Virginia Beach’s Summer Carnival, which has been held annually for more than 30 years, was abruptly cancelled this year three days into the festivities due to “unanticipated city staffing gaps,” the city manager said.
The city signed a service agreement with National Event Management on May 14 to run the carnival, according to records provided by Virginia Beach. Just over a week later, ahead of Memorial Day weekend, Virginia Beach Sheriff Rocky Holcomb went to the carnival site near Mount Trashmore to inform the organizers they would be pulling their deputies from the event by Sunday, according to Joel Cadwell, owner of National Events Management.
Come Sunday, the organizers received an email from a city representative ordering them to cease all operations, Cadwell said. Since the sheriff first delivered word to the organizers, they’ve had private security firms survey the site. They submitted a plan on Tuesday put together by a private security company in an effort to rectify the situation…