Halloween weekend is one of the biggest celebrations here in downtown San Luis Obispo. The rain isnt stopping the party, but local leaders are cracking down.
Halloween this year falls on a Saturday, but the celebrations started Thursday.
Bridget Dirstin and her friend Emma Simmons were grabbing breakfast ahead of their night out on the town.
I feel like it’ll be a good night,” Dirstin said. “Probably pretty crowded. Lots of students but I love the people out and [I’m] excited to see the costumes.
Saturday will be Dirstin’s first Halloween back in town after being away for school. She got a good idea of what to expect when she was at dinner Friday night.
I heard it’s a pretty big scene down here,” she said. “Especially for all the students. I’ve been seeing videos. It gets pretty crowded downtown. Last night, we were just at a restaurant and we saw the queues pretty long.
Though its set to be a dark and stormy night in San Luis Obispo, the recent rain hasnt stopped people from coming downtown.
Dana Leyva is a bartender and server at Black Sheep Bar & Grill. She said the crowds started on Thursday.
The last couple of days have been wild,” Leyva said. “Thursday was probably the busiest I’ve ever seen it. Even busier than Saint Patrick’s Day. It’s been good. We’re happy to be busy, but it’s been a wild weekend for sure.
From extra staffing to ordering enough limes, a lot of preparation has gone into the weekend for the bar.
The bars arent the only ones getting extra staff for the holiday. San Luis Obispo Police have put a safety enhancement zone in place for the weekend. That means doubled fines and extra enforcement to help keep the city a safe place to celebrate.
The citys also added porta potties to cut down on the number of people who cant wait for an open stall inside.
Leyva said the restaurants are grateful for more officers on the street.
It only takes one person to ruin it for everyone and it ruins it for us all, even the people working,” Leyva said. “So for us, we’re happy to have the increased safety. We need it. We can only do so much for the security of our own business with the staff that we have.
For Emma Simmons, she said the post-grad life is giving her a new perspective on the safety zone.
I think we can kind of look back because we’re now post-grad, like out of college,” Simmons said. “It’s a little easier to say this is probably a good thing for the safety of everybody. I know when you’re a student, maybe it does feel like a bummer, but probably in the best interest of everyone involved at the end of the day.
The Safety enhancement zone expires Monday at 7 am.