Ohio University students and guests took their celebratory last week of classes to Palmer and Hocking Street, the last Fests of the 2024 season.
After Palmer Place was canceled by Cornwell Properties due to insurance liabilities, students said Palmer Street Fest was now the big day of the weekend. In past years, Palmer Place Fest was regularly one of the highest-attended Fests, with partygoers filling the courtyard of Palmer Place, accompanied by DJs.
Athens Fest, April 19
Crowds gathered at noon Friday at 14 Hocking St. for performances by YSN Flow and YBN Nahmir. BrickLife Entertainment and 68 Entertainment organized the main party at 14 Hocking called Athens Fest, which featured rappers, DJ sets and giveaways from Snag Delivery and Buddy's Lounge.
Other house parties took place along Hocking Street and Mill Street but the event at 14 Hocking attracted the biggest turnout.
The concert itself had mixed reviews from students. Emme Stoltzfus, a sophomore studying journalism, said she enjoyed seeing the two artists.
“I thought it was really fun, I actually loved it because I love going to concerts in general,” Stoltzfus said. “And, it was free.”
Alexis Craiglow and Lea Strauss, seniors studying interior architecture, said they thought the concert was all right, but said it would have been better if it was at Palmer Place.
Many people are still upset about the decision to limit the Palmer Place festival last week. Avery Wright, a senior marketing major from Miami University, said Athens Fest did not live up to her expectations.
“I went to Palmer (Place) last year,” Wright said. “This does not compare to Palmer Place at all.”
Emma Petzinger, a junior psychology major, said when she heard about the change to Palmer Place Fest she was sad but still had a good time at Athens Fest.
“It’s beautiful and the weather’s good,” Petzinger said. “You know, we’re just doing what Athens does.”
Vince Debeljak, a second-year music production major also known as DoubleJack, was one of the organizers of the event and performed a DJ set. Debeljak said he was disappointed by Cornwell’s decision to limit the festival.
“I felt betrayed and saddened because it’s something that we’ve been doing for years now and it’s just become a problem recently,” Debeljak said.
Debeljak said he was happy with how Athens Fest turned out and is already planning for next year.
“I think this was a good alternative,” Debeljak said. “Next year we’re going to make it bigger and better. We’re still in the air debating whether to throw a giant festival at the fairgrounds or continue doing large courtyard parties like this.”
The event at 14 Hocking Street was shut down at about 4:15 p.m. by the Athens Police Department.
Partygoers scattered to head home or search for another event, and the yard was completely cleared out by 4:20 p.m.
Palmer Fest, April 20
“With the cancellation of (Palmer Place Fest), it makes today that much better,” James Scott, a senior majoring in history said. “I'm looking forward to it.”
Scott said it was his last Palmer Fest so he was excited to start partying at 11 a.m.
Other students had a different idea by bringing out chairs and their alcohol to people watch the influx of partygoers that would happen at noon.
“My old roommate lives here and they invited me down to just drink and people-watch essentially and sit on the porch,” Matthew Applegate, a grad student in the MBA program said.
Applegate said the weather was great for the day and he was excited for the big event. He also mentioned that with the cancellation of Palmer Place Fest, the rescheduling Fest on Hocking Street had people “picking up the slack.”
Bands were setting up for the day, specifically a fifth-year student studying music education Dominic O’Korn with his band, Feline Frenzy, at 14 Palmer St.
Feline Frenzy is a cover band that was scheduled to play at 11 a.m. for their first show. O’Korn said they put a poster up on social media for people to come to watch and also hoped to bring in Palmer Fest partygoers.
Another band set to play during the day was Sidbury. At 6 p.m., Midnight Music organized artists Roman Candle, Merchant Market, Montgomery Tree, The Know, Kasabi, Blue2xx and Junedidit! at 19 Palmer St. at a collaborative party by Snowcats, an OU ski club, with further organizational work by Thread Magazine.
