Area festivals beef up security after incidents last year

The Winona Peach Festival kicks off this Friday and set up is underway today.

Something that will be new for attendees this year is increased security after a number of violent incidents at festivals and fairs that shook the community last year.

It’s not just the Winona Peach Festival, there’s a number of events coming up in August and September.

Organizers of the Binbrook Fair also say they expect increased security and police presence at the event this year.

Winona Park will be entirely encased with fences and designated entrances.

“There are entrance ways. There are gateways for the vehicles, specifically. And then there’s also gateways for the attendees. And once they come in, they will be going through a metal detector, and then they’ll have a bag check, and then they’ll be able to come through,” says Debbie Bramer, media chair for the Winona Peach Festival.

In addition to that, on Friday and Saturday, visitors will not be allowed into the park after 9:30 p.m.

The new measures were put in place after what police had described as a “concerning uptick” in robberies and swarming incidents carried out by young people at several community festivals last summer.

This year Hamilton police say they expect to have more officers on site. There will be private security as well.

“We’re going to have five cameras at the festival. We’re going to be very overt about it. We’re going to tell you where the cameras are. We’re going to be focused on, you know, seeing all the people that come through and we’re going to be looking for people who have characteristics of an armed person,” said Const. Adam Kimber with the Hamilton police.

Police will be working with organizers of other upcoming events as well.

“Definitely Binbrook for sure. The Rockton Fair is a little ways down the road still. But I honestly think, you know, the fall fairs are going to be ramping up. And definitely our crime managers in the east division will work with those organizers,” said Const. Kimber.

Organizers of the Binbrook Fair say they already implemented extra security measures in 2024, this includes private security and Hamilton police.

“At the very least the same as 2024, if not even higher levels of security presence across the grounds for all the dates of the fair this year,” said Alicia Powell, past president of the Binbrook Agricultural Society.

And as for the fair last year.

“There were, you know, minimal concerns, minimal incidents across the fair,” said Powell.

Last year police said a teenager was arrested after a younger teen was threatened with a pellet gun near the Binbrook Fair.

We reached out to the organizers of the Ancaster Fair and Rockton Fair, but no one was available for an interview.

The Ancaster Fair did take extra security measures for their event in 2024, which included police presence and bag checks after the incident at the Winona Peach Festival.

READ MORE: Winona Peach Festival boosts security after last year’s violence