Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken today announced an estimated 15,000 concert goers packed Stage Fort Park for the 18th Annual Riverfest Seaside Music Festival on Saturday. On an absolutely beautiful summer day the festival, in its Gloucester location debut, which was free and open to the public, was an overwhelming success.
The festival, produced by radio station WXRV 92.5 the River, featured a line-up that included Tall Heights, Mt. Joy, Noah Kahan and headlined Guster. Several food trucks, multiple vendors, and activities for children were set-up offering something for everyone who attended the family-friendly event.
Mayor Romeo Theken said, “Riverfest Seaside Music Festival has attracted huge crowds in the past and this year was no different. Credit for the great event is due to my team for their outstanding preparation and day of event management. It was wonderful to see so many people enjoying the concert, one another’s’ company, and our beautiful City.”
Public safety personnel were set up in numerous areas throughout the park and also roamed the grounds. For an event this large we are happy to report that there were no notable public safety issues. There were only a handful of minor medical issues were folks were treated and released on-site. Two lost children and several lost credit cards were reunited with their families/owners. More than anything, the layout, flow of foot traffic and coordination made the event, even among thousands of attendees, a major accomplishment for the City.
The City implemented a successful traffic management plan that helped mitigate traffic and pedestrian impact on the community. Traffic was congested as attendees arrived and departed the music festival. Gloucester Police Department helped direct traffic that facilitated a safe and orderly egress at the conclusion of the event. “No concert parking” signs were posted at the beginning of more than a dozen streets in and around the Stage Fort Park Area. Two parking enforcement officers were on duty enforcing traffic and/or parking violations throughout the day.
More than a dozen Department of Public Works (DPW) staff managed on-site and off-site parking operations as well as property management at Stage Fort Park for the event. Parking was available at Stage Fort Park, as well as, nearby Gloucester High School. Two satellite parking lots, at O’Maley Innovation School and Magnolia Woods, offered shuttle services to and from Stage Fort Park. It was important to us and we were pleased to offer free parking at any event parking lot to residents with a beach parking sticker.
The event concluded at 6 PM on Saturday and by dusk all the vendors had left, the area cleaned, trash picked up and the main stage structure disassembled and taken away. The remaining tents were taken down by Gloucester based The Event Company by noon on Sunday. DPW personnel conducted a final walk through and clean-up of the park later that day. As planned, we wanted the park in its pre-concert condition as soon as possible for the enjoyment of residents and park guests.
It was announced in April that the annual music festival was moving to Gloucester. City teams had been in discussions for months prior and since then working on event management, traffic mitigation, and safety plans. Everything ran smoothly as a direct result of seamless collaboration between the nearly three dozen city employees from the Mayor’s Office, Community Development, DPW, Police, Fire and the Harbormaster’s Office who managed all aspects of the event.
Mayor Romeo Theken said “Thank you to all Gloucester residents for your cooperation and patience. You were essential to the overwhelming success of the day. Our team was very well prepared for this event. My sincere thanks and appreciation to the city team who staffed this event. You continue to make me proud each and every day for what we can accomplish together for this City.”
The City has not yet debriefed with local businesses but believes there was economic impact as a direct result from the event. Many festival guests came early and stayed late and had the chance to experience Gloucester and visit many local businesses.
An operational debrief meeting is scheduled for later this week to discuss the event, what worked and what needs improvement. The City is aware that additional discussion and planning needs to take place regarding traffic and parking on Western Avenue. That is a long-standing issue not specific to this event but all events at Stage Fort Park. To help supplement that debrief session Mayor Romeo Theken is soliciting feedback from Gloucester residents and Riverfest attendees. Please send any comments to mayor@gloucester-ma.gov.
Good Morning Gloucester 