Bold Point Park reassess security plans

By: News Staff

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EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — In Rhode Island, local outdoor venues are increasing their security measures in light of the concert shooting in Las Vegas Sunday night.

In fact, Bold Point Park in East Providence is set to host close to 5,000 people for an event on Saturday.

An Oktoberfest celebration in Bold Point Park is expected to draw thousands and now organizers are doing their best to prepare themselves and event-goers to be as safe as possible.

In less than five days, thousands will flock to Bold Point Park in East Providence for an Oktoberfest celebration. For event organizers, seeing the chaos and aftermath in Las Vegas is their worst case scenario.

“It’s our worst nightmare. A random act like that it’s really just about how you react in the emergency situation because you really cannot plan where that might be coming from,” said the owner of Waterfront Productions, Michele Maker-Palmieri.

Bold Point Park opened for the first time this summer for concerts, but Waterfront Productions is well-versed in outdoor events. They also run outdoor concerts at the Alex and Ani Center and assemble the annual skating rink, a venue smack dab in the middle of Providence, which can make it a difficult area to secure.

“We train all of our staff to really know how to get our guests out of the venue, staff and performers as well,” said Maker-Palmieri.

As a precaution, organizers have added extra exit points at Bold Point Park to make an emergency situation less hectic.

“We added some gates at our venue in bold point park in East Providence for that exact reason, we want to make sure our guests know where those exits are. We can jump on a pa at any times during an emergency to guide people,” said Maker-Palmieri.

With the Las Vegas shooting happening so close to the Oktoberfest event, Maker-Palmieri is hopeful that event-goers will not give in to fear.

“It’s tough, we live in a society where you have to be cautious no matter where you go, but we hope people come out to enjoy themselves and they don’t give in to these horrific acts,” said Maker-Palmieri

Organizers of Saturday’s event are planning a moment of silence for the victims as well as additional signage and PA announcements to make sure all event-goers know what to do in an emergency situation.

©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2017