No serious incidents reported during annual CelebrateErie festival, city police chief says

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

For the Erie Bureau of Police, the annual event lacked any serious problems, except for one incident.

City police made a total of 24 arrests during the event, 18 of which involved juveniles and four involving adults 18 years old, Police Chief Dan Spizarny said Thursday. The number was down from the 28 arrests during the 2023 edition of CelebrateErie, he said.

The arrests were mostly for minor offenses, Spizarny said. They included two adults who were charged with public intoxication, some juveniles facing charges stemming from a fight in which someone pulled out pepper spray, and a teenage girl accused of kicking and biting officers in a disorderly conduct incident, he said.

"It went off pretty good this year," Spizarny said. "For the most part it was a quiet weekend."

One notable incident that did not lead to any arrests occurred on Sunday night, when Spizarny said a large crowd of up to 200 unescorted juveniles came to hang out. The group started causing problems with each other, which became a problem for the police, and officers escorted the crowd out of Perry Square, the chief said.

Sunday night's concert, headlined by singer Gabby Barrett, drew a large crowd downtown. Erie police were assisted by the Pennsylvania State Police, the Erie County Sheriff's Office and the Millcreek Township Police Department in providing a safe environment for all who attended, Spizarny said.

The most serious incident over the weekend, which happened near the CelebrateErie site but did not occur during the festival, took place hours before the event kicked off on Aug. 16.

Erie police accuse an 18-year-old city man of carjacking a person at a gas station at Broad Street and Buffalo Road shortly after 4 a.m. and leading police on a pursuit that ended when the fleeing car struck a tree in the first block of East Fourth Street, just east of where the CelebrateErie main stage was set up.

Police accuse the suspect, Denali S. Kirkland, of fi r ing gunshots at officers as he ran off . Police returned fire, striking Kirkland, according to case documents.

Kirkland is facing charges including three counts of attempted homicide in the incident. He is being held without bond as he awaits his preliminary hearing.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com . Follow him on X @ETNhahn

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: No serious incidents reported during annual CelebrateErie festival, city police chief says