Garbage, Crowds, Fights And Citations: 'SantaCon' 2023 In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — Another "SantaCon" has come and gone in the Fairfield Beach area, and the town and residents are left to clean it up.

SantaCon is an annual Christmas-themed group of drinking parties in the beach area that draws hundreds of Fairfield University students.

It is marked by loud, often rowdy and drunken behavior by many of the attendees, and this past weekend's festivities were no different.

According to Fairfield Police Lt. Edward Nook, the following are some of the police activity from the Saturday event:

• 6 infractions for open container.
• 5 infractions for Creating a Public Disturbance.
• 2 Misdemeanor Summons for Disorderly Conduct.
• 1 full Custody arrests for trespassing.
• 17 transports to the hospital.

"The Police department developed an operational plan to strategically position personnel at key locations, however, the size of this event does limit the police officers' ability to address all of the co-occurring issues, which are primarily EMS calls for intoxication," Nook wrote in an email to Patch. "Other common issues are trespassing, public urination, and open container violations. We issue as many citations as we can, but the amount of time it takes to issue each citation means several other issues occur while the issuing officer is occupied."

Fairfield First Selectman Bill Gerber, in a Facebook post, said he walked through Saturday's festivities with members of the Fairfield Beach Residents Association to witness the event firsthand.

"The first thing we noticed was the garbage," Gerber wrote. "Garbage everywhere. I also witnessed a fight, several collapsed students being treated by emergency services, and a student with a bleeding head wound. However, with only a couple of exceptions these young adults were outgoing, respectful, enjoyable to talk to and fun."

Gerber said that a full report about the event is being compiled by Police Chief Robert Kalamaras and Fire Chief Denis McCarthy, and stakeholders need to address the issue. Last week, the residents association called on Fairfield University to proactively manage the event.

"Fairfield University and the Town of Fairfield have to figure out how to ensure these parties are not environmental disasters, and that everyone - students and residents - can be protected from harm to the greatest extent possible," Gerber wrote.

Nook said that the department routinely studies the event afterward to game-plan for future beach parties. The Connecticut Post reported that the police department stationed a dozen officers in the area during the event, and the area's Lantern Point Association hired additional security.

"While this event remains a disruptive and frustrating situation to many, we learn and adjust every year to try to adapt and improve each time," Nook said. "We have created avenues to ensure all stakeholders have the ability to be heard and work with us to adjust our approaches."