MARYLAND

National Folk Festival: What Salisbury is doing to keep you safe

The Daily Times

City workers help put final touches on the PRMC Stage area before the beginning of the National Folk Festival on Thursday, Sept 6, 2018.

The Salisbury Police Department has spent more than a year plotting out its "all hands on deck" operation for the National Folk Festival.

Capt. Rich Kaiser said Wednesday that the department has been working closely with festival planners and allied agencies to ensure every loose end is tied up before thousands of festival-goers descend on Salisbury beginning Friday.

That's included partnerships with other major law enforcement agencies throughout the region as well as collaboration with the Maryland State Highway Administration, Homeland Security and the state fire marshal's office.

Because this is Salisbury's first time hosting the festival, Kaiser said it's hard to know exactly what to expect, which is why law enforcement is building off the knowledge and experience of other host sites like Greensboro, North Carolina.

"We’re basing a lot of our stuff on what they’ve done in the past," he said. "They’ve never experienced any issues. We’re just kind of using the model that they were using and molding it a little bit and making it work for us."

For example, Kaiser said law enforcement have been advised about which acts and events may draw larger crowds and require more policing compared to others.

Law enforcement agencies will be out in force with the mobile response unit and more during the folk festival.

Festival organizers who have been through this process before have also emphasized the importance of the early planning stage, he said, and making sure that they start getting people on the ground working and closing off roadways at the right time.

"They’ve done it so many times and they’re just a huge part of guiding us through: ‘You need to expect this. We're going to have stages coming in at this point in time so we need to have this road shut down,'" Kaiser said.

In addition to Salisbury officers, he said festival-goers can also expect to see state troopers as well as deputies from both Wicomico and Worcester counties patrolling the event, with a "very obvious" police presence throughout downtown.

As far as uniform support, he said that's all guests will likely see. But law enforcement will also be taking advantage of some behind the scenes aid from agencies like Homeland Security, which will be actively involved throughout the weekend.

"You also have to keep in mind that this is our first year doing this so all of our i's are going to be dotted, t's are going to be crossed when it comes to public safety," Kaiser said.

In preparation for the three-day event, the city also posted to its Facebook page that Salisbury police as well as other Delmarva law enforcement agencies have been participating in "tabletop exercises" with a large-scale floor map of downtown to get first responders ready for a variety of scenarios.

Once Salisbury has its first folk festival weekend wrapped up, Kaiser said there will be time to evaluate law enforcement manpower for the event to determine whether it would be appropriate to scale back a bit in the future or increase the event's police presence.

"It really depends on how everything unfolds this weekend," he said.

If a festival attendee is in need of police assistance, they can approach a uniformed officer or head over to the Salisbury police command bus, which will be set up at West Main Street and Mill Street. The festival layout also has multiple locations where visitors can go for first aid.

First Aid stations:

West Carroll Street and North Division Street near the PRMC Stage
Along Circle Avenue between the Richard A. Henson Foundation Stage and Pohanka Auto Family Area & Stage
Along Fitzwater Street across from the Perdue Dance Pavilion

Safety tips:

Plan parking ahead of time
Lock your car and either take valuables with you or hide them from view
Pay attention to your surroundings
Know your exit route in the event of an emergency
Keep an eye out for the officers working the festival ground so that you know where they are and what their uniforms look like if you need police assistance
If you see something suspicious, report it immediately
As a pedestrian, watch for traffic when crossing the road, and while driving, keeping an eye out for pedestrians
Don't congregate in roadways that haven't been closed
Keep a festival map with you so you know where you are at all times
Pack appropriately