Another metro-east festival cancels event as security problems persist
Community festivals in the metro-east have faced problems with fights and crowd disturbances including the “stampede” of about 300 teenagers at Belleville’s Oktoberfest in 2022.
As a result, outdoor festivals are being closed ahead of schedule and two have been canceled altogether.
Organizers of NickFest at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in O’Fallon announced this month that they have canceled their 2026 event after police were called to the festival in May when fights were reported. Most of the fights occurred in the neighborhood near the festival, a police spokesman said.
St. Nicholas’ decision follows an announcement in May by organizers of the Midwest WingFest that this year’s festival will be canceled after they dealt with fights and people trying to illegally gain entry at its St. Clair Square venue in Fairview Heights last August.
NickFest and Midwest WingFest organizers aren’t alone in battling this issue as festivals in Belleville and Shiloh also have had crowd control problems in recent years.
Here’s roundup of the festivals confronted with security concerns:
NickFest
“It was a very chaotic situation,” O’Fallon Police Lt. Patrick Feldhake said in a statement about the NickFest held on May 17. “There were several instances of spontaneous fights amongst large groups of young individuals, most of which appeared to be juveniles. Most of the disturbances happened along roadways and sidewalks in the neighborhoods just outside of the event.”
No injuries were reported and one woman was charged with battery.
The Rev. Nicholas Junker, pastor of St. Nicholas Church, said the most common reaction about canceling NickFest was that people “were disappointed yet understanding.”
Junker also monitored comments online, where he found some people were angry at “the situation” but not the parish.
Since the church is surrounded by homes, the parish is particularly concerned about the safety of the residents who live nearby, Junker said.
“So that was I think a motivating factor in our decision,” he said.
NickFest had an earlier closing time of 8 p.m. and didn’t include carnival rides this year but there still were disturbances “late into the night,” Junker said in a letter to parishioners.
As far as the future, Junker said the parish has not made a decision on what kind of event will be held.
“We’re kind of in the beginning stages of exploring new ideas and having discussions about what we can do to gather and celebrate.”
MidWest WingFest
Two people were arrested and others were pepper sprayed in August at the Midwest WingFest, the Fairview Heights Police Department said.
The 2024 event closed hours earlier than planned when “juveniles without families” began fighting in the parking lot outside the event, while others attempted to climb barriers to gain entry after being turned away by organizers, according to the police department.
In May, the festival organizers said they were canceling the 2025 event.
“The safety concerns following last year’s event have created too many variables and expenses for our all-volunteer crew to manage responsibly,” the group said in a statement.
Midwest WingFest supports wounded combat veterans.
“We’re already planning smaller, more intentional, and deeply patriotic events that continue our mission of honoring and supporting our local heroes,” according to the group’s statement.
Belleville Oktoberfest
Police ended Belleville Oktoberfest earlier than its official closing time last year due to a disturbance involving juveniles who were “unruly and disorderly.”
More than 100 juveniles were involved in the disturbance at Oktoberfest, police said.
In 2022, a “stampede” of about 300 teenagers ran through the Belleville Oktoberfest and frightened festival goers when they screamed someone had been shot, police said.
There was no shooting, but a juvenile with a loaded handgun was arrested near the festival grounds by St. Clair County sheriff’s deputies.
“The stampede of people that disrupted that event was unbelievable,” Police Chief Matt Eiskant said at the time.
In 2018 at the Oktoberfest, there was a “large fight involving juveniles” and four officers were injured, police said.
The police department has asked Belleville festival organizers to close earlier than traditionally scheduled and in recent years the groups have agreed to do that.
O’Fallon City Fest
Police ended O’Fallon City Fest an hour earlier than its official 10 p.m. closing time on Aug. 24 last year, due to a disturbance involving juveniles.
The disturbance involved fighting and a stampede of people “running in all different directions,” Feldhake said at the time.
Shiloh’s Homecoming Picnic
Some juveniles were turned away from the 2024 Homecoming Picnic in Shiloh because they didn’t want security to search their bags and police later found bags outside the grounds with guns in them.
In 2023, there were fights by juveniles at the picnic.
“At the bigger events, you have large gatherings of juveniles who are trying to mess things up for everybody,” Shiloh Police Chief Rich Wittenauer said last fall.
