Authorities Say Freakfest Went 'Extremely Well'

More Than 34,000 Attend Party

Updated: 12:33 pm CDT October 29, 2007

Madison police called the annual Halloween party on State Street Saturday night a success after Freakfest ended without the police confrontations and property damage that have marred the event in the past.

articleREAD: Down On The Street: Wandering Through Freakfest | popupSLIDESHOW: View Freakfest 2007 Images (Vol. 1) | popupSLIDESHOW: View Freakfest 2007 Images (Vol. 2) | videoVIDEO: Authorities, Officials Evaluate Freakfest | videoVIDEO: Watch Cleanup Efforts videoVIDEO: Police Make Arrests

Officials said that more than 34,000 people purchased tickets to Freakfest, which was organized this year by local promoter Frank Productions. Tickets were sold for $5 in advance and $7 the day of the event.

"Freakfest went extremely well, and another very positive step has been taken in making this a celebration for which the community can be proud," Joel DeSpain, public information specialist at the Madison Police Department, said in a news release.

This was the second year that revelers were charged admission to enter the party on State Street, which was fenced off for the event. This year's Freakfest also featured three live music stages, food vendors and official sponsors such as Milio's and Mountain Dew.

"Initially, I was a bit skeptical about the idea of charging people to get onto State Street. But people seem to be just as excited to be out, and the vibe and creativity is similar to past years. I like how it's not as hectic with the crowds, and it's still a lot of fun," said Edwanike Harbour, a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate student.

While the music stages seemed to have few spectators earlier in the evening, by 11 p.m. and later bands such as Locksley and Natty Nation drew large crowds.

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For the most part, the mood during the evening seemed upbeat, and it was more common to see people posing with police officers for photos than being led away in handcuffs.

There was a noticeable police presence on every block, as well as stadium lighting and officers on horseback throughout State Street. Officers were quick to intervene when revelers in groups became boisterous.

Madison police said that by 2 a.m. Sunday, 120 arrests had been made and that most were for alcohol violations. That total is down from 2006, when police made 148 arrests during Freakfest. Combining Friday and Saturday night arrests, there were 175 this year compared to 235 in 2006, police said.

In 2005, before the city's involvement with the event, police made 334 arrests during the Saturday night party.

As of early Sunday, no serious injuries or serious property damage had been reported, according to DeSpain.

For costumes, as with past years, superheroes, doctors, nurses, police officers, firefighters, escaped inmates, Nintendo characters, movie characters and men dressed as women were all popular choices. Waldo, of "Where's Waldo?" books, was a prominent costume this year, as well as characters from "Saturday Night Live" sketches.

Freakfest's official ending time was 1:30 a.m. Sunday, which is when police started dispersing crowds and closing down State Street a block at a time.

By 2 a.m. Sunday, the crowd had thinned considerably but there were still pockets of revelers throughout the street. Around 2:15 a.m., crews started cleaning and sweeping State Street and the majority of revelers had left.

Unlike last year, when there were a few tense moments between authorities and revelers when a small crowd wouldn't disperse, people seemed to leave in an orderly fashion at the event's close. At 2:30 a.m., authorities turned off the floodlights and started packing up to leave for the night.

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