On February 18, 1978, Seattle's second annual Fat Tuesday celebration ends relatively peacefully, featuring only a handful of arrests. The outcome is a marked contrast with the conclusion of the first Fat Tuesday, when police were overwhelmed with unexpected crowds and incidents of drunkenness, drug consumption, and bottle throwing.
Revelers filled the streets in outlandish costumes for the Saturday parade, which was more of a free-form stroll, featuring no marching bands or drum and bugle corps. A woman wore a large cardboard box and billed herself as a human float, while a man and woman peered through the eyes of a giant mask.
Police reported a more family-oriented crowd on Saturday than the previous year. However, with four-officer teams posted at every intersection, officers were taking no chance of a repeat performance of the previous year's events.
Sources:
Paul Henderson, "Fat Tuesday Strolls to End," The Seattle Times, February 19, 1978, p. A-14.
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