VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Many people who planned on visiting Virginia Beach's Oceanfront for Something in the Water this October were left disappointed when the dates changed.
Pharrell Williams announced in September that the music festival was postponed to next year.
The festival was supposed to happen the weekend of October 12, but since it's not, a group of local artists are making sure those in Hampton Roads still feel the music.
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October in Virginia Beach is when businesses slow down, or at least take a break from summer tourism. It's the time when business owner, D. Nachnani, leans into Halloween at Haryguls Halloween Planet, but he'd been hoping to see visitors in October at his Oceanfront businesses also coming in from SITW.
"The 'Something in the Water Effect' cascades that whole week and sometimes it cascades the month before," said Nachnani. "We will have events leading up to it all around the city so it has a pretty substantial impact when we have done it in the past few years."
Although he said he was shocked at first when SITW was postponed, leaving him and a 36-foot inflatable without a festival to attend, he said the feeling of initial disappointment quickly turned to understanding.
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"I like what the city of Virginia Beach has done with pivoting and understanding, and I love what Pharrell has done with postponing to April because April is still off season other than spring break weekend," said Nachnani.
Local artists Raeesha Islam, Gabe Niles, and B.J. Griffin agree.
"I'm really glad that the SITW team gets the time to really do it correctly. And I am glad that we kind of got this weekend as a canvas to create our own thing," said Raeesha Islam, founder of Utopia Feni and Pulse Fest organizer.
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Islam, Niles and Griffin grew along with the creative scene in Virginia Beach. Islam created a lifestyle brand and art gallery in Virginia Beach. Niles built his career producing and collaborating in the music industry. As for Griffin, he performed at first at open mics as a singing cellist and recently competed on America's Got Talent.
Now they want folks to still feel the heartbeat, or pulse, of Hampton Roads on the original SITW weekend.
"We knew a lot of people that took off work, got hotels and stuff. You know it was a great opportunity, a silver lining. And we were already setting up things for that weekend and I was in correspondence with people having events. I was just like, let's keep this thing rocking," said 'Bug Man' Niles, local artist and Pulse Fest organizer.
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"The city asked us to do this, but we thought we should do something bigger. I said, 'I think we should come together like we've been talking about.' So what has been born is the Pulse Music and Arts Festival. And it's been a whirlwind since," added Griffin.
They said the Pulse Music and Arts Festival is a free event meant for the people and for the artists.
"It's just this amazing compilation of everything we have to offer here in Virginia Beach," said Griffin.
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"At any given moment we got people out here in Hampton Roads that could really impact the world," added Niles.
Those in the area, like Nachnani, look forward to the upcoming weekend too.
"I think it will only add to the experience. And who knows, the event in itself could grow and it's all ours," said Nachnani.
If you'd like to check out the lineup or learn more about Pulse Fest click here. They'll have musicians, visual artists, performers, creators and more.
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