Newsroom

25 October 2010  – San Francisco, CA: What will you be doing in your hometown and home neighborhood on Sunday, October 31 – Halloween 2010? For the fourth year in a row, San Francisco’s Home for Halloween campaign (www.homeforhalloween.com) is urging people to celebrate the costume-filled holiday close to home in an effort to spur their local business communities and also remind revelers to keep the holiday safe and sane.

 

“We just want to be clear that there will not be a street closure nor a Bay-Area event in San Francisco’s Castro District,” said Bevan Dufty, San Francisco Supervisor for District 8 which includes the Castro.  “There are many wonderful and safe events happening in San Francisco neighborhoods and throughout the Bay Area. So, once again, we’re encouraging people to celebrate Halloween in their own home neighborhoods and cities. The Castro, while open for business, will not be closed for a street party.”

 

The multi-layered Home for Halloween campaign was launched four years ago to discourage individuals who live outside of the San Francisco from coming into the Castro neighborhood on October 31 and overwhelming the mostly residential neighborhood and its smattering of small businesses and bars.  In addition, the campaign has proved a catalyst for other San Francisco neighborhoods to sponsor activities outside of the Castro. The “Home for Halloween” website includes be a broad list of public activities taking place all around the Bay Area on Halloween evening plus comprehensive transportation and public safety information.

 

“Above all, this is a public safety campaign,” says Dufty, noting that over the years, Halloween has sometimes become an excuse for nuisance and even violent behavior. “For those people who would come into the Castro – or any part of the City – with bad intentions and exhibiting bad behavior, the message is very clear: please stay home for Halloween.”

 

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