. Taking place on Mission St between Theresa/Avalon St and Geneva Ave, Sunday Streets SF Excelsior is the family fun hub destination for the 3rd Annual Phoenix Day. Neighbors and visitors alike are invited to the Excelsior on Phoenix Day to enjoy free recreation, health resources, music, dance and more!

Laff Baked: Stand-up comedy and Cannabis
10/15 | Mission Cannabis Club | 2441 Mission St, SF | 7-8:30 pm | free w/ rsvp

Spend Sunday night getting high (and laughing) with us. San Francisco’s Mission Cannabis Club features a beautiful lounge that is safe and clean for people to consume cannabis flower, prerolls, vapes, and edibles. Consume in comfort and sink into their dreamy leather booths or find a spot at the “Bud Bar.”

It’s one of the few comedy shows in San Francisco where you can (legally in California) get high during the show. You’ll see a killer comedy show with a handpicked lineup of 4-5 comics who normally perform at SF Sketchfest, Cobb’s Comedy Club, Punchline and Thrive City.

SF Music Day 2023
10/15 | War Memorial Veterans Building | 401 Van Ness Ave #110, SF | 12-7 pm | free

Now in its 16th edition, SF Music Day will present more than 25 local groups, 100+ artists celebrating diverse musical styles and traditions, including early music, electronic, jazz, choral, blues, Western classical, new, hip-hop, experimental, world-influenced, free improvisation, and more. SF Music Day 2023 will run continuously for seven straight hours with artists performing on all four stages throughout the day, so attendees can move freely from performance to performance in the same building. The event will also be live streamed via sfmusicday.com.

Monday, 10/16

Unrealistic Beauty Standards and Restrictive Gender Norms
10/16 | Doc’s Clock | 2575 Mission St, SF | 6-10 pm | free entry, donations encouraged

Barbies available for a sliding scale donation to Creativity Explored. Art supplies provided.

Princess Mononoke
10/16 | Balboa Theater | 3630 Balboa St, SF | 7:30 pm | $12.50-15

The fate of the world rests on the courage of one warrior. Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

Ike Reilly
10/16 | The Lost Church | 988 Columbus Ave | 7:30 pm | $25

“Ike Reilly is a kind of natural resource, mined from the bedrock of music. All the values that make rock important to people—storytelling, melody, rage, laughter—are part and parcel of every Ike Reilly show I have ever seen. One of the best touring acts in the country, Reilly’s band takes it as a personal challenge to upend and amaze every room they play in.” – New York Times

Hip Hop Elevation 3
10/16 | Yoshi’s | 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland | 7:30 pm | $20-50

HIP HOP ELEVATION 3 offers an influential platform for aspiring artists to showcase their original beats and flows in front of a live audience. It serves as an opportunity for them to share their talents with their family, fans, and peers while connecting with other artists and industry professionals. Moreover, this event empowers artists to reflect, express, and address community issues through positive hip hop music. By doing so, it aims to reshape the current narrative surrounding less desirable trends in the music industry, inspiring artists to elevate the game with a fresh Hip Hop Perspective.

Rad Upcoming Events 

10/26 | Bissap Baobab SF | 10th Annual 48 Hills Gala
10/28 | The Lost Church | DIVA or Die: Shivering Seduction

Don’t forget to check out our Big Bad List of Rad Ongoing Events right here!