JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — The Jacksonville Beach Police Department gave an update Friday regarding how the city is planning to handle the Orange Crush Festival planned to happen locally in June.
The event has been hosted on Tybee Island beach near Savannah for years, but organizers say they relocated due to "civil rights violations and political injustices."
It's scheduled to occur in Jacksonville Beach June 18-20, according to multiple social media posts.
"There has been a great deal of discussion concerning the Orange Crush Festival event," said Sergeant Tonya Tator in a media release. "This is not a permitted 'festival' event scheduled/planned with the City of Jacksonville Beach."
Police say the estimated attendance in peak years has been up to 15,000 people with the lowest attendance in 2019 at 5,000 people on Tybee Island.
"There have been no applications for special events associated with this Event by the City of Jacksonville at any of our rentable locations," said Tator. "The promoter of the event has not been willing to communicate with our organization about the event."
She says the police department and the City have been aware of and preparing for this event for almost a month. They are also coordinating with local, state and federal agencies regarding support for the event.
"City and elected officials have begun communicating with citizens, businesses, and employees.," said Tator. "The three beaches cities are coordinating messaging, planning and responses to the event."
Police say they are planning outreach to citizens, businesses, and employees as the event date draws near.
“Jacksonville Beach and neighboring communities are very used to big weekends at the beach," Jacksonville Beach Mayor Chris Hoffman said.
Jacksonville Beach Mayor Chris Hoffman says leaders will make sure to communicate rules and regulations with beachgoers.
“We’re also planning ahead with making sure that our regular visitors, our locals, and even our residents know what the rules of the beach are," Hoffman said. "Something that’s different here than some other places is that we don’t allow open containers on the beach.”
Hoffman hopes the rules will keep the beaches clean and make sure everyone can relax.
“I would love to say to everyone, ‘Please leave it as clean as it was when you got here to anyone who’s coming out here to enjoy the beach, whether they’re a resident or a visitor,'” Hoffman said.
A Youtube video claiming to show the aftermath of the Orange Crush Party of 2012 sparked conversation in a Jacksonville Beach Facebook group last week. The video shows the beach strewn with plastic bottles, bags and other litter.
