It's never too early to talk Halloween in Madison.
This year, the city-sponsored Freakfest event will fall on Halloween for the first time, coincide with an 11 a.m. home football game against Purdue, and will include a few minor changes, according to Madison's Neighborhood Liaison Joel Plant, who spoke Thursday at the city's Business Improvement District meeting.
Performers for the event will be announced in about two weeks, according to a spokesperson from Freakfest's promotion company, Frank Productions. Whoever performs, Plant said they would have more room than last year, when the Capitol Square stage area flooded with more people than police had anticipated.
""We're going to have that stage moved back as much as possible and the points of access on both Carroll and Mifflin Street will become exit-only points,"" Plant said.
The city also purchased $2,900 in portable toilets to address the larger crowd, though related complaints about the Madison Mounted Police Force's equine droppings could not be addressed.
""We've found that the placement of manure in the middle of the street helps people stay on sidewalks,"" Plant joked.
Much of the event will remain the same, Plant said, including a $7 admission if bought in advance and a $10 admission at the event. The time will also remain the same, 7 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
At 1:30 a.m., police will usher all participants off State Street and temporarily fence off individual blocks to clean before Sunday morning.
Hawk Schenkel, owner of Hawk's Bar & Grill, 425 State St., said closing Freakfest one hour before bar time eliminated most of his late-night business.
""Basically we had a 1:30 bar time without a 1:30 bar time ... I understand it's a trade off, but at the same time, a lot of businesses depend on a little bit of the money they get that night to survive.""
Plant, however, said that is not the case with most bars.
""The goal is not to empty the bars out ... many of the bars were just full, full, full with lines outside all night long last year,"" he said.
Plant also said the strategic closing time has kept the city's personnel costs down, now $98,000 lower than in 2005.
