Third Eye Blind, an alternative rock band originally formed in the early ’90s, is scheduled to perform at Freakfest 2009, according to the band’s website.

The annual Freakfest event is the city’s largest Halloween celebration, featuring live music in the State Street area.

And, according to Downtown Coordinating Committee member Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, in the hopes students are not left out of other various planning for the event, the committee is hosting an open forum today at 5:30 p.m. for students in the Memorial Union.

“What I really want is for Halloween to become meaningful to the students again,” Verveer said. “My biggest frustration is hearing that students don’t attend Freakfest anymore because they feel it is lame.”

There has been criticism from students that they have not been offered enough opportunity to voice their input in planning the event, according to Downtown Coordinating Committee member Ald. Bryon Eagon, District 8.

Verveer said the lack of student participation in Halloween events in recent years saddens him, particularly for those who have experienced State Street before Freakfest was instituted.

“This is an opportunity to get students involved again. I will do everything in my power to go along with the good suggestions we get from student constituents,” Verveer said.

The Downtown Coordinating Committee is attempting to accommodate students’ wishes, allowing them to participate in the committee meeting.

The meeting has been moved from its regular location in the Dane County Building to the Memorial Union in hopes of a larger student turnout.

“The Memorial Union is a well-known and acceptable place that students are familiar with,” Eagon said. “We wanted to hold the meeting in a place in which the students would feel comfortable.”

The Downtown Coordinating Committee will also be focusing on other mainstream downtown issues.

The meeting will discuss Halloween, as well as downtown safety, programs on how to better coordinate recycling, Langdon Street neighborhood walks and other important concerns that local citizens may have.

Madison and University of Wisconsin police will be talking about crime trends on and off campus, campus safety, recent burglaries and muggings.

There are many key players in the community that will be attending this meeting, including various City Council members and Frank Productions, the company that produces the State Street event.

This meeting is an opportunity for voices to be heard from all angles of the community, according to Eagon.

“Oftentimes there is disconnect between the students concerns and what the city is dealing with, so this is a way to be proactive about student input,” Eagon said. “Students’ concerns tend to be very reactive and after-the-fact, this is an attempt to be more proactive with student concerns, ideas and input.”

Eagon and Verveer agreed the Downtown Coordinating Committee wants to see a big student turnout.

Students are encouraged to speak out about any concerns or issues they feel are important, Verveer said.