The rumor mill, as it’s been known to do — especially when a rap concert’s involved — has skewed the facts, according to Riverfest director DeAnna Korte. Not only did the LRPD not fire tear gas onto the crowd during Sunday’s Ludacris concert, there were no incidents inside the festival revolving around the Ludacris show, she said today.
Throughout the weekend, there were typical arrests for drunkenness and fighting, but nothing major, she said.
“It was a great weekend,” Korte said today amidst trying to wrap up festival loose ends. “Inside, things went just as smooth as silk.”
Just over 250,000 attended.
UPDATE: Riverfest performer Greg Spradlin gave me a call after I posted this item. Just after the fireworks finished, he said he ventured from the River Market Pavilion to the concessions area to the north, but just before he arrived, he saw “hundreds” of people running as fast as they could, looking behind them to the west. Soon, three cops headed through the fleeing crowd, and as soon as they passed by, Spradlin said he heard someone say “mace” and then he started choking and couldn’t breathe for a second and saw others in the crowd coughing and choking. As soon as he caught his breath, he grabbed his wife and child and left.
We’re awaiting a callback from the LRPD with comment.