THINKING OF BRINGING FIDO TO THE APPLE FESTIVAL THIS YEAR???
THINK AGAIN...
Police to enforce Zero Tolerance policy at the Sept. 20 festival

By Jon Mayhew
Publisher

LINCOLNTON -- The annual Lincoln County Apple Festival draws more than 50,000 people every year to the streets of downtown Lincolnton. And while many people have brought "man's best friend" with them in years past, Fido isn't welcome this year.

Earlier this year, the Lincolnton City Council passed a policy banning dogs from the festival grounds. The exception to the rule is service dogs for the blind.

At the time the ordinance banning dogs was passed, City Manager Jeff Emory said the safety of the crowd, vendors and festival participants were of utmost importance.

"We had a couple of instances last year of animals growling at people," said Emory. "That's just not safe."

And while police patrolling the festival have been fairly lenient with the crowd, that's going to change this year according to Captain Cindy Monday.

In other words, there will be no warnings given.

"if an incident occurs, we're going to take care of it right on the spot," said Monday.

The change is, in part, due to a large crowd that's grown almost every year of the festival. And while the crowd has grown, the number of police and firefighters on duty have basically remained the same.

As the date of the festival nears, finishing touches on the festival planning are taking place. And as Sept. 20 is mere weeks away, emergency services personnel kick their preparations into high gear.

At the same time, both police and firefighters are "holding their breath" in the hopes the event goes off problem free.

Take the 2007 Apple Festival, for example, where only one arrest was made the entire festival. A teenager was arrested for causing a public disturbance when approached by police.

To help prepare for this year's festival, Kevin Starr with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service met with festival vendors last week at the James W. Warren Citizens Center to iron out any concerns before they become major issues.

He also outlined the zero tolerance policy. Besides banning dogs and other non-festival related animals, Starr said fire hydrants won't be blocked, barricades will not be moved, vehicles must be removed from downtown Lincolnton by 7:30 a.m. and vendors cannot begin closing down until 4 p.m. unless they're sold out.

Vendors cannot bring vehicles in until 4:30 p.m. and must bve clear by 6 p.m. No charcoal grills will be allowed this year as well.

Starr said ignorance is no excuse for not following the rules.