Arrests, violations and medical issues amid St. Fratty’s Day in SLO, photos

March 14, 2026

Officers at the Cal Poly concert

By JOSH FRIEDMAN and KAREN VELIE

More than 11,000 people attended a concert at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the early hours of Saturday morning, yet there were few issues in the neighborhoods next to the campus amid the St. Fratty’s Day celebration.

Partially blocked streets, a huge law enforcement presence and a concert at Cal Poly led many students to gather at the music festival instead of the neighboring streets. More than 11,000 people attended the sold-out Morning on the Green concert that started at 4:45 a.m. at Cal Poly’s Sports Complex.

Concert at Cal Poly

However, multiple officers said they were expecting at least 14,000 people to attend the event. Many students seemed dissatisfied with the concert and left before it ended.

Cal Poly provided a tent inside the music festival where intoxicated students were evaluated. At times, police officers tracked down intoxicated students and escorted them to the tent.

Tent for intoxicated students at Cal Poly

A couple ambulances were parked beside the concert. Emergency personnel transported at least nine students to local hospitals because of intoxication.

Officers from numerous agencies up and down the coast were patrolling outside the concert, as well as the neighborhood adjacent to the campus. There were officers on foot, motorcycles and even horseback, as well as in vehicles. Authorities also flew a drone over the concert, and at times, over the adjacent neighborhood.

Deputies on horseback at Cal Poly

The SLO Police Department wants to thank city staff, Cal Poly and agency partners who participated in the operation:

• Arroyo Grande Police Department
• Atascadero Police Department
• Atascadero State Hospital
• California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control
• California Department of Corrections – California Men’s Colony
• California Department of Fish and Wildlife
• California Highway Patrol
• California State Parks
• Grover Beach Police Department
• Kings County Sheriff’s Office
• Monterey Park Police Department
• Morro Bay Police Department
• Oxnard Police Department
• Paso Robles Police Department
• Pismo Beach Police Department
• San Francisco Police Department
• San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office
• Santa Barbara Police Department
• Santa Maria Police Department
• SLO County Probation Department
• Ventura County Sheriff Office

From Friday at midnight through Saturday morning at 10 a.m., the SLO County Police Department issued 19 citations and made one arrest for an assault in the downtown area.

Following the concert, groups of students headed to the bars in downtown San Luis Obispo. Long lines formed outside several downtown bars. Police officers also patrolled the downtown in vehicles and on bicycles.

Additionally, some students gathered at a house party or parties close to the campus after the concert ended. The partying, though, did not spill over into the streets.

Early Saturday morning, there were also multiple DUI crashes throughout San Luis Obispo County, with drivers in two crashes attempting to dispose of alcohol bottles before officers arrived, according to the California Highway Patrol.

In 2024, an estimated 6,500 people gathered on residential streets where they broke mutiple car windows, fences and alcohol bottles. Attendees also vandalized dorms, broke glass and left trash throughout the area.

Following years of vandalism, injuries and arrests; city and Cal Poly officials are attempting to end the large outdoor parties in the neighborhoods near the campus. One sheriff’s deputy on patrol in the area Saturday morning said the large police presence this year served as a deterrent.

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