VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — In about a month, thousands of people will come to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront for the Something in the Water music festival.
That means big crowds and big security plans from Virginia Beach police.
The department’s special events unit started meeting back in January to begin planning how they will secure the Oceanfront during the festival weekend.
In 2019, 35,000 people came to the party in the resort area.
“That was the first time Something in the Water or a festival that large was coming to our city,’ said Virginia Beach Police Sgt. Nicole Kosmas.
City leaders called the weekend a success and Virginia Beach police officers are ready to welcome the crowds back in just a month.
“We are here to make sure it is safe, we are here to make sure everyone gets where they are going,” Sgt. Kosmas said.
This year, Sgt. Kosmas, with the special events unit, said technology will give officers an extra hand. The department installed dozens more security cameras last summer, and she also said they now have a speaker system wired from 5th to 28th Street to get emergency messages out if needed.
“So if something happens, whether it be weather or an incident, we can communicate through a speaker system that we have actually tested out twice and had to put boosters down there,” Sgt. Kosmas said.
Festivalgoers and community members won’t have to look far for help. Event staff hired five security details for inside the venue. Outside, Sgt. Kosmas said Virginia Beach police and regional partners like Norfolk and ODU police, Virginia State Police, FBI and Virginia ABC special agents will keep watch.
“We did cancel days off and we restricted leave,” Sgt. Kosmas said. “This is not just our mission, it’s the mission of our regional partners as well as the sheriffs.”
Police officers will oversee traffic control and also patrol by foot, car, bike and horseback.
“The police are here to support everybody having a good time and to keep the patrons that are coming to participate in the venue and the event safe,” Sgt. Kosmas said. “But, we are also here to make sure the community remains safe. So, we are kind of double duty that weekend.”
Just how crowded will the last weekend of April get? A spokeswoman for the City of Virginia Beach tells 13News Now they were recently made aware of College Beach Week posts starting to circulate on social media that match up with the same dates as Something in the Water.
She said city officials are already preparing for many visitors that weekend and working with residents, civic league leaders and event organizers. She also said more information about traffic impacts and transportation plans surrounding will be announced shortly.