The first Athens Halloween Block Party was hosted in 1974, beginning Ohio University’s legacy as the envy of party schools nationwide. 50 years later, the block party maintains a strong presence among many Halloween festivities but would be nearly unrecognizable to the event’s founders.
One of these founders is Jonathan Holmberg, who has since passed his role onto Brandon Thompson, the current Halloween Block Party Coordinator. Thompson has engaged in the block party as local performer DJ B-Funk since the 2010s and has been the event's official organizer for four years.
“I didn’t want to see it die,” Thompson said. “Jonathan had done it for so long unpaid, completely volunteer, and so I was in the position because I also do Ohio Brew Week … so there was some trust there, and I had been to a lot of the meetings with Jonathan … so I knew a lot of the players.”
Before finding his place on the block party stage, Thompson was a part of the crowd every year in the early 2000s. Those were the days of hands-off involvement from the city and OU’s reign as the number one party school in the country.
“I hear a lot of people complaining that it was better back in the 90s, was better in the 2000s,” he said. “Maybe if you like getting bumped by everybody and it being a little less safe, now it’s a little more contained. We still have great music on Court Street and it’s still a great party.”
Lucy Riley, a junior studying journalism and political science, attended the block party Oct. 26, and although she has noticed a lack of central Halloween spirit in her time at OU, she enjoyed the block party nevertheless.
“It was so cool,” she said. “I kept running into people I knew and he (DJ B-Funk) was playing awesome music, I was impressed.”
Thompson has made it a goal to continue providing this type of positive experience for party-goers, while also finding a balance in activities catered to college students and families alike.
“Especially during the day it was a lot of families that were there and at night less so, but I would say it was definitely an even split,” Riley said.
Thompson likens the expectations of many partygoers to anticipating Lollapalooza but ending up at a regular festival. Although some may be disappointed, a greater emphasis on family-friendly activities could also increase attendance. Lillian Bowe is a sophomore studying media arts production and although she has never attended the block party, she is familiar with its notorious reputation.
“I’ve heard there’s a lot of drinking … so that’s why I’m kind of undecided,” she said.
Riley believes increasing marketing would be another way to keep attendance up, for both the university and local demographics.
“I feel like people can forget about it with all of the different things that are going on and I think if they put more energy into putting it out there … maybe telling us who’s on the lineup, a little more advertising I think would draw a bigger crowd,” she said.
Controversy over the block party’s date was another source of confusion that may have affected attendance, especially with this year’s Oct. 31 falling on a Thursday.
“I was very confused on the timeline because I definitely did think it (the block party) was next week,” Bowe said.
Thompson tries to counteract this confusion by announcing the date for the next year's block party on the party stage, a decision that is made in tandem with the many community partners who contribute to the event.
For next year's block party and the many that will follow, Bowe hopes it will feel like a safer place to go on such a busy weekend. Additionally, Thompson is concerned with laying a foundation for the next coordinator.
“It is a younger person’s thing,” he said. “I love it, I’ll do it as long as I can, but just like Jonathan handed it off to me, I’d like to hand it off to somebody else who really is interested and has ideas.”
