VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The sponsorship agreement between the Something in the Water promoter and the city of Virginia Beach sets up deadlines and provides more details on festival.
News 3 obtained a copy of the agreement after it was sent to the city on Friday.
The festival appears to be locked in for April 26 and 27 and will take place in the area from the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier down to 2nd Street.
Things grew tense last Tuesday when city leaders learned the festival had not met its original November 1 deadline to sign the sponsorship agreement.
"I know it was tense and contracts are contracts and they are permanent, meaning they are in writing, but I think both parties have the best interests of the city in mind," said Councilman Worth Remick who represents District 6.
Watch previous coverage: Something in the Water organizers meet key contract deadline
Now, eyes are looking at the next deadline set for when the lineup and ticket sales will happen.
"We cannot let that date slip either. It's important... for the public to know who is going to be there and when and where to get tickets," Remick said.
After reading the sponsorship agreement, we now know the city will give the festival $500,000 worth of advancements to be used for the event based on deadlines met. This includes full execution of the agreement, receiving a lineup by the end of this year, and completing the special event permit application.
Watch previous coverage: Virginia Beach leaders express frustration with SITW organizers; threaten to pull plug on festival
The agreement also says the event is rain or shine, an issue the festival has dealt with over previous years.
"There was some crazy rain on the second day, I remember some of those things," Dwayne Appleton, who runs Java Surf on 19th Street, said.
Appleton said based on how the event has gone in the past, he is excited for it to be coming back.
"We were definitely for it and because we were definitely for it, we stayed open through the entire event," Appleton said. "We opened extra hours through the entire event and we made a lot of great connections with customers."
The agreement also highlights what the promoter is responsible for, including increased collaboration with city council liaisons for the festival.
"We're all in this together, but it's important we know where we stand," Remick said.
Other things included in the agreement are city contributions, such as using the resort area stages and city support to utilize school buses like in previous years.
