PRINCE.EDWARD.ISLAND (CBC) - "We have failed miserably in addressing your concerns," Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee said at a public meeting Tuesday, apologizing for rowdiness surrounding the Festival of Lights.

The festival, a series of rock concerts held on the waterfront during the Canada Day weekend, has been a source of complaints from downtown residents for years. They report vandalism, as well as people having sex, defecating and vomiting in their backyards. Police this year responded to 12 reported assaults, and 75 liquor-related charges were laid.

Residents of downtown Charlottetown had another chance to tell the mayor and council how they feel about the Festival of Lights Tuesday night.

"It's not a festival of lights, as everyone here has said, it's a three-day, drunken rock concert, and it's time to get it out of downtown Charlottetown," said resident Katie McInnis, one of about 70 people who packed the city hall meeting room.

Jack LeClair, of King Street in Charlottetown, agreed.

"It has turned into this monster," he said.

"It's not about families and children. It's about young people getting drunk ... They want to come to the festival of fights and come puke on our Island."

Lee admitted to council's failure to get the festival under control.

"We've talked about this I don't know for how many years. Some of the people here tonight, I've seen them every year for years, after the festival," he said.

"This is one event in the city of Charlottetown - granted it's an important event - but we need to fix the event, and at the end of the day it's the mayor and the city council that gets to assume responsibility for this issue."

Organizers of the festival say changes are on the way, including a possible change of venue. Residents of the area said moving it a few blocks won't make much difference.

with files from Canadian Press

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