Drunken partiers and several arrests marred some of the Sea Cavalcade festivities in Lower Gibsons last weekend, with Saturday night being extra busy for RCMP.
According to Sunshine Coast RCMP, police responded to 52 files directly related to the event.
"The Friday night fireworks, usually the busier night of the weekend, saw lower than usual numbers in disturbances and liquor offences," said Cpl. Steve Chubey. "This was largely due to the strong police presence and early enforcement by police, who adopted a zero tolerance approach to those in contravention of these acts."
Chubey said the numbers spiked on Saturday night after the street dance closed and crowds were dispersed, as several fights broke out between younger patrons with several arrests being made.
"I was surprised on Saturday night with all the trouble we had, with all the stupidity after the dance had ended," said acting detachment commander Sgt. Russ Howard.
"The dance itself was a non-issue, but for some reason we had a lot of fights, shouting and pushing among young adults after the event. We had 12 youth in jail that night waiting for their parents to come and pick them up," Howard said.
Liquor and public intoxication were common themes, with the age of all but two of those arrested over the weekend ranging from 16 to 22 years of age. Fifteen of those arrested were under 19 years of age. A 19-year-old Gibsons man was also arrested for supplying liquor to minors.
"The events themselves were very well policed and we have had several compliments from the public on our presence at the event," added Sgt. Stuart Falebrinza. "The disturbances we dealt with over the weekend were largely due to youth and young adults under the influence of alcohol."
Falebrinza also attributed the success of the weekend to the increased liquor-related fines, which saw those given tickets receiving fines of up to $230 per offence.
Overall, other Criminal Code offences remained at par when compared to other weekend statistics.
Gibsons Mayor Barry Janyk called some of the incidents a sad reflection of what some people can do to mar a big event like Sea Cavalcade for the community.
"They've taken a family event and turned it into a goon show. This is the type of stuff that can bring an end to these kinds of family events," said Janyk. "Parents need to take some responsibility for their children. I'm disappointed. This is a poor reflection on our community and that saddens me."
Janyk said council will be meeting with the Sea Cavalcade committee as plans start to unfold for next year to see what can be done to assist in better closing down the dance and other security issues.
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