The cold winter temperatures did not deter Freakfest audiences this year, with over 35,000reported to have attended the event, according to a Madison Police Department estimate.
The MPD led crowd control efforts, and multiple local police departments assisted in patrolling the event.
Crime remained relatively low at this year’s Halloween celebration, with a reported 28 arrests, according to an MPD report, which is slightly lower than the 36 arrests reported last year. Most citations issued were for disorderly conduct or underage drinking.
Both Mayor Paul Soglin and Common Council President, Ald. Chris Schmidt, District 11, were away during the festivities, leaving Council Vice President, Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, as acting mayor for the evening.
Resnick said Freakfest was a “well organized and safe event,” this year. He added “the rioting is a thing of the past.”
University of Wisconsin-Madison student involvement in this year’s Freakfest celebration increased with the addition of a stage sponsored by the student-run radio station WSUM and run entirely by students. WSUM Program Director Kelsey Brannan said Frank Productions, the organizers behind Freakfest, approached WSUM about sponsoring the stage.
Booking local acts was a major factor in planning the lineup, according to Brannan.
“The goal was to keep it pretty local, so all of the bands were either from Madison or Milwuakee,” Brannan said.
Milwaukee rock band The Living Statues headlined the WSUM stage. Drummer Chris Morales said he was excited to play the event.
“We got invited to headline the WSUM stage, and we gladly took it,” Morales said. “It’s the biggest Halloween festival, that we know of at least, so we had to just take advantage. Enjoy not only the kind of decor and spectacle of it all and but then get to play for a huge audience.”
Other bands that performed on the WSUM stage included Gabe Burdulis, Boy Blue, The Sharrows and Vic and Gab.
“This is the first time that WSUM has hosted a stage at Freakfest, and I’m really proud of how it turned out,” Brannan said. “I think we had a great line up, everything went really smoothly, we had a great crowd. It was a good night.”
Brannan said she is not sure if WSUM will be involved in next year’s programming but hopes the station will expand on its success this year.
The biggest crowd attraction was headlining act Matt and Kim, who played at the Capitol Stage. Popular singles “Daylight” and “Lessons Learned” kept the energy level high during the show, peaking with Kim climbing off the stage and walking on top of the crowd.
The Living Statues front man Tommy Shears said he was happy to come to Madison “just to play some good old rock n’ roll.”
