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Festival safety at top of mind this summer after fights break out at Columbus Taco Fest

With festival season just getting underway, organizers of other events are working to prevent similar issues.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Taco Fest was interrupted on Saturday when organizers said large groups of teens showed up and started causing fights.

The festival reopened Sunday with increased security and an age restriction. Anyone under 18 had to be accompanied by an adult.

RELATED: Unaccompanied teens banned at Columbus Taco Fest, security doubled after fights on Saturday

With festival season just getting underway, organizers of other events are working to prevent similar issues.

The Ohio Black Expo is planned for the same location this weekend at Genoa Park.

“We have multiple layers of security. It starts with the gates, everything is fenced in with fences and then we have a mix of both private and public security, so public security is CPD,” said CEO Sherri Hamilton. “All they focus on is making sure everyone is having a good time, and if they see something escalate, they will address it then, but believe it or not, we haven’t had that. There is something about the tone we set that everyone is just celebrating.”

People under 18 will have to be with an adult to get in.

“If you snuck out of the house and tried to come down here we don’t want that, we want to make sure that everyone that comes is safe including the teenagers,” Hamilton said.

The Ohio Black Expo will also be offering opportunities to uplift young people, like a youth expo and a college fair.

“We want to create those opportunities for youth to be seen in a positive light and operate in a positive light and feel good about themselves,” Hamilton said.

As the summer continues, it will be important to keep young people busy so they stay out of trouble, Maria Stokes at End the Violence said.

“We really want to focus on a long-term change. That is why we have implemented the holistic curriculum with all of the programs that we do, which not only has activities, but also includes comprehensive addressing of issues such as personal growth and readiness and life skills that can equip people, not only keeping them busy but learn to have a better life in general,” Stokes said.

The Columbus Arts Festival, which is being held on June 7-9, has a safety plan in place to ensure the safety of attendees. 

Event organizers say they have a "see something, say something" policy with all staff members and the more than 400 volunteers. Columbus police are also onsite 24/7 at the festival.

However, organizers say they don't have a policy regarding unaccompanied teens. 

"The Festival is free and open to anyone and people of all ages are welcome," a spokesperson from Greater Columbus Arts Council said.

On Monday, Columbus City Council will consider putting $916,100.00 into organizations that invest in summer youth programs like Actions That Matter for Youth, Bantu Hope Foundation, Columbus College of Art & Design, Girls Leap, Summer Jam West, Inc, The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, Women's Leadership Academy, Young Men's Christian Association of Central Ohio (YMCA), and Youth Over Us, Inc.

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