Authorities, Officials Begin To Evaluate This Year's Freakfest
Saturday's Event Drew 34,000 Attendees
Updated: 2:42 pm CDT October 29,2007
MADISON, Wis. -- Authorities said that there were no major incidents and fewer arrests at Madison's downtown Halloween party on State Street this weekend than in years past.
READ: Down On The Street: Wandering Through Freakfest |
READ: Authorities Say Freakfest Went 'Extremely Well' |
SLIDESHOW: View Freakfest 2007 Images (Vol. 1) |
SLIDESHOW: View Freakfest 2007 Images (Vol. 2) |
VIDEO: Authorities, Officials Evaluate Freakfest |
VIDEO: Cleanup Efforts Begin After Freakfest |
VIDEO: Police Make ArrestsA total of about 34,000 costumed revelers bought tickets to Freakfest 2007, and there were no serious reports of property damage or injuries, officials said.The crowd was described as "thin" by some police officers, but was roughly comparable to last year's turnout, WISC-TV reported. The numbers are down from what was often a crowd of 100,000 people before the ticketing procedures were instituted in 2006.Authorities said that 120 people were in police custody by 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, which is a 64-percent drop from two years ago. The total numbers of arrests occurring throughout the weekend were also down by about 25 percent. About 175 people were arrested this weekend as compared to 235 arrested last year.In 2005, when there were no admission fees to the celebration, there were 334 arrests during the party.Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz took part in this year's Freakfest and was there until the event concluded at about 1:30 a.m. on Sunday. The mayor led the city's effort last year to remake the sometimes infamous annual Halloween celebration into a city-sanctioned event that included ticketing and stages for musical acts.Cieslewicz said that he believes Freakfest was a success in terms of safety and he's now hoping to cut back on costs for the annual event."Ii think that we can now take a look at things, analyze what happened, take a look at possibly being able to reduce some of those officers in future years," he said. "I think you know we really transformed the event in the last couple of years since we started the gating and ticketing last year, which was controversial at the time. People just didn't think it would work. But it worked well last year. It worked even better this year. So, I think we've gone a long way in transforming the event."After the event concluded early Sunday morning, city workers wasted no time in springing into action. Cleanup crews got to work at about 2 a.m.Officials said that the cleaning of State Street is an easier job than in years past because the more controlled environment means less damage to businesses and litter stays contained.Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.
Previous Stories:
- October 29, 2007: Authorities Say Freakfest Went 'Extremely Well'
- October 29, 2007: Down On The Street: Wandering Through Freakfest
- October 29, 2007: Mayor Hails Freakfest As Success
- October 29, 2007: State Street Business Owners Watchful Of Freakfest Crowds
- October 29, 2007: Officials: Freakfest Cleanup Smooth, Quick
- October 29, 2007: Authorities Say Freakfest Arrests Set New Low
- October 26, 2007: Command Center To Keep An Eye On Freakfest Crowds
- October 26, 2007: Locksley Returns To Madison To Rock Freakfest
- October 26, 2007: City, Police Prepare For Freakfest
- October 26, 2007: Students Appear Split On Freakfest Event
- October 25, 2007: Bikes To Be Removed From State Street For Freakfest
- October 22, 2007: New Performers, Times Announced For Freakfest Stages
- October 22, 2007: Downtown Cameras Will Capture Freakfest
- October 16, 2007: Get Freakfest Ticket Information, Locations
- October 9, 2007: Freakfest Tickets Go On Sale Friday
- October 9, 2007: City Looks To Repeat Success With Freakfest 2007
Copyright 2008 by Channel 3000. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.









