Another metro-east festival canceled over security concerns

In the wake of nine fights and the arrest of a 14-year-old after a shooting near the O’Fallon City Fest in August, festival organizers have announced the annual community event will no longer be held.

The decision to end City Fest follows a prior announcement that the 2026 NickFest would also be canceled after O’Fallon police responded to what they described as a “very chaotic situation” at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in May.

In Fairview Heights, organizers of Midwest Wingfest canceled this year’s event after dealing with fights and people attempting to gain entry illegally at its St. Clair Square venue last year.

O’Fallon City Fest organizers posted a statement on Facebook indicating leaders were concerned about “ensuring the safety” of festivalgoers.

“Regrettably, due to the evolving circumstances surrounding the event, we are no longer able to provide the safe and family-oriented experience that has been the foundation of City Fest since its inception,” the organizers wrote.

Members of the City Fest Picnic Committee said they recently met with representatives from city administration and the police department to discuss the August incidents.

“After careful consideration of the concerns expressed by the Police Department, changes in administrative support, requests for modifications to event hours, and the shared priority of ensuring the safety of our patrons, citizens, vendors, and local and city property, the committee has made the difficult decision that the 2025 City Fest was the final event,” City Fest leaders said in their statement.

The Cahokia Heights teenager arrested in August was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, police said. Both charges are felonies.

The charges were filed in connection with shots fired at 800 S. Lincoln Ave. at 7:53 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23. Five juveniles, ages 12 to 15 and all from out of town, were apprehended nearby on Wellesley Avenue.

The status of the teen’s case has not been released because the suspect is a juvenile.

Overall, 17 juveniles were arrested on charges of battery and disorderly conduct at or near Community Park on Aug. 22-23.

The other teenagers arrested were from O’Fallon, Belleville and East St. Louis.

Security concerns raised before this year’s festival

Before this year’s City Fest, organizers decided to close the event at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22, and implement additional security measures such as increased lighting, a larger police presence and drone surveillance. These moves were made after juveniles fought during the 2024 event.

O’Fallon Mayor Eric Van Hook, who previously served as police chief, issued a statement in August raising questions about the future of City Fest.

“This year’s City Fest has shown that nostalgia for how events were once held cannot outweigh the responsibility of keeping our community safe. Public safety must always come first, and moving forward, every festival or gathering will be planned with that priority at the forefront.”

Van Hook described the volume and frequency of disturbances as “severe,” noting there were at least nine separate fights on festival grounds and at nearby businesses.

Along with the festival cancellations in O’Fallon and Fairview Heights, community leaders in Belleville have decided to close street festivals earlier than in previous years due to security concerns.

In 2024, more than 100 juveniles were involved in a disturbance at Belleville Oktoberfest. In 2022, a “stampede” of about 300 teenagers ran through Oktoberfest, frightening festivalgoers when some falsely claimed someone had been shot, police said.

This year’s Oktoberfest ended at 8 p.m. on the Friday and Saturday nights of the event, with additional hours added on Sunday.

O’Fallon festival leader reacts to decision

O’Fallon City Fest Chair Marcie Lapolice, who has volunteered as the committee’s leader for nine years, said Saturday she was “bummed” about the decision to shut down the festival but she said public safety is the city’s “top priority.”

Lapolice said the committee will reconvene after the holidays to investigate whether a different type of event could be held. Every available police officer worked security at the festival in August, she said.

“We can only do so much and the police can only do so much,” Lapolice said. “Unfortunately it’s come down to this.

“We don’t want the gunshots happening amongst thousands of people and somebody get killed or something like that.”

The committee members, who saw the police department’s 45-minute presentation that included officer body camera video about disturbances during the festival, would like to hear from the public.

There were comments on the City Fest Facebook page this weekend about setting up a fence or carding people before they entered the festival but Lapolice said the festival site at Community Park is too large for that.

“I just feel like it’s not doable,” she said. “It’s too big of a space.”

This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 3:52 PM.