Cedar Fest - 2008 Revival

2008 Revival

Cedar Fest saw a revival in 2008, 21 years after the city had officially banned the event. The revival, which began as a campaign on Facebook as early as January, promised a "weekend long party" that would take place "throughout all of Cedar Village." It drew up to 4,000 party goers and was officially declared an unlawful assembly as police launched 24 smoke grenades, 20 flash bangs, 20 stingball grenades and 13 rounds of tear gas to disperse the out-of-control crowd. Some revelers threw bottles, cans and bricks at police officers, while two city vehicles' windows were broken, and at least four fires were set. East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert remarked that the event "got to the point where I don’t see how we could have dispersed that crowd without tear gas." In fact, Wibert said after the police used flash bangs and smoke bombs, some students began to chant for tear gas. The "riot" cost close to $10,000 in damages and resulted in 52 arrests, 28 of them being MSU students. Police estimated that about 5% of MSU's student population was at the event.

Observers noted that police were more restrained compared to their handling of the 2005 riot after MSU's Final Four loss. In that incident, police began using tear gas just 15 minutes after crowds formed, launching 299 canisters in total. Eight members of the Lansing branch of the ACLU were on hand to monitor police actions during the 2008 Cedar Fest and to prevent them from handling it as they did the 2005 riot.

At a press conference following the event, Wibert said:

Wibert has since moved to New Braunfels, Texas, where he has become a controversial police chief, as manifest by his appearance on the front page of a local newspaper, The NB Citizen, October 4, 2012. In that image he is seen in his newly acquired assault vehicle, his attire reminiscent of Douglas MacArthur, giving a straight arm salute, after reportedly "declaring martial law at the 119th Comal County Fair Parade".

With the memory of 2008's Cedar Fest fresh in the minds of Michigan State students, an unofficial Cedar Fest revival occurred Saturday, April 4, 2009 and Monday, April 6, 2009, following the Michigan State men's basketball team's successful run to the Final Four. Crowds of 2,000 and 1,700 (respectively) peacefully celebrated together in the streets outside of Cedar Village with continuous chants of "Go Green, Go White!" and renditions of the Michigan State University Fight Song.Over 80 arrests were made during the Final Four weekend; however, most of these arrests were related to minors possessing alcohol. A total of 11 acts of arson were reported (mostly burnt couches, an MSU tradition); however, no major incidents occurred as most revelers left Cedar Village peacefully after being asked to disperse by the police.