This year’s 20th anniversary of Nocturnal Wonderland went down pretty much without a hitch. With no reports of deaths coming our way, the festival seems mostly bereft of controversy and conflict.
One thing that stood out in the official reports, however, were the staggering number of arrests for the first two days of the event. Nearly 200 people were taken into custody, according to San Bernardino County sheriff’s Capt. Stephen Dorsey. 76 people were arrested Friday and 123 were arrested Saturday, and the majority of those were for “people who are trying to sneak in. You’re not welcome here unless you’re paying, and those people who are sneaking in are not being searched.”
The Sheriff’s Department had a noticeably presence at the event, with uniformed and plainclothes officers patrolling the grounds.
“We have found this type of crowd to be very respectful,” Dorsey said. “They are constantly thanking us for their safety.”
In addition to their main duty keeping the peace at the festival, the Sheriff’s Department and its officers were handing out informational flyers on MDMA, said to resemble the promo flyers you receive at the end of a show. Dorsey remarked at how receptive attendees were to the information.
Over 85,000 people visited Nocturnal Wonderland this year with an average daily attendance of just under 30,000. Insomniac’s next event is Beyond Wonderland in the Bay Area, on September 26-September 27, or in the city blocks of downtown Las Vegas for Life is Beautiful, September 25-27.
H/T SB Sun | Image courtesy of Insomniac