While fest-goers were raving over the announcement of the 12Fest lineup — including headliner Wiz Khalifa — others took to Twitter with questions concerning the new green cup campaign, which will force attendees to pour beer into a plastic cup once opened.
The event will be held April 12, with headliners Wiz Khalifa, Carnage, GRiZ and Vic Mensa taking the stage throughout the day, provided they make it through their sets.
Many fest-goers had complaints about Kendrick Lamar’s 11Fest set when he stopped after just 20 minutes following the crowd throwing projectiles on stage.
Dominic Petrozzi, director of festival operations at Prime Social Group and founder of the original Number Fest, said the goal of the green cup campaign is to get people to stop throwing beer cans at the stage and make the event more safe and clean.
“It’s to eliminate the issues we’ve had over the past few events, with 11Fest and Half Time Fest in particular, where it’s beginning to get a bit out of control at some points, creating an unsafe environment for both the artist and the attendee,” Petrozzi said.
The “green cup” is not referring to a more robust recycling plan, Petrozzi clarified. Although Prime Social Group, which organizes the fest, will continue to partner with waste management groups to separate recyclables after the festival, the name mostly refers to a sense of Ohio University community that Petrozzi hopes to tap into to make the event cleaner as students and attendees take the initiative to clean up their own area.
“I think it’s for the better of the entire fest,” said Cody Ferguson, a junior studying marketing who is a fan of Wiz Khalifa and Stalley. “(The fest organizers) are not trying to be ass----s or anything; they just want a safe environment for people to have fun. That’s all they’re really going for.
More than 200 trash receptacles, provided by Kroger, will be placed on the grounds, although this year there will also be a dedicated staff walking around with extra trash bags as well as plastic cups, Petrozzi said.
Some of the confusion from the announcement came from Petrozzi’s statement that fest-goers could get arrested under open container laws if they are drinking from an open beer can.
“That’s not 100 percent true,” Pertrozzi said about the open container law.
“Police officers aren’t going to be actively pursuing kids that are drinking out of a beer can; rather they will tell them and remind them ‘hey pour it in a cup.’”
Attendees will still be able to bring kegs, walk around with cases and open beers by the stage, which means there will still be a risk of objects being thrown.
“We’re not saying this is the solution to our issues, we’re just hoping that it cuts down on it,” said Zachary Ruben, managing partner at Prime Social Group. “We want to protect the longevity of this festival by keeping it a safe environment.”
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@Wilbur_Hoffman
