Cheap Halloween Family Fun

Halloween is here and there are many free or low cost activities in and around San Francisco to help you celebrate with your family.

Here are a few events for 2011 to get you thinking about what to do in this special guest article for FuncheapSF by Hauntmistress the curator of the amazingly comprehensive Halloween events website for SF, Haunted Bay.

Scaregrove 2011
$8 – Oct. 28, 2011, 4 pm-9 pm

Scaregrove features hay rides, a haunted house, carnival rides, giant inflatables, live entertainment, and food for sale.

– Sigmund Stern Grove, 19th Ave. and Sloat Blvd., San Francisco

Cypress Lawn Walking Tour
Free – Oct. 29, 2011, 1:30 pm-3 pm

Take a tour of the Grand Tombs of 19th Century High Society with Michael Svanevik, courtesy of the Cypress Lawn Heritage Foundation.

– Cypress Lawn, 1370 El Camino Real, Colma

S.F. Library Shock It To Me
Free – Oct. 29, 2011, 11:30 am-1 pm

Noted horror host-orian Michael Monahan, with co-author Lon Huber, will tell tales of local television horror movie hosts and show video clips of a variety of television’s grooviest ghouls. Remember Asmodeus? Bob Wilkins? Ms. Monster? Chart the path of hosted horror in San Francisco with the authors of Shock It To Me, which will be available for purchase.

– San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco

Randall Museum’s Family Halloween Fest
Free – Oct. 29, 2011, 10 am-2 pm

A day of family friendly Halloween fun including ghoulish games, live entertainment, creepy crafts, pumpkin carving, delicious food, and more.

– Randall Museum, 199 Museum Way, San Francisco

Ghost Walks
Free – Oct. 29 and 31, 2011, 6:30 pm-7:30 pm

San Francisco City Guides hosts it annual Ghost Walk at the Palace Hotel (Oct. 29) and Ghost Walk at City Hall (Oct. 31). Kings and presidents died at the Palace Hotel, gunshots echoed through stately corridors, romances ended tragically. Perhaps that explains enduring stories of spectral visions and mysterious occurrences. Disinterred remains, assassinations, and other ghostly lore form the focus of the City Hall tour, plus little-known facts such as the cemetery that once covered Civic Center. Come for one or both tours!

– Palace Hotel, Main Lobby, 2 New Montgomery St., San Francisco

– San Francisco City Hall, Polk St. and Grove St., San Francisco; meet in the South Light Court

Stonestown Family YMCA Spooktacular Family Festival
Free – Oct. 30, 2011, 11:30 am-2:30 pm

All children and families are invited to enjoy a variety of spooky activities including an inflatable haunted house, ghoulish games and prizes, disgusting delights, costume contest, creepy crafts, spooky stories, face painting, the Great pumpkin hunt, and more! Plus, check out the Pumpkin Painting Booth at the Farmer’s Market in the Stonestown Galleria parking lot from 9 am-noon.

– Stonestown Family YMCA, 333 Eucalyptus Dr., San Francisco

Yerba Buena Gardens Halloween Costume Walk
Free – Oct. 30, 2011, noon-1:30 pm

Yerba Buena Gardens’ 11th annual Halloween program features interactive performances and games for kids. The Unique Derique hosts, The Venezuelan Music Project plays live music, you participate in eco-friendly Trash Mash-Up crafts, and Preston folds origami. Just before the hoopla ends, children under 10 years and their adults are invited to parade in their Halloween finery!

– Yerba Buena Gardens, 760 Howard St., San Francisco

SFSU Scary Concert
Free – Oct. 31, 2011, 1 pm-2 pm

San Francisco State University faculty pianists perform Halloween-themed music, an annual SFSU tradition for more than 20 years.

– SFSU, Knuth Hall, Creative Arts Building, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco

Mall Trick or Treating
Free – Oct. 31, 2010

Various malls in the Bay Area offer free trick or treating at participating stores, and some also offer free activities. Check out Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo, the Fremont Hub, Sunvalley Mall in Concord, and Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek.

Although FuncheapSF has a great listing of 2011 Halloween events,  the best and biggest list of Bay Area Halloween events, including pumpkin patches, haunted houses, bar/club events, balls/parties is at Haunted Bay. FuncheapSF is in awe about what a great, comprehensive site this is.