Questions remain about what happened near the end of Brampton’s JAMBANA One World Festival after attendees reported fights and other disturbances. At the same time, Peel Regional Police issued conflicting messages about whether the event ended early or concluded as scheduled.

The annual celebration of Caribbean, African and Black culture was held Monday (Aug. 3) at Brampton Sports Park and was scheduled to run until 8:30 p.m.

As the event neared its conclusion, reports began circulating about concerns on the festival grounds, including accounts from attendees describing altercations and difficulties managing crowds.

Police initially posted on social media that the event had been “shut down,” but that message was later removed.

Later, police issued a clarification, saying officers worked with JAMBANA organizers and that the event “concluded as scheduled at 8:30 p.m.”

“Due to capacity concerns and to ensure public safety during dispersal, the public is being asked to avoid the area and not attend,” police said in the statement. “Officers remain on scene to support an orderly exit, and no major incidents have been reported.”

Police did not confirm reports of fights or any arrests connected to the event.

However, some attendees who spoke about the situation online described concerns about crowd behaviour and said police and security personnel were dealing with disturbances.

One attendee told CP24 that she saw young people fighting and rushing through crowds, although those claims have not been independently confirmed.

The confusion came as large crowds gathered for JAMBANA, a free festival celebrating Emancipation Day through music, food, culture and community programming.

The event featured scheduled performances from artists including Glen Washington, Exco Levi, High Priest, Joshua Lucas, Kairo McLean, Pan Masters, Tonya P and Yendi Songbird.

JAMBANA was presented by the City of Brampton in partnership with JAMBANA and Jones & Jones Productions.

Emancipation Day, recognized annually on Aug. 1, commemorates the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire, including Canada, in 1834.

While police said there were no major incidents reported, questions remain about the circumstances surrounding the crowd concerns and the conflicting messages about whether the event ended early.