The University of Massachusetts announced it will restrict guest parking in all campus parking lots from March 6 to 8 in an attempt to deter out-of-town visitors from participating in the annual “Blarney Blowout” St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

According to an email sent to the campus community Monday afternoon, all lots will be restricted to valid UMass permit holders from March 6 at 5 p.m. to March 8 at 5 p.m.

The University has also modified its guest policy for that weekend, banning all non-UMass visitors from residence halls from March 5 at 8 p.m. to March 8 at 11 p.m.

Last year, thousands of students from other colleges came to UMass during the first weekend in March to participate in the celebration, which traditionally takes place the Saturday before spring break. This year, “Blarney” is set to take place March 7.

“Many of these out-of-town visitors stayed in our residence halls and utilized our parking lots as staging areas,” the email stated. “The ensuing large scale disturbance resulted in personal injuries, destruction of property, arrests , and numerous student discipline cases.”

During the restricted dates, all campus lots will be considered 24-hour restricted lots. Vehicles without a valid parking permit will be subject to ticketing and/or towing.

According to the email, faculty, students and staff who do not have a UMass parking permit and need to park on campus for work that weekend should call Parking Services at 413-577-PARK.

Aviva Luttrell can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @AvivaLuttrell.