50 Cent’s Festival Stokes Fears Of Alcohol-Induced Chaos In Shreveport

The Shreveport City Council voted against a resolution to modify alcohol laws for 50 Cent’s Humor & Harmony festival. Council members debated Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor’s proposal at a meeting on Tuesday (July 9).

“To suspend certain provisions of Chapter 10 and any applicable provisions of the Shreveport Code of Ordinances and the Shreveport Unified Development Code relative to the sale, dispensing and consumption of alcoholic beverages in connection with the Humor & Harmony Festival, and to otherwise provide with respect thereto,” Taylor’s resolution read.

The city council rejected the resolution in a 5-2 vote. Councilman Gary Brooks was one of the members who opposed Taylor’s efforts to extend the open container zone for 50 Cent’s event.

“I have a problem with who’s gonna serve these drinks,” Brooks said. “How old are these people drinking going to be? Are we promoting them to be outside to drink? Who’s gonna clean up all the trash the next day? I just don’t see this being a good idea at all.”

Taylor and Councilman James Green questioned why Humor & Harmony created more cause for concern than Mardi Gras and other events in Shreveport. Taylor claimed she did her due diligence and spoke to law enforcement before introducing her resolution.

“I’m not going to go over here and put anything on here that has not been properly vetted,” she said. “So, you can vote it up or down. But just let the record reflect that we have done this 215+ times since 2010. And this right here is not that different. There is a proposed plan.”

Humor & Harmony is scheduled to be held on August 8-11. 50 Cent’s festival will feature comedy, music, a car show and a celebrity basketball tournament. Humor & Harmony is 50 Cent’s first major event in Shreveport since G-Unit Studios set up shop in the city.