Freakfest began four years ago as a city-sanctioned event to offset years of Halloween violence and riots downtown, with this year being the tamest yet.
""I think Freakfest has transformed the nature of Halloween in Madison,"" said Det. Dave Gouran of the Madison Police Department. ""People are having a good time for the right reasons.""
As of midnight, Gouran said he had not heard of any violent events occurring.
""It's been buoyant and jovial … people are having a great time,"" he said.
Joel DeSpain, MPD's public information officer, said in a statement that from a police perspective the event ""went extremely well"" this year.
About 44,000 tickets were sold, and as of 2 a.m. there had only been 47 arrests, most of which were for minor offenses, he said.
The majority of the people who received tickets were simply cited and released. Only two people went to jail, according to the statement.
There were no major incidents reported in the event area, no significant injuries and no property damage.
The minor incidents that did occur were similar to those that take place on any given Saturday night in the downtown area, DeSpain said.
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said in his blog that Asst. Police Chief Randy Gaber and Herb Frank of Frank Productions helped Freakfest through another successful year.
""We pretty much cobbled together that first year by the seat of our pants,"" he said of Freakfest's inaugural year. ""But the next year the Franks stepped forward to take it on.
They brought professional event management and connections to dozens of popular bands to the table.""
Not all students, however, felt that Freakfest was worth their money or their time.
Dan Sutton, a 2009 UW-Madison graduate, said he was not impressed by the organization of the event, but rather by the sheer ridiculousness of it.
According to Sutton, he was here for the ""better years"" and has not once paid to attend Freakfest.
Still, other students appreciated what the event had to offer.
Susan Kenzie, 19, a student at St. Olaf's, said this is the second year she has attended Freakfest from out of town.
""I came last year and thought it was really fun,"" she said. ""I would pay for it again.""
Richard Rojas, a graduate student at UW-Madison, also said this was his second year participating in Freakfest.
As a native of Puerto Rico, Rojas said there is nothing like it there.
""This is new for me … we don't do this in Puerto Rico,"" he said. ""But I enjoy it a lot.""
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he thinks Freakfest has become an event the community has embraced, especially since the Madison Halloween tradition has been present since the 1970s.
""I think it's great that we have this tradition and what pleased me the most was the increased attendance,"" he said. ""After four years I think we almost have this down to a science.""
