VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - With hundreds of thousands expected at the annual Boardwalk Weekend in Virginia Beach, organizers with the Neptune Festival of reminded of their organization's humble beginnings a half-century ago.
This year, the Neptune Festival is celebrating 50 years. In 1974, Virginia Beach was still relatively young in its current form, having only merged with Princess Anne County the previous decade.
“(The thought was) this young city of Virginia Beach needs a sense of belonging, it needs a sense of place, it needs a sense of identity, and they created the Neptune Festival," said Kit Chope, President and CEO of the Virginia Beach Neptune Festival. "In 1974, 50,000 people came out for a seafood festival and a few other ancillary events around there.”
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Now, the festival has grown to include more than 50 events through the spring, summer and fall, though the annual Boardwalk Weekend still occupies the late-September weekend that started it all.
This year, to mark 50 years, Chope says the festival is expanding its relationship with other local nonprofits and artists.
“We are here to celebrate the beach life and every one of those entities, every one of those partners, every one of those relationships, is part of that," he told News 3.
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The festival also put together a coffee table book featuring old photos from throughout the years — including a bear wrestling event in 1981 and the commissioning of the famous Neptune statue in 2004. Chope also points out some of the big names who have visited over the decades.
“We had such legendary figures as Elizabeth Taylor and Chuck Norris," he recalls.
The Neptune Festival continues to grow, generating $26 million for the local economy each fall, Chope says. That money is crucial for businesses that typically slow down following the busy summer tourist season and even more important this year with hotel revenues down and the Something in the Water festival moving from October to next April.
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As for the next 50 years, Chope says he hopes to bring more national coverage to the festivals events, while still keeping them a hometown celebration that locals can enjoy.
“Part of our mission is to celebrate the unique location of Virginia Beach as a city by the sea," he said. ”We want everyone, whether they live in Virginia Beach or visit Virginia Beach, to know that they are a part of this festival. It belongs to them.”
