Mud, beer, Bobcats and music pretty much sum up this year’s #Fest. In its 12th edition, the party brought festgoers out to the field.
Dominic Petrozzi, director of festival operations at Prime Social Group and founder of the original #Fest, said though the final count of tickets for 12Fest hasn’t been calculated, he would estimate more than 17,000 tickets were sold.
“Obviously it was hands down the biggest #Fest that we’ve produced in the past ten years,” Petrozzi said. “The fans in attendance were definitely treated with a one-of-a-kind experience (Saturday) night.”
Festgoers flocked to the grounds with hour-long lines to get on buses to the field. They then waited again in ankle-deep mud to go through the gates, holding up tickets in the air to enter.
Lines for the shuttle were present even late into the afternoon as the mud took shoes, beer cans and shirts captive as festgoers waited, ready to party.
“I’ve never seen a line to get in this late in the day,” said Brandon “DJ B-Funk” Thompson, a former #Fest performer who played at the after-party at The Union. “That means people are here to party all night.”
The lines and crowds were a turn-off to some people, as Rachel Florian, a sophomore studying nutrition, found out for herself.
“This is my first #Fest and I hate it so far; there are too many people and it’s so disorganized,” Florian said. “We got on the bus right away, but then we waited in line for like an hour and a half or two hours.”
Despite the difficulties getting in, Florian and her friend Erin Thomas said they are huge Wiz Khalifa fans and were excited to see him perform.
Petrozzi said one of the things he and the other event planners were proud of was what he would call a “success of the Green Cup Campaign,” where guest were given cups in efforts to reduce projectile beer cans and liquor bottles.
“With this Green Cup Campaign, we saw a drastic decrease in projectiles, which was our main goal,” Petrozzi said. “The attendees and fans were respectful of the rule that we were trying to implement and it kind of went out without a hitch. … For us, it was really important for the safety of everybody at the site.”
The fest boasted entertainment by Carnage, Griz and Vic Mensa and more before headliner Wiz Khalifa. Bringing out his Taylor Gang pride, Khalifa rocked the stage with high
energy, rapping “Roll Up” and “On My Level,” and brought up Courtney Noelle, a Taylor Gang artist and songwriter, to perform part of her song “Love on the Run.”
Khalifa ended his set with “Black and Yellow,” as confetti exploded in the air and the whole Taylor Gang crew joined him on stage. As the stage went black and Khalifa left, fireworks started.
Callie James, a senior studying community health, came with her friends to see Wiz Khalifa.
“This is my first time actually being at a (Wiz Khalifa) concert in four years and it was the best thing that could have ever happened,” James said. “The fireworks were amazing and the (confetti) was amazing. One of the best college concerts of my life.”
Tyler Gastin, a festgoer from Canton, said he enjoyed Khalifa’s performance, but the crowd was rough.
“I was up front and it was dangerous up front, we couldn’t do it,” Gastin said. “Everybody was getting pushed down and one dude was getting suffocated. It was bad.”
Rachel Hawkins, a senior studying social work and psychology, came with James and said she had seen other Khalifa performances, but this topped them all.
“I thought it was awesome,” Hawkins said. “Wiz was amazing and came out here and was way better than any of the concerts before, I feel like.”
Khalifa interacted with the crowd, and also gave a small speech encouraging love and togetherness toward the end of his set.
“It was a lot of fun. He got everyone pumped up, but (his set) was a little too short,” said Morgan Hephner, a freshman studying nutrition. “(I enjoyed) everyone just coming together and having a good time.”
At the end of the night, law enforcement closed State Route 56, making it into a pedestrian walkway with no buses driving back to the fairgrounds after Khalifa’s performance. Petrozzi said although it wasn’t their first option, in order to make it safe for festgoers, the coordinators worked with law enforcement to find the best option.
Petrozzi said he was also excited to give a portion of the proceeds from the 12Fest bar to Bulldog Blitz to help Athens County schools. He said he’s looking forward to start planning now for 13Fest.
“I think it was just another perfect farewell for the students at OU, leading into the summer as the Spring Semester wraps up,” Petrozzi said. “For us, it’s just moving onto the next one, bigger and better things to come.”
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