Since the early 1970s, North Gate residents have celebrated Halloween on Carlotta Street, but this year, they’ll have to find another place to party.
Clarke Cadzow, owner of Highland Coffees and member of the North Gate Merchants Association, said the group has paid for permits and cleanup for the celebration for the past four or five years.
Cadzow said the Baton Rouge Police Department approached the Merchants Association several years ago to have it organize the event because the party had become too large to be considered a block party.
All in all, insurance, police presence and street cleanup, among other things, cost the Merchants Association almost $5,000.
He said the business owners involved decided to sell beer at the party to make up for the money they’d spent, but sales were only good for one year.
After that, they began questioning whether they could afford to keep the party going. Cadzow said he noticed many residents did not want business owners involved in what was once an small gathering of neighbors and friends.
Cadzow said earlier this year, the group decided to hand over the responsibility of funding the festivities to the event’s organizers.
Jay Price, the event’s former organizer, said he and several others began fundraising efforts to pay for the party, but ultimately decided to cancel it.
“We had most of the money raised, but I wanted to speak with a few of the residents to see what they wanted,” he said. “Several residents expressed reservations about having the party this year.”
Price said the party has changed over the years and several residents felt the event had become too large.
“This is a block party,” he said. “It’s not supposed to be Mardi Gras in Baton Rouge, that’s not what it’s about.”
Price said he hopes residents will band together next year to bring the party back to its roots.
However, he said he’s also heard that several people plan to keep the party going, despite its cancellation.
According to a BRPD news release, officers will “take proactive measures to ensure public safety.”
The release said several BRPD officers in uniforms and plain clothes will patrol the area on foot, enforcing parking, alcohol and noise laws and that anyone who tries to start a party could face criminal charges.
