Halloween party brings revelers to Court Street
A seemingly smaller-than-usual Court Street crowd did not lead to a lack of original costumes as Waldos, pieces of silverware, Matrix characters and hundreds of other uniquely-attired Ohio University students, Athens residents and visitors from out of town flocked Uptown for the annual Halloween celebration Saturday night.
Athens Police Department Chief Richard Mayer said in a press release Sunday that the crowd for the event was considerably larger than in the past, but people were more spread out into the side streets - including Mill, Congress and State streets.
Lynn Swanger of The Plains, who has volunteered with the City of Athens safety team for the past four years, said the Court Street area seemed to be calmer this year than what he has seen before.
It doesn't seem to be as big tonight this year
he said.
OU junior Emily Hockman also said Halloween did not seem to be as crowded this year. She dressed as water and her roommate was dressed as fire in an attempt to be different.
It's hard to be original when there's 25 000 other people she said.
Dressed as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, OU freshman Jill Pascute said the celebration was unlike anything she had seen before.
It's better than my expectations
she said. There are so many different costumes.
One of the many group and duo costumes seen Uptown were Dan Nunney, a sophomore at Indiana University, and OU sophomore Daniel Greenlee. The two dressed as Hans and Franz, the body builders seen in Saturday Night Live skits.
Refusing to break character, Nunney said his biceps were at least 25 inches. Both claimed their costume idea was the best they had seen all night.
OU freshman Aaron Dicks, who dressed as the Trojan Man and passed out condoms to passersby, said the favorite costume he saw was a set of bowling pins and a ball. He said people should dress up if they come to Halloween.
That's kind of the point of Halloween
to dress up and have fun
he said.
Dicks said the Uptown event seemed safe, with many police officers patrolling the area.
Brandon Lisy, a junior at Kent Sate University, said he did not expect security to be as tight as it was.
I was very surprised to see the cops on horseback
he said.
Shane Hartley, an officer with APD, said this year was his first time policing on horseback. He said people were being respectful of the horses and, although the crowd had not been much trouble, some residential streets like Palmer were crowded.
Ron Lucas, the organizer of the Athens safety team, attributed the mellow atmosphere to nicer weather and increased student awareness about how to party safely.
We try to make sure people don't do anything stupid they'd get arrested for
Lucas said.
OU graduate student Jared Dunn, who worked as a bouncer at The Pigskin Sports Bar and Grill, 38 N. Court St., said the bar's patrons seemed pretty calm although the bar was packed.
We got full early and then every time someone would leave
we'd let someone come in
in their place
Dunn said. It was his seventh Halloween in Athens.
OU junior and transfer student John Hansing said he came to his first Athens Halloween celebration to see how everyone looked and acted, and he was not disappointed.
This is the best place to be this time of year
