Something in the Water could be held in October as 2 new festivals land hefty city sponsorships

VIRGINIA BEACH — City officials are in negotiations with Something in the Water festival producers for a fall date, but in the meantime, the City Council Tuesday approved hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorships for two new spring music festivals.

The decision comes just weeks after the council voted to establish a task force to examine city sponsorships of festivals and events, but before it has made any recommendations on criteria for city support.

Radio company Audacy Virginia will receive $750,000 and in-kind city services for an April concert series on dates previously held by Something in the Water. It will coincide with College Beach Weekend, when thousands of students from historically black colleges and universities vacation in Virginia Beach. The company organizing the Virginia Beach Reggae Festival could also receive up to $750,000 under a sponsorship agreement.

None of the council members brought up the festival task force Tuesday, but before the vote, community activist Gary McCollum asked them to defer until the task force could weigh in.

“It feels like we’re kind of putting the cart before the horse,” McCollum said.

The item including the two sponsorships sailed through in the consent agenda.

A new date for Something in the Water hasn’t been announced, but a map used in Tuesday’s presentation showed Something in the Water in October on several areas of the beach.

“Something in the Water expressed interest in new dates for 2024,” Nancy Helman, director of the city’s Convention & Visitors Bureau, told the council. “Staff has been working with the production team, and we’re looking forward to an announcement in the future.”

Following Tuesday’s afternoon workshop, city spokesperson Tiffany Russell toned down the labeling on the map.

“We acknowledge that was in the presentation deck as part of an overview of possible 2024 festival locations but that the City did not make an announcement or verify or confirm any exact SITW dates,” Russell wrote in an email. “We do not have a contract yet and are still in negotiation phase with festival organizers.”

Something in the Water representatives have not responded to inquiries about 2024 dates.

Councilwoman Amelia Ross-Hammond said some community members had concerns about whether Audacy’s music would appeal to college students coming to Virginia Beach. A city document distributed last week described the genre as pop/rock. Helman said it would include pop, R&B, rap and contemporary music, and she asked Audacy representatives to elaborate.

“Knowing the demographics of the constituency coming down, we’re going to program the most appropriate genres to make sure they have a good time,” said Shaun Buford, Audacy’s vice president of sales.

In exchange for the substantial sponsorship, Audacy, which owns more than 200 radio stations nationwide and four locally, will provide an equivalent amount of advertising to promote tourism in Virginia Beach.

Audacy had previously wanted to hold a festival in October this year but ran out of time to finalize logistics with the city. The spring event will be held April 26-28 on the beach at 31st Street and in the Oceanfront parks. Community groups, artists and food vendors will be included.

Audacy recently ran “The Come Up Live,” a local talent showcase at Rivers Casino Portsmouth, and plans to provide a similar event at the Oceanfront festival, Buford said.

The second festival that received city sponsorship Tuesday is the Virginia Beach Reggae Festival tentatively planned for May 31 through June 2. Dates could change based on available talent, Helman said. IMGoing, the city’s entertainment contractor, will produce the event to be held on the south end of the beach between

The company will receive a $300,000 city sponsorship in addition to as much as $450,000 based on the amount of taxes generated within the festival’s footprint. In-kind city services will also be provided. Council approved a three-year sponsorship contract for the reggae festival.

Both of the new festivals will have free components along with ticketed concerts.

Oceanfront residents and businesses expressed concerns this year when large swaths of the beach and Boardwalk were closed to the public for an extended amount of time during some large-scale festivals.

Councilman Worth Remick asked for more information on the footprint, set-up and breakdown of each event. Helman said she would return to the council with those details when the permits are submitted.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com