Lake Area is no longer site for ICP festival

Campground owners back out of hosting event following community outcry against Gathering of the Juggalos' move to Kaiser

In this Aug. 11, 2012 file photo, confetti is released over the crowd for the grand finale of Insane Clown Posse's performance on the last night of the Gathering of the Juggalos near in Cave-In-Rock, Ill. Organizers of a yearly outdoor festival headlined by Insane Clown Posse announced a two weeks ago the event was moving to CryBaby Campground in Kaiser. However, organizers recently announced they are looking for a new location after venue owners declined to host the event following continued community outcry against the festival's presence.
In this Aug. 11, 2012 file photo, confetti is released over the crowd for the grand finale of Insane Clown Posse's performance on the last night of the Gathering of the Juggalos near in Cave-In-Rock, Ill. Organizers of a yearly outdoor festival headlined by Insane Clown Posse announced a two weeks ago the event was moving to CryBaby Campground in Kaiser. However, organizers recently announced they are looking for a new location after venue owners declined to host the event following continued community outcry against the festival's presence.

Organizers of the 15th Annual Gathering of the Juggalos are looking for a new location after Kaiser-based venue owners backed out of hosting the hip-hop/metal festival featuring headliner Insane Clown Posse.

Festival organizers announced two weeks ago after a six-year stint Hogrock campsite near Cave-in-Rock, Ill. the annual underground rap and rock music event was moved to the dubbed "Harlequin Park" from Aug. 6-9 at CryBaby Campground in Kaiser.

According to the organizers' statement on the event website, the owners of CryBaby Campground did not have a problem with hosting the Gathering of the Juggalos on their property and they had been "nothing but supportive, kind hearted and open minded." Event coordinators stated the campground owners also fully understood what the festival was and were welcoming to the event, as they had hosted "a biker rally every year."

Organizers said following the signing of the contract and announcement of the event's move to their campground at the Lake, CryBaby Campground owners began receiving non-stop phone calls from "angry neighbors and some even stopped by their property threatening to boycott their campground and even started a petition against them."

In addition, organizers said they felt the community outcry was "amplified" because of the recent lawsuit filed against the FBI by Psychopathic Records - Gathering of the Juggalos co-organizer - and ACLU for wrongly accusing the Juggalos of being a gang.

The campground owners decided to decline to host the event following these incidents and in fear their business would suffer after the event, according to the statement.

"We want to add that we at Psychopathic Records hold no resentment toward the people of the campground," the statement said. "There was no way to prepare for how much attention this was going to get and how negatively some people were going to react to the Gathering coming to their town."

The statement continued, "Even as close-minded people threaten us and accuse us of being less than human and close the gates in our face ... we will march through. Even as they try to keep us from gathering as we do each year for our epic family reunion and people cry and complain ... we will prevail. It has always been the Juggalo way to never bow down to the oppressors and to continue on, no matter the obstacles we face."

Organizers said they are "aggressively" looking into other areas to host the 15th Annual Gathering of the Juggalos and have a "couple of places already lined up." The statement also said ticket sales this year had far surpassed those of the past several Gathering of the Juggalos. However, event coordinators assured everyone who bought tickets, passes or campsites that their money would be refunded in full.

As reported in a Feb. 6 Associated Press article announcing the festival's move to Lake of the Ozarks, the Gathering of the Juggalos had faced unfortunate incidents including arrests resulting in drug-related and disorderly conduct charges, and a death of fan on festival grounds last year.

Miller County law enforcement had sought help from neighboring and state agencies to prepare for the event's arrival, and a Lake Area state representative had made contacts to inform additional state agencies of their event's planned presence at Lake of the Ozarks, as well.

For more information or to read the full statement from Gathering of the Juggalos organizers, visit www.juggalogathering.com.