THE BAND Railroad Earth (left) performs on the main stage at the Sleeping Bear Dunegrass and Blues Festival Sunday afternoon, while part of the crowd (right) enjoys the show. An estimated 8,000 tickets were sold or given out at the four-day event.

There is an old saying: If you’re going to throw a loud party, invite the neighbors.

Officials with Grassroots Productions, which oversees and organizes the Sleeping Bear Dunegrass and Blues Festival in Empire that was held last weekend, did just that.

Concert officials visited each residence on LaCore Road and invited them to the four-day music and arts festival, Empire Village zoning administrator Hal Pendleton said. Pendleton, who lives on LaCore, said everyone who lives on the street was offered free admittance to the show.

“They told us that our names were on a list at the ticket booth and to just give our names and we would be let in,” Pendleton said.

While no one from Grassroots could be reached for comment, Pendleton provided a “rough guess” that the crowd size totaled around 10,000 people.

Last year’s Dunegrass had an estimated turnout of 3,000 people. This year’s event included performances from 35 bands that provided a range of blues, rock and bluegrass music.

Dunegrass began at noon Thursday and concluded at 10 p.m. Sunday. Pendleton said the only night that music went past the midnight deadline was Friday, and then by only 12 minutes.

“I went over and reminded them the music had to stop by midnight; it wasn’t a big deal,” Pendleton said. On Saturday night, the music stopped at midnight and on Sunday, the last performance about 15 minutes early. Festival attendees also enjoyed generally good weather throughout the weekend.

County Undersheriff Scott Wooters said the Sheriff’s Department had the two seasonal deputies who patrol Empire Village working most of the weekend, as well as additional deputies on duty both Friday and Saturday nights.

“Considering the size of the crowd, things went pretty well. When you have a crowd as big as this at a festival like this, there are bound to be some things happening,” Wooters said.

Two minor incidents were noted in the log of police calls made available to the public upon request. On Saturday, deputies arrested two 18-year-old males for possession of marijuana in the campground area of Dunegrass. Wooters said the names of the two men would not be released until they are arraigned in the 86th District Court. The second incident involved a noise complaint from some village residents on Fisher Street about a group of campers at the festival.

Wooters said that based on reports he received from deputies who talked with festival organizers and workers, about 8,000 tickets were sold or given out for the festival.