The State Street Halloween Party was an annual

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

located in Madison,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Tens of thousands of party-goers, many dressed in Halloween costumes, attended the event on State Street in the downtown area of Madison. Most attendees were students from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

and their guests, but others came from across Wisconsin and elsewhere. The city took control of the event in 2006, renaming it Freakfest and began charging admission. Prior to this, the event saw crowds of up to 100,000 and a plethora of riotous behavior. Freakfest was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to concerns related to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2022, the event was cancelled due to lack of funding and support. It did not return in 2023. However, State Street, a popular nightlife destination, saw an marked increase in crowds on Halloween weekend, requiring the Madison Police Department to have a larger than normal presence in the area.

History

In 1977, a group of UW Madison students started a

block party A block party or street party is a party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual solidarity and enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which ofte ...

on Halloween night. Due to its growing popularity, the student government began to sponsor the event as a

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

in 1978. However, when the legal

drinking age The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary betwee ...

changed in 1986, the fundraising ceased as their primary money-making source was gone, leading to the eventual end of student government's sponsorship. From 1989 until the late 1990s, crowd size varied. By the 2000s, the event's size grew significantly and largely culminated in

riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

ing resulting in

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The t ...

, theft, property damage,

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

, and assault; resulting in hundreds of arrests costing the city thousands of dollars. By 2003, the event became a point of contention in local government and was costing the city over $700,000. The cost of additional police, the potential of damage to local businesses, and the protection of the city's reputation prompted the concern of Madison leaders, some of whom suggested canceling the event altogether. In 2005, riot police used

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...

to disperse the riotous crowd of 100,000 and over 400 arrests occurred. In the summer of 2006, then-Mayor Dave Cieslewicz unveiled the city's plan for the upcoming Halloween events. The plan consisted of blocking off State Street, charging admission from select points of entry, and closing off the street at midnight. As a result, the riotous behavior ceased as the event became a largely peaceful festival. In 2006, the city government officially named the event Freakfest. The festival included films and live performances by nationally known musical artists with sponsors such as

Mountain Dew Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew in some countries and colloquially known as Dew in some areas, is a soft drink brand owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage Bottler (company), bottlers Barney and A ...

. Alcohol possession and consumption on the street were prohibited but local bars and restaurants served Freakfest attendees.

Attendance and arrest rates

*2012-2019 data is tickets sold.

References

{{Coord, 43, 4, 29.4, N, 89, 23, 34, W, display=title, scale:15000_region:US-WI Culture of Madison, Wisconsin Festivals in Wisconsin Festivals established in 1979 Halloween events in the United States Tourist attractions in Madison, Wisconsin 1979 establishments in Wisconsin