TOLEDO, Ohio — Put-In-Bay on Lake Erie's South Bass Island has long been known as the place for sometimes raucous parties each summer.
But even for a well known party spot, reports of tens of thousands of rowdy island visitors necessitating the use of a SWAT team to keep calm this weekend are concerning to many who enjoy the Lake Erie islands.
What's the story with the Christmas in July celebration that may have gotten out of hand?
For many years visitors knew to mark their calendars for the weekend closest to July 25 because traditionally that was Put-In-Bay's Christmas in July celebration. The village's downtown bar scene was festooned with Christmas decorations, visitors typically dressed up in holiday garb and the party scene was reliably festive.
In recent years, however, problems with large, unruly crowds have led Put-In-Bay businesses to distance themselves from Christmas in July. Business owners, local residents and some visitors complain that Christmas in July brings too many rowdy visitors who cause fights, damage property, drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs and leave trash strewn around South Bass Island.
In 2018, even as authorities beefed up the police presence during the weekend, officers made dozens of arrests, prompting some village businesses to declare Christmas in July canceled.
The party is no longer an official Put-In-Bay event and it has not appeared on Visit Put-In-Bay's annual calendar of island festivities for several years. The unofficial celebration, however, still draws a hefty crowd each year.
Saturday evening SWAT team members from three counties were deployed to Put-in-Bay after about 19,000 people converged on the village’s downtown area.
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