San Francisco Has a New Halloween Destination: Downtown Yerba Buena
New Events “The Wicked” Block Party, “Artistically-Twisted” Haunted House, A Family-Friendly Día de los Muertos and More are Expected to Bring Thousands to Yerba Buena
San Francisco, Calif., October 3, 2025 — San Francisco has a new Halloween destination: the downtown Yerba Buena neighborhood. Thousands are expected to attend new events like The Wicked block party at Yerba Buena Lane inspired by the Broadway hit, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ (YBCA) “artistically-twisted” haunted house and a family-Friendly Dia de los Muertos celebration at Yerba Buena Gardens. These are just three of a dozen Halloween experiences in Yerba Buena including costume parades, trivia nights and live music events.
“Yerba Buena is a place where San Francisco’s creativity shines with museums, galleries, and public performances,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie. “This year’s Halloween celebrations carry on that tradition—bringing people together in the heart of our city. Revitalizing downtown so people can live, work, play, and learn here is a top priority for my administration, and I can’t wait to see San Franciscans enjoying Halloween in Downtown San Francisco.”
The Yerba Buena neighborhood emanates for several blocks around Yerba Buena Gardens and includes SFMOMA, YBCA, MoAD, Moscone Center and other iconic attractions, and boasts the highest concentration of museums, galleries and public art in the city. Yerba Buena is also located within the larger Filipino Cultural Heritage District.
“Yerba Buena is San Francisco’s new Halloween home base. The collection of Halloween events in Yerba Buena reflects the incredible diversity of experiences to enjoy in the neighborhood," said Scott Rowitz, Executive Director of the Yerba Buena Partnership.
On Halloween day and night, Yerba Buena Lane will be transformed by The Wicked, a free community block party inspired by the Wizard of Oz and Broadway hit Wicked presented by APG Collective. There will be multiple stages with DJ’s, live music, a costume contest, an afternoon Candy Crawl for kids and families, and photo moments inspired by Wicked. The event is October 31, 3pm-9pm. Register for free and be one of 3,000 attendees. Yerba Buena Lane is the neighborhood’s newest Entertainment Zone — a pedestrian plaza lined with restaurants and bars between Market and Mission Streets, and next to Jessie Square. Support for the event is from Mayor Daniel Lurie, San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Yerba Buena Partnership and Yerba Buena Lane.
“The Wicked at Yerba Buena Lane is about more than just Halloween — it’s about bringing the community together, activating our downtown spaces, and highlighting the businesses that make this neighborhood special,” said Anthony Schlander of APG Collective.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Bat Witch Ghost debuts The Haunt: An Artistically-Twisted Haunted House, Saturday, October 25 through Saturday, November 1. The Haunt transforms YBCA’s Forum into a labyrinth of hand-crafted frights and whimsical scares by blending haunted house traditions with the spirit of San Francisco’s DIY art scene, along with a graveyard with a bar, dance floor, original merchandise, and other surprises.
New to Yerba Buena Gardens is Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Américas (CANA), a free, family-friendly Día de los Muertos night market celebration. The event is November 1 from 4pm-9pm and will feature an Indigenous blessing and procession, a community altar, food and artisan booths, live mural painting, and performances from Indigenous dance groups and cultural music acts.
There are events throughout Yerba Buena during Halloween week. On October 25, the Palace Hotel hosts the VOON Harvest Masquerade where you can sip VOON Wines latest releases, savor seasonable bites and enjoy live jazz with Cosmo Alleycats. At the W Hotel, experience a one-of-a-kind MEGA Halloween Party on October 31 with five separate themed rooms, 10 electrifying DJs, dancers, drummers, and more. Wine Down is hosting a 90s Pop Culture Trivia Night Halloween edition on October 29 and an Enchanted Forest Halloween Party on October 31 with DJ SNKR & DJ TASH. At Novela, pages of classic literature come to life in the most spine-tingling way at Ghost Written Halloween Party on October 31.
For kids and families, at the Leroy King Carousel next to the Children’s Creativity Museum at Yerba Buena Gardens, there’s a pumpkin giveaway and free carousel rides on October 25. YBCA is also hosting a free art workshop where kids can create their own mini haunted house at a Pop-Up Mini Haunted House event on On October 29. The 25th annual Halloween Hoopla is Saturday, November 1 with family-friendly frights and delights for kids under 10 and their adults, including a free performance and live music by Circus Bella and the Circus Bella All-Star Trio, and a kids Halloween Costume Parade. Also that day at Children’s Creativity Museum is Monster Mash, a spooktacular Halloween party for member families with games, prizes, bingo, costume design and sweet treats.
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About Yerba Buena Partnership
Yerba Buena Partnership is a community-based nonprofit organization working to improve the quality of life in the downtown San Francisco Yerba Buena neighborhood. The Partnership manages and maintains several blocks around Yerba Buena Gardens, encompassing roughly Second to Fifth and Market to Perry streets. The district boasts iconic destinations such as SFMOMA, YBCA, MoAD, Children’s Creativity Museum and Moscone Center, along with premier hotels, Academy of Art University, City College, and dining, shopping and entertainment venues. Yerba Buena is also located within the larger Filipino Cultural Heritage District. The Partnership began implementing programs in 2009 involving its Clean & Safe Team, neighborhood marketing, public art projects and many other neighborhood improvement efforts. Learn more at www.YerbaBuena.org.