When he reflected on previous years, Mayor Paul Wiehl said he’s not anticipating a chaotic High Fest.
Actually, he said there’s a chance Mother Nature might help law enforcement — which will be out at High Fest in the same capacity as during previous fests — with maintaining the peace.
“This is the second year we’ve been on semesters, so all the fests have moved up about three weeks, so the weather is less permitting,” Wiehl said, referencing a forecast of a slight chance of rain Saturday.
Kyle Clem, associate director at Ohio University’s Scalia Lab, said Saturday’s weather outlook appears somewhat optimistic.
“Right now, it looks like the chance of rain will be about 30 percent, with just a couple of isolated showers in the morning,” he said. “It should be over by noon.”
Bolstering his case, Wiehl noted, generally speaking, “Mill and High Fest are more mellow Representativebecause they’re stretched out over such a long distance.”
Lindsey Kulp, a senior studying psychology, lives at 70 N. High St. and said rain wouldn’t drive her party indoors, anyway.
“This whole side of the street decided that we’re not going to let rain affect us,” Kulp said. “We’d still keep partying and having a good time.”
Kulp added she’ll purchase a keg for the fest, but lock her doors to protect her furniture. She anticipates the fest will be strongest toward her end of the block, where the houses are closer together.
“I wasn’t living here last year; I think this is about to be a blast,” Kulp said. “It’s going to be crazy because we live in this really tight corner.”
Wiehl said he’ll most likely stop and make an appearance at High Fest, just to walk the perimeters and see what’s going on, but that he still has his gripes about fest season.
“We always have to spend the money for these festivals,” Wiehl said. “The carryout places and food places — they make the money. We have to spend on swearing in officers and stressing safety. That’s our biggest concern.”
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