Ballard’s cancels upcoming festival after brawl at bar

BLOCK ISLAND, R.I. (WLNE) — Ballard’s Beach Resort has canceled their upcoming festival after a brawl broke out at the establishment earlier this week.

The Roots & Rhythm Festival was scheduled for Aug. 21 at the bar on Block Island.

The cancellation comes after multiple men were seen swinging at at each other in the middle of the outdoor bar scene, during Monday’s Reggae Fest.

One man was arrested, said Rhode Island State Police.

“People on top of one another, there wasn’t anything that was comfortable to where you could enjoy the music, it was body on body,” said tourist Kim Schmeling, about the overcrowding at the fest.

A fight later broke out on the Block Island ferry that led to seven arrests.

The bar was also one of six bars that served alcohol to an underaged informant without asking for identification last month, according to a report released by New Shoreham police.