Denver’s inaugural Grandoozy music festival draws 55,000 over 3 days, organizers say

The inaugural Grandoozy music festival reported an attendance of 55,000 over the three-day weekend of music, food and drinks at southwest Denver’s Overland Park Golf Course.

The number of attendees was provided to The Denver Post on Monday by Chris Langley, a public relations representative for Superfly, the company that runs the festival.

He declined to provide an average daily attendance or an official number of tickets sold.

Festivalgoers had the option of buying three-day passes or single-day tickets, but Superfly did not provide a breakdown of those sales and how they impacted daily attendance. It’s possible that a person who bought a three-day pass was counted three times in the total attendance number released by Grandoozy if that person entered the gates all three days.

The festival was permitted for 80,000 people, but, in the days leading up to the event, city officials said an “optimistic estimate” of attendance was 20,000 to 25,000 per day. Superfly has a contract to hold the festival at Overland Park for five years and has hopes the event eventually will attract 80,000 people.

Overall, the festival has received positive reviews from people who attended and those who live near the golf course.

On Monday, workers were taking down the stages, tents and fencing that had been set up at Overland Park. The golf course and neighborhood appeared litter-free.

Terry Pasqua, who lives across the street from the golf course’s Jewell Avenue entrance, said clean-up crews walked the neighborhood each night to collect trash. She ran Sunday morning along the Platte River Trail and found it to be clean and saw no one camping, she said.

“They really impressed me by how well they cleaned up every night,” she said.

Bernice Geels, an Ilati Street resident, held concerns going into the event: Would rowdy young people trash the neighborhood or would it be impossible to drive in or out of the neighborhood?

On Monday morning, her only gripe was that she found a couple of young men urinating in her flowers on Friday night as the event let out.

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“But with all of these thousands of people, for the most part, it was fine,” Geels said.

Geels and two other residents interviewed by the Post said Superfly was quick to assess issues Friday night and make adjustments Saturday and Sunday. For example, more security was on hand Saturday night to direct foot traffic away from the neighborhood after hundreds of people walked through residential areas Friday night.

The Denver Police Department reported just one arrest — an assault charge Sunday.

On Friday, police officers issued 177 traffic citations, mostly to ride-share drivers who stopped in non-designated drop-off or pick-up locations, said Christine Downs, a department spokeswoman. There were “No Stopping Anytime” signs posted and drivers who ignored those signs were causing safety issues, she said.

When appropriate, officers advised drivers of unsafe behavior in lieu of issuing citations, Downs said in an email.

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