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…