MADISON, Wis. -- Madison's annual Halloween party on State Street will now take on a new name, according to a new student group that is organizing the event.

This year, revelers who plan to attend the newly-christened "Freakfest on State Street" can find information by seeking out its new jack o' lantern logo and an official Web site, WISC-TV reported.

The Halloween Action Committee announced the name, logo and Web site at a meeting on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on Thursday night. Organizers said that the meeting not only unveiled these changes, but also sought to gather more student input on the party, WISC-TV reported.

The student committee formed after a Facebook.com group, called "Move Halloween To Langdon," came out against Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's proposed plans for Halloween and garnered 5,000 students. Eventually, the new committee was formed to cooperate with city officials on the planning.

Now students said that they're looking at bands for the street, and activities like costume contests.

"It's going to be student-based, a party for the students, of the students and we're really excited to be the ones in control rather than anyone else in the city," said Tom Wangard, co-chair of the committee.

Some of the committee members and city officials said that an issue that they still need to get a handle on is liability. Joel Plant, the city's alcohol policy coordinator, said that liability at the entertainment stages would fall to any stage sponsors and he said that many have expressed interest, WISC-TV reported.

The committee organizers said that they're also looking into insurance coverage.

Planning for the event picked up the pace earlier this week when the Madison Common Council voted for $85,000 to pay for Halloween costs and approved a ban on all glass containers.

Several issues, however, are still up for debate and are slated for discussion at the council's Sept. 19 meeting.

The most pointed is the proposed $5 entry free, which the mayor supports, but members of UW-Madison's student government said that they are against the fee.

Some said that if the fee is passed by the council, they want UW students to have first dibs on advanced ticket sales.

The council members must also set a start and end time and the maximum number of people that will be allowed on State Street. Some city officials initially proposed a 50,000-person limit, which some students objected to, WISC-TV reported.

Related Links:

Halloween Action Committee Web Site