VIRGINIA BEACH — City leaders were blindsided by the cancellation of the Something in the Water festival last week and want to ensure they’re part of the decision-making process going forward as festival organizers work to reschedule.
Mayor Bobby Dyer described it as “a major snafu” at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “It’s our duty that when we have any event at the Oceanfront that there’s a positive light on it. This was not a positive light.”
He recommended that in order to rebuild trust, the festival organizers should commit to a long-term partnership, possibly for three-to-five years, and that the city must take a more proactive role.
“The city has been left out of the decision loop in terms of what goes on in operations,” said Dyer, who wants a contract with the festival team outlining the city’s expectations.
Festival organizers notified the city Friday afternoon, just hours after tickets went on sale, that the Oct. 12-13 event was canceled and they intend to reschedule it in April. Soon after the city was notified Friday, Pharrell Williams posted on social media that the festival wasn’t ready yet and ticket-buyers would be refunded.
While organizers are eyeing a move back to April, City Manager Patrick Duhaney said the decision to change the festival date hasn’t been solidified by the City Council.
Something in the Water was first held at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront in 2019. Williams was originally asked to organize an event in late April to provide structured entertainment for college students who had been coming to the resort area each spring.
After inclement weather forced Williams to cancel the festival’s third day in 2023, he decided to move it to October this year in hopes of better conditions.
Duhaney noted money the city set aside for sponsorship — as much as $2 million — has not been spent. He read a letter from the festival team which indicated that issues with the lineup of performers prompted Williams to drop the October date.
“After spending considerable time with members of the music community, we have collectively decided that a festival in April will be far more substantial and impactful for the city of Virginia Beach and allow some of the participants who had committed and endured conflicts beyond Pharrell’s control to participate in April,” the festival organizers wrote.
The festival team promised to have “a concrete plan set within this calendar year.”
Councilmembers Amelia Ross-Hammond and Jennifer Rouse, liaisons to the festival, said Friday’s announcement came as a surprise to both of them.
“We felt blindsided,” said Ross-Hammond.
The two of them held several meetings with city officials and the festival organizers over the weekend.
“We received a lot of reactions, and questions and frustrations and concerns,” said Rouse. “We made sure to share that with the Something in the Water team as well as the city.”
Rouse is pushing the festival organizers to set the April date and lineup sooner than later, she said.
“They want to make an intentional effort to rebuild credibility and trust,” said Rouse.
Councilman Barbara Henley said the postponement is more than just a disappointment to business owners.
“It’s cost a lot of people some serious money,” she said, citing that some hotels are not going to have the income they were counting on.
“We take this as a learning experience,” Henley said. “We have to set benchmarks.”
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
