@ThePost coverage of the second fest of the year. Follow @ThePostLocal for the live tweets!
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Muddy lawns and a light drizzle slowed the typically-rowdy Mill Fest Saturday afternoon, but the weather didn’t seem to stop the most persistent partiers.
The Athens Police Department arrested eight people throughout the course of the day, the Ohio University Police Department arrested 13 partygoers, and the Ohio Investigative Unit arrested 31 people on 55 charges, according to a news release from the city. Most of the charges were alcohol related, although one person was arrested by APD for assaulting a police horse and two charges were handed out for obstruction.
By comparison, APD arrested 12 people during 2014’s Mill Fest, OUPD arrested 27 people, and the OIU arrested 36 people on 55 charges, according to a previous Post report.
Around 4 p.m. Saturday, Mill Street parties began to be shut down one after the other.
For the most part, local law enforcement had put the second street fest of the year to bed by 6:30 p.m., shutting down 18 house parties that were beginning to be too rambunctious and had violated the city’s Nuisance Party Ordinance.
Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said the shut-down parties were “in clear violation” of the ordinance and had received a sufficient amount of warnings before police stepped in to remove students.
“The thing turned a little violent, for lack of a better term,” Pyle said. “We just decided to quit giving warnings and go down the streets and shut down the houses that have received warnings earlier in the day and that were clearly in violation.”
Festivities ramped up slightly before noon, with most homes on Mill Street hosting parties that spilled out onto lawns.
“I don’t think the rain will slow down the fest,” Noah Wilkinson, an undecided freshman at OU, said. “It’s going to stop by 2 or 3 (p.m.).”
A soapy, slippery tarp on Mill Street became an attraction early on in the day, though most homes had overhead tents set up to keep party-goers shielded from the light rain.
Two fest-goers, Derek Leto and Aaron Niese of Sandusky, also made a name for themselves at Mill Fest when they dressed up in colonial garb.
“Were dressed up as founding fathers,” Leto said, adding he was personally acting as Paul Revere, who wasn't a founding father.
Athens Deputy Service Safety Director Ron Lucas said Mill Fest seemed to have a “good crowd.”
“All Bobcats go to all fests,” Jacob Thomas, an OU senior studying finance, said. “If you aren’t going to all fests, you’re not a true Bobcat.”
As Mill Fest progressed into the mid-afternoon and partygoers became more inebriated, law enforcement started to arrest more attendees.
“Somebody peed off the balcony, and (the party) got shut down,” Shea Wilson, a senior studying business, said. “The police came in, they hit me with a baton in the face … Everyone is upset.”
Another student said he saw a partygoer urinating next to a mounted patrol officer, leading to an arrest.
“As soon as I turn around, I just saw him taking a piss, and then I saw the horse cops because they were right behind him — there’s about seven or eight of them, just all standing in a row on the street,” Michael Kowalski, a freshman studying political science and pre-law, said. “I was like, ‘Wow, this guy is pretty f--king stupid,’ and then lo and behold, one of (the officers) gets off their horse and just arrests him.”
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