VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — On Monday, many people made their way back to the Virginia Beach Amphitheater to get their money back after this year's Something In The Water music festival was postponed.
Watch: Something in the Water postponed to April '25 after start of locals only sale, Pharrell says
Pharrell made the announcement on Friday just hours after ticket sales started for locals.
"It's just very disappointing," Mikayla Blaine, who purchased two tickets said.
Watch: Something in the Water 'local only' ticket sale happened Friday
Blaine was one of the first people to line up and secure her ticket to this year's festival.
"I had been out here since about 7:40 a.m. and the line was already pretty long by the time I got there," Blaine said. "Everybody else brought chairs which was very smart."
She was also one of the first to receive her refund on Monday at the box office after she paid in cash on Friday.
In his post Pharrell said those who bought festival passes with a debit or credit card will automatically be refunded.
Read: Pharrell's full letter
The postponement of the festival was not just a shock to those wanting to attend but business as well.
I kinda liken it to the steps of grief, it was frustration, it was anger, it was sadness," John Zirkle, president of the Virginia Beach Hotel Association, said. "At the end of the day it's all about our city and what's happening in Virginia Beach."
Watch: Oceanfront businesses reeling from Something in the Water's sudden move to April
Zirkle said most hotels were all caught off guard by the postponement and found out around the same time everyone else did.
"Some of the hotels did find out maybe an hour beforehand because they were holding blocks for the event and for sound crews and filming crew, that type of thing, and they called to cancel," Zirkle said.
He said hotel bookings were looking pretty strong for the weekend and unfortunately the cancelation is a double whammy for hotels.
The festival weekend coincided with an annual soccer tournament.
"The bad news is some of those teams left the city because they didn't know what to expect from a traffic standpoint, from the beach access that type of thing," Zirkle said.
He said a lot of hotels are giving refunds but for some who booked rooms like Blaine, they're still losing out on money.
Watch: Oceanfront community at a lost as Something in the Water moves to April
"A lot of those prices do not include a cancellation fee or anything like that so if you did pay extra for that you were able to cancel but you never got the cancellation fee back," Blaine said. "So I ate just $160 worth of fees because of that."
News 3 did reach out to city leaders to see if there were any new updates as to why the event was canceled but have yet to hear back.
Zirkle said with the event next year he feels the city should set deadlines with organizers on ticket sales and a lineup.
