AMHERST — In frigid temperatures and high winds Saturday, the much-loved — and much-maligned — “Blarney Blowout” was, instead, much subdued.
Scattered groups of college-aged people clad in green roamed the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus and North Amherst from morning into the early afternoon for “Blarney Weekend,” but the gatherings lacked the large-scale arrests and violence that characterized the event in 2014.
In 2014, the unofficially dubbed Blarney Blowout brought 55 arrests, as well as a heavy police response that included pepper spray.
Since then, UMass and Amherst police have enacted parking bans, guest policy changes for on-campus housing and prominent police presence outside areas heavily populated with students.
But this year, UMass spokesman Daniel Fitzgibbons reported “no problems or unusual activity in the community” as of 2:30 p.m. The Amherst Fire Department, he said, responded to seven patient contacts, all treated on-site at the Mullins Center, where a concert began at 11:30 a.m.
The peaceful atmosphere continued through the afternoon, with Amherst Police reporting no arrests in a 5 p.m. statement from the university. One person was taken to Cooley Dickinson for alcohol intoxication, the statement added.
This weekend, police from Northampton, Ludlow, West Springfield, Belchertown, Easthampton and Pelham came to help control the car and foot traffic in and out of the Townehouses, Puffton Village Apartments and Hobart Lane.
The third annual free concert at the Mullins Center began at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, with student act Nliten (pronounced “Enlighten”). The lineup featured Mike Posner, Flo Rida and popular hip hop artist Jeremih. The concert was intended to be a fun and safe alternative to Blarney celebrations that could involve alcohol.
According to Fitzgibbons, the concert drew roughly 2,000 students.