Nearly 19,000 people packed Woodward Park over the weekend for Grizzly Fest

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A mild mess at Woodward Park will not last as long as a Nazareth song because this sleepy Sunday morning, Grizzly Fest cleanup crews went to work.

Nas may never sleep because it is a cousin of death, but when he came to Fresno Friday, he left the stage early enough to keep the neighbor's ears alive.

Organizers met an altered 11:30 curfew for noise coming from the park as they wrapped up what they are calling a huge success.

"No major security issues, no major parking issues. Everybody got to the event safe and got home safe," said Aren Hekimian.

Almost 19,000 people visited Woodward Park over the two-day festival as headliners like Nas, Foster the People, and Snoop Dogg attracted people even from out of state.

The show even found a fan in skeptical city councilman Garry Bredefeld.

He predicted a nightmare but ended up almost convinced it was good for Fresno.

"This event certainly would've been as successful in my opinion downtown as it would be in Woodward Park, but I understand the desire to want to do it in Woodward Park. You just have to mitigate those impacts. They did for about 90% of it, but that 10 percent where there's will a lot of noise going into neighborhoods, we've got to find a way to deal with that," said Bredefeld.

Bredefeld said "no parking" signs seemed to work in his neighborhood just down the street from the park.

He is looking forward to a meeting with city staff Monday to address any concerns and complaints, but he is open to the idea of letting the festival stay where it is.

Hekimian says expectations are high for the sixth Grizzly Fest.

"Yeah, we're going to get ready to rock and roll again next year and put on something and be able to produce something even greater than what we did this year," said Hekimian.