Athens survives another PalmerFest weekend
By Garrett Downing
Athens NEWS Campus Reporter
May 12, 2008
Live music, crowded streets and long keg lines accompanied the hundreds of partygoers who flocked to Palmer Street Saturday to enjoy PalmerFest, one of Athens’ most notorious spring festivals. After several rainy days, the skies cleared and the guests of PalmerFest enjoyed a sunny afternoon of steady partying.
Sunny skies lasted throughout the day as people roamed from house to house listening to bands and mingling with other guests.
The Athens Police issued a news release around 4 a.m. Sunday, saying that events surrounding PalmerFest were “unremarkable.” The APD arrested and/or cited 13 individuals between 3 p.m. Saturday and 3 a.m. Sunday, though not all were connected to the block party, and nothing stood out from a routine spring weekend, police said.
That’s with one possible exception. Athens Police Capt. Tom Pyle confirmed Sunday that the police are looking into incidents where one or more partygoers may have been struck and injured by “sling-shotted” water balloons. One witness told The NEWS she observed a female whose face was badly swollen after being hit by a water balloon.
In years past, the party has sometimes turned violent in the late hours, with partiers throwing beer cans at police and people have tried to light couches late in the party. This year people mostly remained calm and no fires were reported in the police news release. The APD said that most fest-goers had left the area by 1:30 a.m.
The Friday night Oak and Milliron festivals did not deter people from starting early Saturday, as many of the parties were filled with crowds by early afternoon. Some houses hosted private fenced-in parties, while others were open to just about anyone. Either way, the partygoers did not have much trouble finding a place to enjoy the festivities, and as the day went on, the crowd poured out into the street.
The music scene is always a top attraction for PalmerFest, and some Athens regulars — such as Jesty Beatz — took the stage again this year. The stage drew a large crowd for the Jesty Beatz performance mid-afternoon.
“I like checking out all of the bands,” sophomore Zach Heilman said. “A lot of them, like Jesty Beatz, started locally, and it’s cool how they come back to their roots for this weekend.”
The Athens party scene is most known for its annual Halloween bash on Court Street, but in recent years the spring festivals have grown in number and popularity, and PalmerFest is always a student favorite.
“Most people talk up Halloween, but I really think Palmer is just as fun,” said freshman Adam Gruber, who attended PalmerFest for the first time.
The Saturday weather was more pleasant than it has been in recent years for PalmerFest. With most of the day in the mid-60s, the temperatures Saturday were much easier to handle than last year’s extremely hot weather. While people dressed in spring attire, no inflatable pools decorated the Palmer lawns and most people did not dress in bathing suits this year.
“The weather made this PalmerFest more fun because it was nice but it was not too hot,” Heilman said.
The Athens police always have a steady stream of officers patrolling the street, and mounted officers roamed up and down Palmer Street throughout the night to help keep the partying from getting out of control.
In his news release, Capt. Pyle personally thanked “any and all agencies that assisted the Athens Police over the weekend, and I want to specifically recognize our hard-working Athens Police employees.” He said they worked extended tours of duty over the weekend and deserve ample praise.
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