Alvin Fest

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Alvin Fest is an annual street festival on Alvin Street between Bancroft and Olds Avenue in the Bancroft Hills neighborhood in Toledo, Ohio and has been held during the first or second week of April since 2004. The festival serves as a way off-campus students, commuter students, and local residents of a similar age can congregate and socialize in a fun and civil manner. The street festival consists live music, DJ's, games and other outdoor activities while alcoholic beverages, food and promotional products are available for attendees to enjoy. It began in 2004 by a group of University of Toledo students and is attended by thousands of people, most all of whom are UT or college students. This event is not officially sponsored or endorsed by The University of Toledo. Alvin Fest 2007 is slated for April 14, 2007.

Alvin Fest 2007, however, has received much scrutiny from the University of Toledo administration. A letter by UT President Lloyd Jacobs was sent to students urging them not to attend the event.

[edit] First Alvin Fest

The festival was held on April 2, 2004, and was spawned from a lack of off-campus activities, according to one of the organizers, Chris Kuper. About 10 houses participated in the original event, though more houses not officially involved with Alvin Fest joined in as the day progressed. About $2,000 was spent on 40 kegs between five houses, a Skoal smokeless tobacco tent was set up to give away free sample products, and food was provided (at a cost) from Po Mo's Ribs. The event lasted from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m., when police began dispersing the crowd.

The first Alvin Fest has been the only one to date to receive official approval from the city of Toledo. Seventy percent of the block's approval was required, and obtained, to receive a permit to close the road and be approved by Toledo Division of Streets and Bridges. Skoal had offered Kuper and organizers a few hundred dollars to set up their tent, but they ultimately declined, saying their guaranteed appearance was more important.

Alvin Fest was regarded as safe by police officers, according to local news report. Shawn Parra, a patrol officer of the Toledo Police Department who patrolled Alvin Fest, said student's behavior was reasonable and Sgt. Lee Kikolski, also of the Toledo Police Department, said the complaints received from traditional neighbors were generally mild, and mostly concerned loud music.