Bar crawls are something of a civic tradition in Arlington, with events drawing hundreds or thousands of young drinkers looking to get besotted as they skip from tavern to tavern. But a few recent crawls that ended in chaos prompted the Arlington County Board to clamp down on the festivities.
At its meeting Saturday, the five-member board voted to make bar crawl organizers responsible for any additional police costs that their events incur. Several bar crawls have led to fights, public disorderliness, and arrests. A St. Patrick’s Day event that drew about 5,000 revelers ended with 17 brawls, ten people caught urinating in public, and 25 people arrested.
The board gave Arlington County Police an additional $42,000 for bar crawl-related costs after the St. Patrick’s Day chaos, but the hits kept coming. During a Clarendon bar crawl last month, a young man disrobed, jumped into a car to escape police, and, after hitting several parked vehicles, was tasered and restrained by officers. Soon afterward, the Arlington board began to look into regulating county nightlife.
In voting Saturday, board members updated Arlington’s policy on “special events,” which would include the bar crawls that can attract as many as 500 mostly young drinkers, clogging sidewalks and straining the county police department’s ability to monitor them. Besides requiring organizers to cover any county-provided services (such as police and trash pickup), the new law requires them to obtain special-event permits, which would allow the county to regulate how many similar events occur in the area each year and provide enough crowd-control and cleanup help.
Even with the crackdown, the board still acknowledged the role bar crawls play in Arlington, which is home to more than 75,000 people between 20 and 34 years old, one of the highest concentration of so-called “millennials” in the country.
“They are the creative class, and they’re having a good time,” Jay Fisette, the board’s chairman, said before the vote. “These are people that help drive our economy.”
Arlington County spokeswoman Mary Curtius tells Washingtonian the county has been working closely with Arlington businesses, and that they have been receptive to the possible changes. These businesses realize that a safe environment is better for them, too, she says.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Arlington Board Cracks Down on Rowdy Bar Crawls
The decision comes after recent bar crawls ended in fights and public nudity.
Bar crawls are something of a civic tradition in Arlington, with events drawing hundreds or thousands of young drinkers looking to get besotted as they skip from tavern to tavern. But a few recent crawls that ended in chaos prompted the Arlington County Board to clamp down on the festivities.
At its meeting Saturday, the five-member board voted to make bar crawl organizers responsible for any additional police costs that their events incur. Several bar crawls have led to fights, public disorderliness, and arrests. A St. Patrick’s Day event that drew about 5,000 revelers ended with 17 brawls, ten people caught urinating in public, and 25 people arrested.
The board gave Arlington County Police an additional $42,000 for bar crawl-related costs after the St. Patrick’s Day chaos, but the hits kept coming. During a Clarendon bar crawl last month, a young man disrobed, jumped into a car to escape police, and, after hitting several parked vehicles, was tasered and restrained by officers. Soon afterward, the Arlington board began to look into regulating county nightlife.
In voting Saturday, board members updated Arlington’s policy on “special events,” which would include the bar crawls that can attract as many as 500 mostly young drinkers, clogging sidewalks and straining the county police department’s ability to monitor them. Besides requiring organizers to cover any county-provided services (such as police and trash pickup), the new law requires them to obtain special-event permits, which would allow the county to regulate how many similar events occur in the area each year and provide enough crowd-control and cleanup help.
Even with the crackdown, the board still acknowledged the role bar crawls play in Arlington, which is home to more than 75,000 people between 20 and 34 years old, one of the highest concentration of so-called “millennials” in the country.
“They are the creative class, and they’re having a good time,” Jay Fisette, the board’s chairman, said before the vote. “These are people that help drive our economy.”
Arlington County spokeswoman Mary Curtius tells Washingtonian the county has been working closely with Arlington businesses, and that they have been receptive to the possible changes. These businesses realize that a safe environment is better for them, too, she says.
Find Benjamin Freed on Twitter at @brfreed.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Most Popular in News & Politics
The “MAGA Former Dancer” Named to a Top Job at the Kennedy Center Inherits a Troubled Program
Scott Bessent Got in Another Argument With a Coworker; Trump Threatens Chicago, Gets Booed in New York; and Our Critic Has an Early Report From Kayu
Sandwich Guy Has Become DC’s Hero
In Wild Coincidence, White House Drowns Out Epstein Rally With Jets; Tech Titans Will Gather on Rose Garden Patio Tonight; and Madison Cawthorn Hopes to Return to DC
We’re Calling It Now: Sandwich Guy Is the DC Halloween Costume of the Year
Washingtonian Magazine
September Issue: Style Setters
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
These Confusing Bands Aren’t Actually From DC
Fiona Apple Wrote a Song About This Maryland Court-Watching Effort
The Confusing Dispute Over the Future of the Anacostia Playhouse
Protecting Our Drinking Water Keeps Him Up at Night
More from News & Politics
Trump Travels One Block From White House, Declares DC Crime-Free; Barron Trump Moves to Town; and GOP Begins Siege of Home Rule
Donald Trump Dines at Joe’s Seafood Next to the White House
White House Seriously Asks People to Believe Trump’s Letter to Epstein Is Fake, Oliver North and Fawn Hall Got Married, and It’s Time to Plan Your Apple-Picking Excursion
Meet DC’s 2025 Tech Titans
“End the Occupation”: Photos From Saturday’s “We Are All DC” March
Scott Bessent Got in Another Argument With a Coworker; Trump Threatens Chicago, Gets Booed in New York; and Our Critic Has an Early Report From Kayu
Congress Won’t Extend Trump’s Takeover of the DC Police, Norton Reiterates Plans to Run Again, and the Commanders’ New Season Starts Sunday
Why Trump Should Not Dine Out in DC