VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The city of Virginia Beachdecided Tuesday to give Pharrell Williams and his team grace in planning the Something in the Water music festival despite a missed deadline. While the city and Oceanfront businesses said they look forward to the festival, expected to happen in April, they hope to hear timely updates on the plan as things move forward.
Folks at the Oceanfront told News 3 in the past Something in the Water has been a good experience.
"If the wind's blowing the right way we can hear the music from 5th street stage," smiled Ocean Eddies manager Debbie Lou Hague.
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Hague said festivals and other events are not only fun for participants, they also bring in the crowds to nearby restaurants and businesses.
"Something in the Water has been a great thing for us," said Hague.
However, she added, planning for a big event takes time.
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"Our staffing is totally different when we have a festival than in a normal day. We bring in more food, more alcohol," said Hague.
That's why she, and others, hope to be kept abreast of plans for this year's Something in the Water as things move forward.
"I was hoping it would be a great thing for us this year too — I'm still hoping," said Hauge. "I just hope [we know more of the plan] soon."
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Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said the festival takes a lot of work on the city's end too, but he's confident they'll be able to bring the event to the city this year, even after festival organizers missed a December deadline.
"Do you have anything to say to the people of Virginia Beach who may have concerns that you're not holding festival organizers accountable?" asked News 3 reporter Erika Craven.
"It's a matter of flexibility and it's something we would do for pretty much almost anybody," said Dyer. "Let me put it this way, 2024 was a very challenging year in so many ways. A lot of people had trouble."
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He added that they're trying to bring back the "magnificent" event the city saw back in 2018. Not only was it an experience for attendees, Dyer said, it boosts local economy, puts Virginia Beach on the map and shows the capacity of the city to accommodate future festivals and crowds.
"We really want to do something significant and magnificent for College Beach Weekend. It's a destination for people to come," said Dyer. "And we wanted to give Something in the Water some latitude to get there because frankly they're our best option . . . It's been pointed out that a lot of times concerts and festivals get canceled, but once again we wouldn't be doing this if we weren't confident."
Tuesday's decision means the city will receive weekly updates from festival organizers starting mid January.
