It was supposed to go out with a bang, but the city's Halloween party ended its 16-year run in the Castro with a whisper. The annual street celebration drew an official 150,000 revelers -- down from a rowdy 300,000 the SFPD says came to last year's violence-tainted affair. But arrests for assault and public drunkenness were likewise lower, and Community United Against Violence (CUAV, a group that works to prevent gay-bashing) raised more than $100,000 from the $2 admission.
And where were all the drag queens? A longtime habitue of the street party noted that the event "was visually less interesting" than in years past. One reason: The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the self-described "21st-century drag activist nuns" who have helped sponsor the festivities in years past, boycotted the shindig. Instead, they sponsored their own -- Hallow Queen at Club Townsend -- in response to what one of them characterized as concerns over CUAV's ability to provide a safe environment for "fabulous queens to put an outfit together."
Sister Kitty Catalyst, organizer of the Sisters' gala, says the alternate party drew some 1,500 merrymakers, most in drag regalia, who paid $15 to $20 admission. As he explains: "The neighborhood groups and merchants from the Castro who were working on this year's party wanted it to be low-key. But we were totally surprised when CUAV put up 3,000 posters and distributed 18,000 fliers advertising the event. We took it as our cue to move on." Catalyst says his group was worried because CUAV had problems overseeing security at last year's blowout (during which a number of drag queens were assaulted) and that the group was more interested in turning the party into a fund-raiser, which made "anyone who cares about safety issues nervous. ... If you've ever had a 40-ounce bottle hurled at your head, you tend to be wary" about assurances of safety, he observes.
But Lester Olmstead-Rose, CUAV's executive director, maintains that his group took its security responsibilities seriously. "We were engaged all year ... with neighborhood groups and community organizations where we talked about what we could do to make Halloween work right," Olmstead-Rose says. "We realized the event was not as safe as we could feel comfortable with." He notes that CUAV brought in 170 private security guards this year and coordinated security matters with the Police Department.
SFPD Commander Dennis Martel credits CUAV with doing "a good job" with security this year, noting that its hired hands kept weapons and alcohol from seeping into the area fenced off by police. (Martel also praises his own officers -- 250 strong in the Castro, 200 of them called in on overtime at an estimated cost approaching $100,000 -- for keeping the peace.) "We didn't see the same level or intensity of violent activity as last year," Martel explains, adding that there was little "gang-type activity" -- the kind blamed for some of the disruption in 1994. "All in all, I would evaluate it [the 1995 party] as a real success."
Olmstead-Rose says his group spent between $40,000 and $50,000 on the party, to be paid for from admissions, a first at this year's event. CUAV plans to use some of the remaining funds to plan next year's party, which will be moved to another venue. Olmstead-Rose mentions Civic Center, a South of Market space, or the Embarcadero as possibilities. The remaining money, he says, will go to the groups that provided volunteers for the event this year, including the National Task Force on AIDS Prevention, Pets Are Wonderful Support, and Asian AIDS Project. (Representatives from those groups express satisfaction with CUAV's handling of this year's event and plan to participate next year.)
Catalyst notes that the Sisters have always donated money to community nonprofits after the Halloween blowout as well, but that many local groups declined to work on this year's Castro party. As for the ones that did, Catalyst sneers, "Who are these groups?" noting their low visibility before CUAV took over the Halloween affair. "We don't fault the bene-ficiaries," he explains. "They were sweet-talked into coming up with warm bodies" for the promise of publicity and a share of whatever money they could raise.
Predictably, Olmstead-Rose has no qualms about the lucre. "I feel completely comfortable with the idea that if there was money left over that CUAV benefit," he asserts. "We raised not only enough money to pay for the event, but next year's as well. We were able to achieve that ... through a huge collaborative undertaking. The fact that we can return some of the money to the community is really wonderful."
Still, Catalyst claims that CUAV had been eyeing control of the Castro Halloween party: "They've been riding our coattails. ... For years, it has made attempts to get Halloween away from us." Though he doesn't deny CUAV's record of community work, he wishes "they would stick to education/outreach stuff and get out of the special-events business. We know how to throw a party; they know how to throw a nonevent." At this point, Catalyst says the Sisters are hesitant about collaborating on CUAV's party next year. "Halloween should be a festive time" -- one in which drag queens especially should feel free to be fabulous, Catalyst asserts.
"We fully intend to discuss Halloween with the Sisters," Olmstead-Rose maintains. In the long run, his success at convincing the idiosyncratic group to participate in next year's party may determine what definition of the word "drag" will apply.
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