Halloween planning pays off with calmer, safer weekend

City and university officials breathed a giant sigh of relief on Oct. 29 as Madison’s Halloween “Freakfest” came off without a major disturbance.

More than 30,000 people were estimated to have attended the celebration on Saturday night. For the first time since 2002, Madison Police, along with UW Police, the Dane County Sheriff’s Department and other police agencies, were able to clear State Street without the use of riot gear or pepper spray.

No serious injuries or property damage were reported. Approximately 230 participants were cited or arrested through the weekend, less than half of 2005 totals.

“This year’s event was a big step in the right direction,” said Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz in a post-event statement. “We met all three of my goals for this year. We did not have to use pepper spray or have our police in riot gear. We reduced the amount of over-consumption of alcohol. And we recovered a significant part of the costs.”

Cieslewicz said approximately 32,000 tickets to the event were sold, providing more than $150,000 to help offset the cost.

Interim Dean of Students Lori Berquam says that the university worked hard to localize and downsize the event by restricting guests from University Housing and stressing student safety.