VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - After a tropical storm forced its cancellation in 2022, Neptune Festival Boardwalk Weekend returns to Virginia Beach September 29 to October 2.
Setup has already started, organizers tell News 3, with tags placed along the boardwalk at the Oceanfront where more than 400 vendors are expected to sell food, art and other products.
Artists competing in the International Sand Sculpting Championships are arriving from all over the world, Festival Marketing Director Melanie Gazzolo says. They're expected to begin sculpting on Monday.
In addition to sand sculpting and the Grand Parade scheduled for Saturday, the Neptune Festival has scheduled some new events to mark the Boardwalk Weekend's comeback.
“We’ll have Touch a Truck with all kinds of fun vehicles; ambulance, fire trucks, monster trucks out there for you to get in, climb up, turn on the siren. That’ll be fun. We also have Dock Dogs," said Gazzolo.
Along with live music scheduled through the weekend, it's a packed schedule for event, which is celebrating its 49th year.
The hope is foot traffic will follow during what's typically a slower part of the year for resort area businesses.
“All of the hotels get filled, all of the restaurants and businesses are overflowing with people. We have about 400,000 people who come down here when we have the festival, down on the boardwalk over the course of three days and that produces about $23.5 million in economic impact for the city," said Gazzolo.
Volunteers are still needed, however, Gazzolo tells News 3. The biggest need is Saturday for the parade and Neptune's 8k Race.
Click HERE for volunteer information.
