Despite a few exceptions, this year’s annual traditional cruise was low-key compared to last year’s – and that is just what organizers of the African American Heritage Festival had hoped for.
“Cruising is not part of our festival,” said Joe Witkowski, communications co-chairman for the Heritage Festival. “We had a plan we put into action to keep the event from happening.”
Witkowski said the festival’s move to an earlier date and the scheduling of indoor events in favor of outdoor venues contributed to the low turnout at this year’s cruise. Those changes were made with the intent to stop the cruise from happening, he said.
A few cars, sport utility vehicles and motorcycles, still participated in the informal cruise, moving in groups sporadically, with period of light traffic in between.
Traffic on High Street became congested around 9:15 p.m. and cars heading south were slow moving.
The Columbus Division of Police shut down the street at around 10 p.m. as a precautionary measure.
Traffic was directed toward Summit Street, which caused a great deal of back-up along the street. The congestion cleared shortly after 1 a.m.
Police officer Pat Francis said the weekend as a whole was quiet.
“I talked to many students who said they were going home because nothing was happening,” he said. Francis attributed the slow night to the Heritage Festival’s move to an earlier date.
The Heritage Festival’s change to an earlier date kept many students who attend other schools from coming, Witkowski said.
“Most public universities on semester systems are still in school,” he said. This kept students who attend other universities from coming to the cruise and contributing to the increase in traffic.
Witkowski also said many Ohio State students did not participate in the cruise because a large number attended Mahogany Moments, a semi-formal dinner dance. The event celebrated this year’s theme of “Ahali,” or family, and was open only to OSU students. The Heritage Festival planned its events to focus on the OSU community, which deterred students from other universities from attending, Witkowski said.
While High Street was absent of any normal traffic because of the street closures, some students found their own way to entertain themselves.
Michael Keida, a senior in psychology and Italian, and some of his friends, set up an impromptu break-dancing session at the corner of 15th Avenue and High Street.
“We practice together here on campus and come out whenever the weather is warm,” Keida said.
Kyle Kennedy, from Zanesville, Ohio, and a friend of Keida, came to Columbus for the Heritage Festival and decided to end the night by forming the break-dancing event.
“We are just trying to have fun and keep things cool,” he said.
