Why is it that whenever a community pours its heart and soul into an event, a few individuals see the need to go out of their ways to tarnish it for everyone? North Kitsap has seen it happen again and again through the senseless act of vandalism to places the entire citizenry is meant to enjoy.

Last weekend, crime was up in Poulsbo. Big time.

And, as if taking a page from the history of Vikings themselves — who weren’t exactly Boy Scouts as they plundered their way across the Northern Hemisphere — visitors and residents alike seemed to take on tones of debauchery after dark in Little Norway as the sleepy town was shaken by an alleged rape, widespread drunkenness and even allegations of police brutality.

This is in no way, shape or form a reflection of what the event, a celebration of Norwegian Constitution Day, or what the fine folks at the Viking Fest Corporation intended in welcoming the masses to the city. Viking Fest is and should be about heritage, fun and family.

But for a few, it has become an excuse to break the law that is otherwise held to a high standard in the city. The Citizen Volunteers and increased patrols during the day seemed to accomplish what they set out to do.

Nighttime Friday and Saturday was apparently another story altogether.

Bar owners, some and by no means all, can’t be blamed for making hay when the sun shines. But they and their employees, at the same time, should also consider the dangerous and even deadly impacts of over-serving patrons. Who was keeping an eye on this?

Meanwhile, allegations of a Poulsbo Police officer using excessive force in dealing with said patrons simply adds to the quagmire.

True, Viking Fest is a celebration. And for many, celebrating means booze.

This said, the reason the drinking age is 21 is that those legally allowed to do so are expected to act like what they are — adults. Not a bunch of high school kids who found the keys to daddy’s liquor cabinet while he and mom are away for the weekend.

Like graffiti on a newly erected building, such actions — whether by locals or visitors — simply marred the face of an event that has been a beloved piece of the Poulsbo community for nearly four decades.

Public drunkenness?

Brawls?

Rape?

These are not things that Little Norway is or should ever be known for, and it is a travesty that they are even connected an event that’s all about civic pride to begin with. Those responsible for such reprehensible behavior can blame it on what they like — alcohol, adrenaline, depravity — but they also must act like adults in the aftermath and own up to their actions, mistakes and, in some cases, crimes.

Poulsbo deserves much better than the way you treated it last weekend, we all do.