After Cal Poly music fest, crowds keep the party going in downtown SLO

After thousands of people attended Cal Poly’s second annual Morning on the Green music festival on Saturday in celebration of St. Fratty’s Day, many then migrated to the bars in downtown San Luis Obispo.

According to Libertine Brewing Company events and marketing manager John Pranjic, people began lining up for the bar at 5:25 a.m., with an additional rush at 9:45 a.m. following Cal Poly’s event.

Cal Poly students who were leaving the downtown bars told The Tribune they felt like Morning on the Green was a success this year. Many ventured downtown with friends following the event, while others, like Cal Poly graduate Jackson Welch, began their morning at the bars Saturday.

The university’s sanctioned event on Saturday featured electronic dance music from local acts, followed by headliners Walker and Royce as well as Odd Mob. Many students had flocked downtown shortly after the festival, decorated in green and keeping up the celebrations in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

Pranjic from Libertine said through his conversations with San Luis Obispo police that the festival seemed to have accomplished the city’s goal of keeping the St. Fratty’s celebration under control. The fesrtival is part of the university’s effort to curb future street parties, which in 2024 saw around 7,000 people pack into a local neighborhood.

For Cal Poly senior Chiara Detata, the festival was more safe and organized than last year, where she and others recalled being trampled while attempting to get into the event.

Eleanor Brinck, a senior at Cal Poly, said she hasn’t missed the unsanctioned block party since the festival began last year.