According to police chief, there were fewer arrests at CelebrateErie than last year

The three-day CelebrateErie festival attracted large crowds to downtown Erie last weekend to enjoy music, food and other offerings.

The Erie Bureau of Police reported no serious problems at the annual event, except for one incident.

City police made a total of 24 arrests during the event, including 18 juveniles and four adults over the age of 18, Police Chief Dan Spizarny said Thursday. The number is lower than the 28 arrests made at the 2023 edition of CelebrateErie, he said.

The arrests were mostly for minor offenses, Spizarny said. They included two adults accused of public drunkenness, some juveniles accused of a fight in which someone used pepper spray, and a young girl accused of kicking and biting police officers in a disorderly conduct incident, he said.

“This year it went pretty well,” Spizarny said. “It was a quiet weekend for the most part.”

One notable incident that did not result in any arrests occurred Sunday night, when a large crowd of up to 200 unaccompanied youths gathered to hang out, according to Spizarny. The group began causing trouble among each other, which became a problem for police, and officers escorted the crowd out of Perry Square, the police chief said.