BERKLEY (WWJ) — For a second year in a row, fights among attendees at Berkley Days have caused the event to be shut down.
The festival was closed earlier than scheduled Saturday night after fights broke out among younger event-goers, according to city officials. Sunday’s festivities will be cut two hours short.
“Unfortunately, yet again the annual tradition of Berkley Days has been disrupted by fights breaking out amongst participating youth. Berkley Days has been shut down for the remainder of Saturday evening,” officials with the Berkley Department of Public Safety said in a Facebook post Saturday night.
In an update Sunday morning, officials released an updated set of rules for the final day of the event:
• Participants age 5-20 must purchase a wristband in addition to the $3 entry fee
• All minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian 21 or older
• ID will be required at the entrance gate
• Event will close at 4 PM instead of 6 PM
“On behalf of Berkley Public Safety and our greater community, we send our sincere thanks and appreciation to our mutual aid partners who came out to support us in keeping everyone safe tonight,” Berkley Director of Public Safety Matthew Koehn said. “Our focus now is closing out this year’s event safely and strongly for Berkley’s families.”
No decision will be made about next year’s event at this time.
Officials have not released any specifics about what exactly happened amongst the fighting attendees, including whether any arrests were made.
Last year Berkley Days was shut down on Saturday night after multiple fights and reports of a gun, which sent people fleeing into the surrounding neighborhoods.