‘Glow in the Streets’ was a chill half block of neon fun

We have heard of Halloween’s great return to Castro for more than a year now, but the insane block parties of yore still remain firmly in the past. Halloween crowds last night felt almost chaste in comparison to Castro Street Fair, and Folsom and Dore festivals.

But size isn’t everything. Take Glow in the Streets, which gave us a perfectly good excuse to don something bright and dance around a bit outside on Halloween weekend. This was the 6th iteration of Comfort & Joy’s soirée that mixes art, community, and touch. I think in most cities you’d stroll by and wonder, “Wow, what the hell is that?” But in San Francisco it was more like: “OK, looks cute.”

Attendees on Oct. 26th got a tiny taste of the annual circuit party-flavored Afterglow, which attracts many out-of-town muscled trophy boys who put drugs and sex higher on their priorities. The Afterglow Pride party features the most beautiful orgy I’ve probably ever seen; a second floor at Space 550 hosts sweaty bodies on floor cushions while huge throngs of them dance just below. Everyone is bathed in neon, saliva, and lube, and the smell of poppers just wafts on by like chlorine at a public pool.

But we kept our clothes on at Glow in the Streets. The same art pieces from the bigger parties decorated a small enclave on Noe Street, with living room windows above us radiating black light to match. A cuddle puddle looked like a good place to nap, and a stage nearby kept us going with dancey beats.

I am not nearly the Castro bunny I was pre-pandemic, so the people who recognize me from social media feel like ghosts from the past. I pause to catch up with nightlife photographer Gooch, who in rare form is just out to party while wearing a fabulous JD Vance getup. Political costumes are in short supply this Halloween weekend — I think because we are all triggered by the upcoming election. But Gooch and a drag Trump pull it off in a memorable and hilarious way.

Then actual politicians Mark Leno and Rafael Mandelman showed up, dressed as themselves. I always like running into Mandelman because he isn’t speechifying or showboating at events, just quietly making the rounds and catching up with residents. Leno takes the stage and makes an impassioned speech about trans rights, which I’m always happy to hear especially amid too many Harry Potter costumes. But the crowd was definitely too hammered to focus on it.

This was my first Glow in the Streets, and I guess I expected more streets to be involved. The event title conjured images of Friday Night Skate, an OG group of rollers who provide San Francisco weekly flashmobs of LEDs and music that literally just parade on by. Instead this party was more quaint for Castro standards, but to my eyes, it was also the only area barricaded off for Halloween in the neighborhood. We didn’t even get a dance party behind Walgreens, so this was the moment to dance in the streets.

A costume contest brought the event to a close, with entrants like Jon Snow, Orville Peck, and these two white swan pixie gays whose theme I didn’t quite catch. A colorful guy announced he was a “woman who does business, and this is my parrot.” (?) I had hoped for a riff on Romy and Michele but no dice.

Glow in the Streets is Comfort & Joy’s recurring event that I’ve seen take place beyond October. But it was rightly pointed out to me that this party was one of the only Castro Halloween activations following the 2006 shooting. SF swiftly halted any future raucous gatherings, and now it’s been so long that people born that year are old enough to vote.

I agree that caution is great, but maybe not when you have regular raves along the Embarcadero, in Civic Center and downtown San Francisco. Let the gays party again — let’s just find a way to make it safer. For now I’m glad we have intimate gatherings like this one, and getting dressed up Saturday was a cute time.

// The next Afterglow is New Years Eve with tickets beginning at about $100.

Saul Sugarman is editor in chief of The Bold Italic.

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