New hours, tighter safety controls for Belleville’s popular fall festivals
The city of Belleville continues to tighten safety controls for its downtown fall festivals after a series of disturbances involving juveniles at outdoor events in metro-east cities.
Belleville Oktoberfest and Belleville Chili Cook-Off will close earlier on Friday and Saturday nights. At the same time, Oktoberfest will expand from two to three days.
“We have added Sunday to our festivities,” according to a recent post on its Facebook page.
Last week, Belleville City Council revised an ordinance so that people are now prohibited from bringing backpacks, satchel bags or any other bags larger than 9 by 12 inches to the festivals, unless they’re event staff members or authorized vendors.
Satchel bags are defined as structured bags with flaps and long straps, often worn over the shoulder or across the body. They’re also commonly known as “messenger bags.”
The 44th annual Belleville Oktoberfest is set for Sept. 19-21, and the 41st annual Belleville Chili Cook-Off will be held Oct. 10-11.
A Belleville Police Department Facebook post on Friday reminded residents of the new rule and an already-existing one that prohibits people from wearing masks, hoods or any other clothing that conceals their identities.
“These ordinances are in place to ensure a safe, enjoyable, and family-friendly atmosphere for everyone,” the post stated. “Please plan ahead and leave prohibited items at home.”
Last year, police ended Oktoberfest a half hour earlier than its official 9 p.m. closing time on Saturday due to a disturbance involving an estimated 100 unsupervised juveniles who were becoming “unruly and disorderly,” Assistant Police Chief Mark Heffernan said at the time.
That disturbance came two years after Belleville police dealt with a “stampede” of about 300 teens who falsely screamed that someone had been shot at Oktoberfest in 2022.
Festival organizers later agreed to earlier closing times, 10 p.m. Friday and 9 p.m. Saturday, a change that Police Chief Matt Eiskant had requested to improve safety. Before, Oktoberfest ended at 11 p.m. and Chili Cook-Off ended at 10:30 p.m.
“We’re satisfied with the agreement we have,” Eiskant said in 2023, when the City Council approved the change. “We’ll just take it one step at a time and, if problems continue, we’ll continue with restrictions.”
This year, both festivals are closing even earlier, at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Oktoberfest hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 19-20, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21. Chili Cook-Off hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 10-11.
In August 2024, police ended O’Fallon City Fest an hour earlier than its official 10 p.m. closing time due to a disturbance involving juveniles, who were reportedly fighting and stampeding in all different directions.
“There was no gunfire,” Lt. Patrick Feldhake said at the time. “Social media got all spun up over it, and people were saying, ‘There was an active shooter. There were shots fired,’ and all these other things, and that absolutely wasn’t the case.”
Also in August 2024, officials ended Midwest WingFest at St. Clair Square hours earlier than its official 11 p.m closing time due to a disturbance involving “juveniles without families.”
Fairview Heights police reported that some of the juveniles were fighting in the parking lot outside the festival grounds, while others attempted to climb barriers to gain entry after being turned away by organizers.
In 2023, fights involving juveniles broke out at Shiloh Homecoming Picnic, but it was late enough in the evening that the festival didn’t have to be ended early, according to police.
