Stephen Oertel arrived at this year's Fourth Fest with plenty of water in hand, but security informed him that no food or beverages were allowed.
Before he could enter Bayfront Festival Park, Oertel was told he'd have to pour out the water bottles he'd brought to help his three daughters -- ages 1, 3 and 4 -- beat the heat.
"They were confused and asked me, 'Daddy why are you dumping all the water?' " Oertel recalled.
"I understand they want vendors to make a profit, but it's ridiculous they wouldn't let tap water into the park," he said, noting that he wound up spending $10 on drinks instead.
Oertel was one of a few people who left Fourth Fest miffed at the no-water policy and security, with some even writing the Duluth City Council to complain.
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Steve Grazier, president of Secret Service Entertainment, the firm hired to manage Fourth Fest, said allowing beverages into the event could invite people to try to sneak in alcohol.
While alcohol was available at Fourth Fest, Grazier said the vendors employ trained bartenders who have strict instructions to cut customers off if they display obvious signs of intoxication.
"We need to control who drinks and that they drink responsibly," Grazier said.
As for the rule against bringing food into the park, Grazier said this, too, was a long-standing policy.
"It's not new here, or at just about any other venue in the country," he said.
Kathy Bergen, manager of Duluth's Parks and Recreation Department, said the no-food-or-drink policy at Fourth Fest goes back as far as she can remember.
"That's why I'm a little confused to hear complaints," she said. "Nothing new has been implemented."
Susan Krochalk of Duluth said that if the policy was in place earlier, it wasn't actively enforced.
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"I didn't go last year, but I remember the family going down there with a paper bag full of popcorn a couple of years ago," she said.
This year, however, when Krochalk took her 11-year-old son to Fourth Fest, they were denied entrance unless they ditched their granola bars and the contents of their water bottles. Instead, the Krochalks laid down a blanket outside the park's boundaries and took in the fireworks from there. As a result, they were unable to hear the Duluth Symphony Orchestra and had to settle for a partially obstructed view of the pyrotechnics.
Bergen said revenue from vendors helps defray the cost of putting on the event. Vendors pay a setup fee of $450 each to do business at Fourth Fest, she said.
"I understand that they don't want you to bring in a seven-course meal, because they do make money from the vendors down there," said Mark Johnson of Duluth. "But when they say you can't bring in tap water, I just have to shake my head and ask: What are you trying to do here?"
Others who attended said they didn't see the security at the event as a problem.
A Los Angeles native, Vicki Surges of Duluth attended her first Fourth Fest on Sunday and gave it high marks.
"We thought it was fantastic," she said, adding that she doesn't understand the fuss over security keeping food and drink out of the event.
"Some people just want to complain," she said. "This was security-light compared to what we saw in L.A."
