Everything you need to know about Orange Crush weekend 2024

Ahead of the return of its largest unpermitted event, the City of Tybee Island has spent around $215,000 to prepare for the anticipated onslaught of Spring Breakers on April 19-21. The council unanimously passed a $250,000 budget amendment on March 28 to support the annual Orange Crush weekend, even though the official trademarked Orange Crush moved to Jacksonville in 2021, according to the owner George Ransom Turner III.

Last year, the volume of people, traffic and violence devastated the small barrier island's resources. According to Interim City Manager Michelle Owens, Tybee spent $187,000 in preparation of the unpermitted event last year, which flooded Tybee with more than 111,000 people over the course of three days in April. The bulk of the spending for both this and last year are operational costs, such as overtime for law enforcement officers and staff, gas, housing and food. Owens said additional costs for this year are port-a-potties, barriers to implement the city's plan to completely block off two parking lots and fencing for a towing yard.

Permitted events such as the Critz Tybee Run that happens in January usually pay for off-duty cops if more security for the event is needed, Owens mentioned, and that's usually communicated during the permitting process. Organizers also have the option of hiring privately owned security guards and assume the costs of extra port-a-potties and barriers. Since the April event has remained unpermitted since 1991 when Savannah State University cut ties with the event, the island takes on the brunt of these costs, which they hope to recoup if Gov. Brian Kemp signs SB 443.

The bill, which passed the both houses in the Georgia Legislature, would allow Tybee to go after social media promoters for costs incurred for unpermitted events - what is now a whopping $215,000 price tag. Owens said she doesn't think they will reach their ceiling of $250,000. Kemp has 40 days from the last day of the legislative session, which ended March 29, to sign any awaiting bills. SB 443 would immediately go into effect, according to Owens.

Two Orange Crush promoters took the route of attempting to get a permit for this year's event, but both were denied by the city because the applications were incomplete or inaccurate, according to Owens. Britain Wigfall, who was previously identified as a promoter and organizer of the event, attempted to get a permit for an HBCU food truck festival. Owens said the permit was rejected because they could not feasibly host the event due both the number of expected people combined with inaccuracies in the application's site plans.

In just a few weeks the festival will be back despite local and state government attempts to mitigate its effects, including an increased police presence of at least 100 additional officers from four different agencies, a vehicle checkpoint on Highway 80, new mobile license plate readers and more.

For those who live on the island or are planning to attend Orange Crush, here's what you need to know about the event being promoted in 2024.

What is Orange Crush?

What promoters are calling Orange Crush is Tybee's largest unpermitted event.

The original event started on Tybee Island in 1988 as a gathering for and sponsored by Savannah State University students, but after less than a decade, the school severed ties with the event after a dozen arrests, a stabbing and drowning at the 1991 festival.  The Spring Break gathering marketed primarily to HBCUs has operated without a permit since, despite attempts to obtain them.

It’s a tradition that’s been kept alive through word of mouth. To some SSU students, it’s like a second spring break, to alumni, it’s like another homecoming, according to Jaydon Grant who graduated from SSU in May last year. His parents and his grandfather, who is 74, also attended SSU and Orange Crush.

Although the official trademarked Orange Crush Festival takes place in Jacksonville, Florida, some people and organizations promote events for an Orange Crush in Tybee, taking advantage of the fact that students and alumni show up that weekend. There are no permitted organizers of the event, but CrowdedFunctionsATL is promoting a daytime beach bash on April 20, using the Orange Crush name with other events falling on April 19 and 21.

When is the event in 2024?

Orange Crush typically takes place in mid-April and a beach bash on Tybee Island is being promoted for Saturday, April 20. There are events with tickets in Savannah and South Carolina for the other days, but people will most likely travel to Tybee because it’s free.

What happened during Orange Crush weekend 2023?

In a press release from last year, the city said the high volume of people caused traffic accidents, road rage, crowding and complaints around drug and alcohol abuse, noise, illegal parking and litter.

Ten car accidents occurred between noon and 10 p.m. on the two-lane U.S. Hwy 80 East that is the only road onto and off of Tybee. In one of those accidents, seven people were injured, according to previous reporting by the Savannah Morning News.

Adam Bauer was arrested by Chatham County Police in a road rage shooting on April 22, 2023, and one person of the six that were in the car suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. There were eyewitness reports of someone flashing a gun and gunshots. Emergency vehicles were also unable to get through because of the traffic jam.

What is Tybee Island doing about this unpermitted event this year?

Tybee Island officials are trying several tactics to minimize the impact to its human, financial and natural resources from last year's unpermitted event.

One of them is SB 443, which is awaiting Gov. Brian Kemp's signature, which will allow local governments like Tybee to sue promoters of unpermitted events for damages.

Butler Avenue, the main road that runs from the north to the south of the 3-mile-long island, will be one lane in both directions, the middle two lanes will be dedicated to emergency vehicles only. The city will also be limiting parking on side streets and Butler Avenue, as well as working with federal representatives, GDOT and the state police to keep the highway open.

Tybee will have a total of 140 people to help next month, including members of Georgia State Patrol, Department of Natural Resources, Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, Tybee Police and Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services and more. At a council meeting on March 28 the city council members unanimously adopted a budget amendment for no more than $250,000 to be added to the special events line item in preparation for spring break weekends and unpermitted events.

Public works will also be managing trash and litter.

Destini Ambus is the general assignment reporter for Chatham County municipalities for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach her at dambus@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Everything you need to know about Orange Crush weekend 2024