Counterculture Halloween dance party overtakes Mission District streets
Mark Wendel, the lead singer of San Francisco-based band The Fell Swoop, sings to a crowd of hundreds from the bed of a U-Haul pickup truck at 20th and Capp streets on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. Over a thousand partygoers danced through the Mission District Tuesday night for DanceOWeen, a counterculture dance party organized by a supergroup of friends.
Dan Hernandez / Journalism 300, SF State
Over a thousand costumed partygoers descended on Mission District streets and alleys in a marching dance party fashion on Tuesday night.
A fast-growing crowd congregated at the 16th Street Mission BART Plaza at 7:30 p.m. Groups of friends shared drinks and danced together at the plaza before spilling onto 16th Street and weaving through traffic. DJs in handmade carts played music providing atmosphere to the crowd.
DanceOWeen, a Halloween-themed dance party open to the public, returned for its 10th year. Under new management, a supergroup of friends based in San Francisco who describe themselves as renegades, organized this year’s event with the intention of bringing fun back into the city.
“We're playing off San Francisco being a ghost town,” lead organizer Jeremy Blanchard said. The theme this year challenges the belief that the city is becoming a ghost town with humour. “Everyone talks about leaving San Francisco, and this is a means to demonstrate the people are here, showing up, having fun and care.”
Party hosts dressed themselves in Ghostbusters costumes. Blanchard, dressed as the Mad Hatter, and his team of hosts, all of whom are friends, waved flags and light sticks redirecting traffic and guiding crowds through side streets.
Elyse Lefebvre was one of the Ghostbusters ahead of the crowd. Carrying a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man on a stick, she scouted the blocks ahead and spoke with other hosts through a handheld radio on her way to the second party location.
“There’s a lot of crazy counterculture events that happen but they tend to be at like parties or different events that you have to buy a ticket for,” she said. Lefebvre emphasized that she appreciates the creativity and coolness that happens in the city, but she wanted an experience that everyone could participate in.
Wary of who might intervene with dance party proceedings, organizers kept the coming event locations to be carefully orchestrated surprises. Mass text messages were sent to partygoers throughout the evening.
“It's usually a little more stressful for the organizers and the participants,” Blanchard said. “It's like fun.”
Lefebvre met with a team that had set up two U-Haul trucks and a projector in front of Dearborn Community Garden.
The quiet Dearborn Street soon had hundreds of attendees pouring in for a singalong to Bohemian Rhapsody. Curious residents poked their heads out of windows and watched from porches as the chanting crowd became electrified.
By the bridge of the song, the hosts opened one of the box trucks to reveal over a dozen oversized inflatable balls. Partygoers were dancing on the street, passing the inflatables and bouncing on the roofs of the trucks.
After 30 minutes, the party made its way over to Capp Street for the third stop of the night.
Parked near the bollards at the 20th Street intersection, San Francisco-based band The Fell Swoop began sound check on a platform trailer. Walking up the street in a sequined Elton John-themed Dodgers uniform was lead signer Mark Wendell.
“To see this crazy crowd walk around the corner; I loved it,” Wendell said. The party rolled in and the band began to play covers and original songs.
Organizers formed a perimeter around the intersection with caution tape and diverted traffic. Hosts parked a party bus at the corner where they handed out pizza slices from the back and tossed full-sized candy bars from the roof.
The party continued onto its final location at Mission Playground. DJs played music as partygoers kept dancing until 10 p.m.
Sylvia Wu, a Mission District resident, attended DanceOWeen for the first time this year after hearing about it from a friend last year. Her costume was a dandelion.
“There's three types of people in this world; dandelions, tulips and orchids. Dandelions—you can mow it, weed whack it, poison it and it will be fine,” Wu said. Composed of a green dress and a headpiece that emulated the pappi, she used it to make a statement about being a San Francisco resident to match the party’s theme.
“It always comes back. I am a dandelion,” she said. “I love San Francisco.”