It’s the Monday after Halloween. By now, everyone’s hangovers have dulled, their Facebook pictures are updated, and they’ll have figured out how they got home Saturday night. The costumes are put away, but the stories of the shenanigans will be the only topic of conversation for the next week or so. The Madison Halloween tradition, which began 30 years ago, continues.
Or perhaps not. Everyone knows the lore of Halloweens past with riots, vandalism and dorms stuffed with drunken co-eds. It has been reported at the event’s peak, more than 100,000 people flocked to State Street to partake in the spectacle. Bonfires, open intoxicants and hundreds of arrests were not uncommon. Halloween on State Street truly captured the spirit of the evening, with mischief and melee abound. Today, the memories of those Halloweens haunt Freakfest, which bears little to no resemblance to its forbearer.
After four consecutive years of rowdier-than-usual crowds that resulted in the police using tear gas and other riot-busting techniques, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz had had enough. Thus Freakfest was invented, and simply by hiring a band to play, the city was able to charge admission to State Street. To make sure no one got to see the band for free, the city blocked off the area to both traffic and pedestrians, which neatly solved the problem of how to monitor the drunken crowd and established places of entry to collect tickets. Some of the revenue from the ticket sales enabled the city to install high-definition cameras to monitor the entire street. This was the fourth year of Freakfest, and consequently the fourth year of paying admittance. It seemed as though everyone was happy: The police had an easier job, the city of Madison didn’t lose as much money, and the black eye that had been the State Street Halloween party began to fade. Yes, everyone was happy, except, perhaps, the patrons of the event.
When I purchased my ticket, I was surprised to see it was sold through Ticketmaster. I was doubly surprised when I noticed that the event was “brought to you by Mountain Dew.” There was even an Amp/Z104 sponsored main stage, and the conglomeration of WISC TV/My Madison TV/C3K Urban Theater had a smaller stage. To top it all off, Freakfest is put together by Frank Productions, which is paid for bringing in the bands. It looks like our little block party has turned into a corporate sponsored event.
When the City Council decided to bring in Frank Productions, it was the end of an era. The event lost more than its violence and insolence; it lost a part of its soul as well. This is seen especially well by looking at the number of attendees. In 2004, an estimated 75,000 people came to State Street compared to about 44,000 this year. This number is up from the estimated 35,000 who paid admittance for the first time in 2006. The number of arrests is also down, with only 47 this year compared to the record 445 arrests in 2004. These numbers look impressive, but the truth is that police aren’t necessarily doing their job better and students aren’t all less rowdy. It just means the rowdier ones don’t want to pay to get onto State Street.
The fact that there are less arrests now is simply because there are less people on State Street to arrest. While it is well and good to be proud of the progress that the party has made, the only way they have gotten to this point is essentially by dissuading Madisonians to come while trucking in out-of-staters who want to see the music. Although people from outside Wisconsin have been coming to the event since it started, today they make up a rather large chunk of the attendees. Thanks to Facebook, MySpace, and the bands’ websites, fans from all over the country can join the ranks of costumed revelers on State Street. As a result, people come to partake in a Madison tradition without realizing not many of the participants are actually from Madison.
Although we may resent it, Freakfest truly has made the experience a more pleasant one. Participants no longer have to worry about stepping in broken glass or being pepper sprayed. The thing we need to examine is the cost that made this change possible. We have taken a Madison tradition and distorted it with sponsors, barricades and overpriced entry fees. The event has gone from a one-of-a-kind experience to just another sponsored and commercial event. It is time to claim back State Street by voicing dissent and working towards positive change. We don’t want a return to the chaos, but for Madisonians to have a say in how their party is planned. It is time to give a part of Freakfest back to the people of Madison.
Allegra Dimperio ([email protected]) is a freshman intending to major in journalism and theater.
