Thousands descend on Macks Creek for ‘Gathering of the Juggalos’
MACKS CREEK, Mo. (KMIZ)
Emergency responders across Camden County are staging resources as thousands of attendees arrived for the annual Gathering of the Juggalos festival on Wednesday.
The four-day event, hosted by the rap group Insane Clown Posse, runs through Saturday at Mother Nature’s Riverfront Retreat. Officials expect total attendance to reach 10,000 people throughout the weekend, with approximately 3,000 attendees on site on Wednesday morning.
Local emergency medical services, fire departments and law enforcement agencies have coordinated regional resources to handle the increased population.
While media access inside the venue was restricted Wednesday, local officials confirmed that emergency medical personnel are stationed directly on the property. Police and fire personnel are operating out of a joint command center located three miles away to manage call volume without straining local emergency capacity.
“We’re stressing the entire region’s capabilities as far as available transport ambulances,” Southwest Camden County Fire Protection District Chief John Scheper.
Camden County Chief Deputy Scott Hines said there were a large number of first responders in the area.
“Because we’re going to have such an influx population that includes more than 30 medical personnel, a dozen or so firefighters. We’ve got numerous deputies,” Hines said.
Hines said law enforcement officers have already made multiple drug-related arrests connected to the event.
Among those taken into custody was a man known as “Bluntman,” who was allegedly found with 128 pounds of marijuana products and more than 2 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms. A second narcotics arrest was made Tuesday night; further details have not been released due to an active investigation, Hines said.
Despite the initial arrests, Hines said interactions between officers and attendees have remained polite and respectful, advising visitors to leave illegal substances behind so everyone can safely enjoy the festival.
“Any of the folks here at the festival have been polite and respectful,” Hines said. “We want you to be able to be here and have a good time. But leave that stuff at home.”
Attendees told ABC 17 News the event isn’t what some people may think it is and that the reason people celebrate the festival is due to the love that is shared within the community.
“I’ve been here 13 times and I’ve been nothing but picked up every single time and that’s why we come back for the love of the Insane Clown Posse and what they have given us,” said Christopher Harris, who is a regular attendee of the Gathering of the Juggalos. “It’s all about love you cant do anything wrong here.”
Harris said the perceptions from the public of the festival is due to people not understanding the people attending. Another fan, Amber Stewart, said during her first time attending the festival, she was pregnant and faced nothing but kindness from attendees.
“Nobody was pushing me around or throwing me around,” Stewart said. “Everybody was making sure I was OK.”
Harris said the the whole festival is about love and it is just a different form of expression.
“That’s what it’s about: People who care,” Harris said. “Nobody here doesn’t care. There’s never been so much care in my life. Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve been coming here, and it’s nothing but love.”
Another long-time attendee, Jae Kast, said he has met people from other countries at the fest.
“He’s sleeping in the tent; he’s not in an RV; he just wants to be here,” Kats said of another attendee he met. “He’s never been here before; he made it from Australia to come here to do this.”
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