Mill Fest Update: 10:00 p.m.
After a day of drinking, blaring music and party-hopping, Mill Fest came to a close around 8:30 p.m. Saturday night.
At one point, there were 26 active house parties across the street, seven of which had to be shut down because of rowdiness and violations, said Chief Pyle of the Athens Police Department. However, people were cooperative when asked to shut the parties down.
“We went to dinner around seven and when we got back, it was dead,” said Jennifer Deis, a marine freshwater and environmental biology major.
Pre-med major Calvin Loshbaugh added that the wrap-up seemed early this year.
The early end to the festivities could be attributed to the number of parties shut down, the OU game against Akron and the weather cooling off, Pyle said.
Athens County EMS said that they have not had to treat any injuries throughout the day, which is unusual for Mill Fest.
8:40 p.m.:
Mill Fest hit its peak attendance around 4:30 p.m. and is now starting to dwindle.
But even though there is less of a crowd at most houses, partygoers still seem to be having a good time.
“It’s not like any other fest,” said Ben Weiner, a mechanical engineering major.
“Everybody’s proud to be a bobcat,” said Clare Ernst, business major.
Business major Lange Carter added that she is looking forward to the rest of fest season.
“Next weekend’s going to be amazing,” she said.
Although some students reported seeing a few arrests, police officers were unable to comment on them.
Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle could not be reached for comment.
3:35 p.m.
Mill Fest kicked off Saturday afternoon smoothly, city officials said.
"I'm happy it's the first fest of the year year and not on mom's weekend (like last year)," Mackenzie Glasgow, Mill Fest partygoer said.
"So far so good," Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said. "Hopefully it won't get won't get out of hand."
He added that more APD officers will arrive on Mill Street throughout the night because parties tend to get wilder after dark.
Safety volunteers Christy and Tony Giordano from the Athens City-County Environmental Health Department said that Mill Fest was twice as big last year, and suggested the possiblity of rain as a factor to the downsize.
However, the day is still young and students say that they are satisfied with the weather, said Rebecca Ream, Mill Fest partygoer.
Follow @ThePostLocal for updates throughout the day and for any breaking news.
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