A plumbing issue on High Street did not cause festgoers to have a crappy fest.
Missy Kum, a freshman studying journalism, said she woke up at 6:45 a.m. to begin her fest activities.
“I’m going to take a nap hopefully later, maybe go back out but I’m not sure,” Kum said.
At noon, Megan Ransler, a junior studying strategic communication, said she was attending her boyfriend’s house party. She said the party was lame at first, but she was expecting it to pick up.
Police presence increased at about noon. At 12:30 p.m., an ambulance arrived to have a presence. Ohio University Police Department Lt. Tim Ryan said at noon there were no arrests.
“It looks pretty tame right now,” Ryan said. “Looks a little less crowded than previous years.”
At about 1:30 p.m., mounted officers began pushing people past West Washington Street. Parties were shut down near the Athens Middle School.
Luke Stotz, a junior studying civil engineering, said High Fest was a “pretty electric day.”
“I watched a guy get arrested, so I’m glad it wasn’t me,” Stotz said.
Some parties were still going on at about 2:45 p.m., but others were shut down because of littering or size. At about 3 p.m., officers began pushing people up toward West State Street.
“To the memories we remember and to the memories we forget, both are just as valuable. Cheers,” Chase Randolph, a junior studying communication, said.
At about 4:40 p.m., parties began dying down.
Athens Police Department Officer Cassandra Brown said there was a sewer line break on the block of High Street between West Washington and West Union streets. Brown said parties were shut down because of the sewer break.
Athens Police Department Chief Tom Pyle said High Fest was “quite ordinary.” He said he had no number for the amount of arrests.
“This has been a light event,” Pyle said. “There have been no major problems. The biggest thing we’ve had to deal with is that sewer leak down there.”
Keith Cunic, a senior studying business, said Saturday was his first High Fest while living on High Street.
“Poop came out of the windows in our first floor bathroom,” Cunic said. “Our party was shut down because of the plumbing issue.”
Maggie Campbell, Julia Evertsy, Shelby Campbell, Flannery Jewell and Zoe Stitzer contributed to this report.
