Parents are sharing their experiences at a far north suburban spring carnival that was canceled over the weekend after multiple reported fights broke out amongst the crowds at the event.
“I didn’t know what to do. I was so scared for my kids and myself,” said parent, Monique, who asked NBC 5 to only use her first name.
Monique was at the Lake in the Hills Spring carnival Saturday afternoon with her two young children. She was atop a fun house when she snapped a photo of what she describes as excessively large crowds.
“It was very crowded. More crowded than usual, and I’ve been in this area my whole life, so I’ve been to all these fests,” she said.
Another parent says her son called her to pick him up less than 30 minutes after he got there.
“He sounded frantic,” said Robyn Larson. “He said when he first walked in, it was so crowded. He got a bad feeling instantly.”
In a Snapchat video, one parent captured the moment a fight broke out on festival grounds.
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Amid the skirmishes, officials made the decision to close the carnival down early on Saturday, with safety officials opting not to allow the event to resume on Sunday.
In a Facebook post, the Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Chamber of Commerce said the decision was made in conjunction with safety officials.
“After careful consultation with the Village of Lake in the Hills and our Chief of Police, it has been decided that reopening the carnival would not be in the best interest of public safety,” officials said. “This decision was made with the utmost consideration for the well-being of our community members and attendees.”
A similar incident happened at a carnival in Tinley Park last summer, prompting officials to make safety changes.
Authorities canceled the final day of the Armed Forces Weekend Carnival near the 80th Avenue train station after reports of a “flash mob” that saw more than 400 teens gather.
Several citations were issued, and a police officer was also injured.
“We learned something out of it. We prepared for our Ribfest in the coming months, and we had absolutely no problems with that,” said Pat Carr,
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