34,000 party, arrests falls, no damage

By Quinn Craugh

A crowd of 34,000 graced State Street for “Freakfest 2007” Saturday night and early Sunday, and for the second straight year, police cleared the street peacefully and reported fewer arrests. They reported no vandalism or property damage.

According to police, the crowd hit its peak of 34,000 after midnight and was similar in size when compared to 2006, despite the $2 ticket price increase -- to $7. And if not for minor incidents, such as two men dressed in chicken suits circling one another in the middle of large gathering on the infamous 500 block of State Street, police played the role of wallflowers.

Joel DeSpain, public information officer for the Madison Police Department, said the two-day arrest total was 175. Of those, 120 were made Saturday night and early Sunday.

DeSpain noted that it was the third straight drop in the number of arrests. Last year, the two-day arrest total reached 235 and in 2005 – when the even was still unstructured and unfenced -- , officers made 566 arrests over a similar weekend.

Alcohol violations made up most of the arrests, but DeSpain noted that the Saturday/Sunday crowd seemed much less intoxicated than the few thousand on the street Friday night.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz took in the scene he helped create over the past four years and said he thought the revelers appeared happy and content.

“I haven’t seen any pushing and shoving,” Cieslewicz said, adding in years past small fights were commonplace. He also said R.T.M., the private security firm the city hired to take tickets, did a nice job throughout the night frisking everyone and handling swells in the impatient onlookers waiting to get in.

“They frisked me when I walked in,” Cieslewicz said, “which is good I guess.”

Although a few tense moments put some of the hundreds of officers on alert, none of the individual disputes became major ones.

Still, although no State Street property damage was reported and the event evolved into a “remarkable success,” at times the mostly friendly crowd showed signs of restlessness.

Some partygoers turned hecklers and directed vulgar jeers and taunts toward police. In turn, their actions prompted authorities to intervene and silence those the loudest voices by either dispersing the group or arresting one or two.

At one point, a crowd of 10 guys walked down State Street, chanting defiantly and obscenely at the police – until a group of five police officers approached. The loud profanity quickly became murmurs; one police officer grinned as he passed the critics.

“I understand the police have to monitor what’s going on around here, but at the same time I don’t like how invasive they are,” said fifth year UW-Madison student Thomas Reuter, who dressed as a 10-ft. tall Q-tip.“State Street in Madison should be what it has been…meaning you don’t have admission tickets and it’s people coming if they feel like coming.”

However, those “glory years” - as one student lovingly referred to -- have come and gone. And with two years of no riots, no use of pepper spray and a general sense of community pride, Cieslewicz sees a bright future for “Freakfest.”

“This was the most successful Halloween on State Street in several years,” he said. “Halloween in Madison has been transformed in a positive way.”

One other gauge of the event’s success: Only one person was sent to detox, which is reserved for those so drunk they are in danger of dying.

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