For UW-Madison students and city officials the time is always right to talk about Halloween, and Tuesday night, the two sides converged to discuss last fall's event and look at future improvements for the event.
Mario Mendoza represented Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's office and addressed the state of Halloween celebrations of the past and present.
He, along with other city officials, fielded questions and suggestions from the crowd.
Mendoza reiterated the message the city delivered in early November, which declared Halloween a ""success.""
He noted the fact that no serious injuries or damages to property took place and that the highlight of the night was that no pepper spray was needed. ""[It] was one of the more visible signs of success,"" he said.
According to the Madison Parks Department, in its first year of instituting ticket-only entry, over 34,000 tickets were sold—most at $5 a ticket. The city made approximately $162,000 in ticket sales.
Many officials said they wanted to continue with the tickets in the future.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 8, said of all the good things that came from last year's Halloween success, one thing that needs to be addressed is the ""diminished crowd size.""
He said the orange snow fencing was one of the major deterrents, but added that he hopes students look at the bigger picture.
""I do hope more of our own students will realize a little old snow fence [should not] stop them from having fun,"" Verveer said.
