Three Rivers Arts Festival Kicks Off Big Weekend Of Events In Pittsburgh

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Pittsburgh is known for its confluence of rivers. This weekend it is a confluence of music and art in what is shaping up to be the biggest weekend in recent memory.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Mavis Staple begins the parade of superstar musical acts with the downbeat of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. Justin Timberlake, Dave Matthews, Journey, Def Leppard and Jack White will take the stages of KeyBank Pavilion and PPG Paints arena. Then the headliner of the weekend, Kenny Chesney, will fill the bowl of Heinz Field with his Caribbean Country sound.

All of this means a monumental weekend for the Pittsburgh Police Bureau.

"We would be thinly spread if it weren't for our partners," Director of Public Safety Wendell Hissrich said. "We have the Allegheny County sheriff's office, the Allegheny police, the other entities, liquor control, it's always difficult but it happens two or three times a year."

Since the problems with the Chesney crowd in 2013, the efforts to control the crowd have evolved and succeeded in creating a calmer environment. This year, a high-tech crow's nest that includes extensive camera equipment will be used, putting officers 27 feet above the surface of the Heinz Field parking lots.

"We're trying to prevent problems before they occur," Hissrich said. "You get two people arguing and it quickly escalates. Here, we have the vantage point so you can get quickly on it. Response times are very critical, whether it's a medical emergency or a fight. It's just an eye in the sky."

While the number of arrests in the Chesney crowd have dropped in more recent years, that is not the case for medical emergencies.

"Year in and year out, you have the same issues," EMS Chief Robert Fallow said. "In 2016, we had 38 transports and upward to 120 patient contacts."

Pittsburgh EMS will be backed up by suburban medical units to cover the crowd outside and inside the stadium. Chief Fallow says heat- and alcohol-related problems are the dominant calls.