Something in the Water was supposed to happen this weekend at the Oceanfront. When Pharrell Williams’ event—one of Virginia Beach’s biggest music festivals—was postponed to next April, it left many people wondering what to do.
Now the people, city, and hospitality industry are adjusting and planning ahead.
Local artists filled stages along the boardwalk Saturday for a new festival, Pulse Fest, in place of Pharrell’s festival.
“The city asked us to do this, but I thought we should do something bigger. I said, ‘I think we should come together like we’ve been talking about.’ So what has been born is the Pulse Music and Arts Festival,” local artist and Pulse Fest organizer B.J. Griffin told News 3 last week.
The new tunes at the Oceanfront help a little, hotel owners said, but the sudden move of Something in the Water, which happened roughly four weeks ago and on the same day that tickets for that event went on sale for locals, came at a cost for the hospitality industry.
“It was huge. Hundreds of thousands of dollars for some hotels,” explained John Zirkle, president of the Virginia Beach Hotel Association. “While anything helps, unfortunately, the damage had been done. When something cancels that close in, it’s just very very difficult to find another event or festival, anything that’s going to fill up the way Something in the Water does.”