Caitlin McGlade
Staff Writer
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Some traveled from out of state. Some traveled from their dorm rooms - but almost all 13,000 partiers were covered in mud and beer by the end of Six Fest Saturday night.
An early afternoon downpour turned Six Fest's open field into a muddy wasteland, drenching partygoers and musicians alike; but that didn't deter the crowd as organizer Dominic Petrozzi estimated ticket sales at 13,000.
The rain didn't damper anybody's spirit
Petrozzi said. You had 22- 23-year-olds acting like 11-year-olds rolling around in the mud.
Petrozzi said this year's crowd was the second largest of the six fests, comparing its size to Four Fest's crowd. He estimated the fest had made $10,000, which will be donated to Don't Break the Bond, a charity that helps children connect with their parents in prison.
The 36 law enforcement officers patrolling the scene from the Athens, Belmont and Tuscarawas counties sheriff departments dealt with a peaceful and respectful crowd
Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly said.
Deputies made four arrests and the Ohio Department of Public Safety's Division of Liquor Control cited 42 underage drinking violations.
Southeast Ohio Emergency Medical Services responded to 42 injuries
and one person was taken by Life Flight to Columbus after he got in a violent fight
Kelly said.
So many students expressed their displeasure with Palmerfest, and they were really apologetic for the way students acted there, he said. They came up and said they were sorry for those things that happened and they didn't want to see it happen at Six Fest.
However
despite a strong police presence
many partiers said they felt like they could get away with a lot of illegal activity.
You can't get away with this sort of stuff anywhere else - just walking down the street with a beer open, said Josh Nicholas
a Kent State University junior studying business and flight technology.
Some students were drinking illegally in the line to get in to the festival
and though the sheriff's deputies did arrest some of the drinkers
Athens Deputy Jason Kline said their main concern was maintaining safety. He added that as long as the partiers didn't hurt each other
