ALTON, Ill. – Safety changes are taking shape for a big event in Alton, Illinois, this weekend following a recent trend of violence linked to the high school.

The changes include a new age restriction, which could catch some teenagers off guard. You’ll be turned away if you are 17 or younger and not with an adult.

That’s one of many new changes planned around the Alton Expo this weekend. You’ll also see more police officers, including private security at the carnival and concert event.

It’s a pleasant surprise to people like Jannaya McBride, who told FOX 2, “I was happy because I was kind of scared to bring my son here.”

Officers will ask for your ID if you look under 18. They’re stationed both inside the Expo and on the perimeter.

Alton Police Sgt. Mike Roderfeld said, “If they are underage, and they don’t have a parent with them, they’re told they have to leave and come back with a parent or a legal guardian.”

Alton Police say they have no reason to believe there will be violence, but meetings between officers, the Alton Amphitheater Commission and the mayor resulted in the addition of specific safety measures.

Mayor David Goins said, “We’d rather just err on the side of caution,” adding that the proactive approach follows recent fights at nearby Alton High School. On Friday, there’s a football game scheduled at the same time as the Expo. It’s a game restricted again to just players’ families.

Mayor Goins said that led to the school superintendent also weighing in on the safety plan. “She was concerned,” he said. “Because of what was going on with the restrictions at the football game, there would really be a flow of children that would come to the Expo because they couldn’t attend the football game. So that’s when we just came to the consensus that we’ll put this restriction in place.”

Father and Expo visitor Alex Pfister said, “To take additional measures, so an incident like that doesn’t happen again, I get it. But it’s too bad that kids can’t come to have fun because it’s probably just a few bad actors that ruin it for the whole pot.”

It’s important to note, it’s not just Alton seeing violence among teens this school year impacting their Friday nights. This football season, we’ve seen several schools with issues – Pattonville two weeks ago, St. Mary’s last week.

The weather could not have been better for this weekend’s Alton Expo where many visitors did not even notice the safety changes.

“No, I didn’t realize until I actually got here and heard people talking about it and you said something,” said McBride, “I was like, ‘Oh good, I’ll come later at night too.’”