What You Need to Know Now about SOMETHING IN THE WATER Weekend

Community stakeholders and residents connected with City and Festival representatives today to learn more about how we can come together as a community and welcome residents and visitors.

Here’s what we know so far:

All businesses, hotels and restaurants will remain open during the weekend.

Unless otherwise noted by the establishment.

What roads will be closed and open that weekend?

With an event of this size, road closures and rerouting are inevitable and the City is working hard to keep impacts to a minimum while still providing safe entry and exit to our festivalgoers, residents, and visitors.

Vehicle Access During Festival Hours

• 4th Street south will be closed to the public to include, vehicular traffic, pedestrian traffic and the bike path from Rudee Bridge to the boardwalk starting from Wednesday, April 26, to Monday, May 1.
• Atlantic Avenue from 5th-17th streets will be closed to vehicular traffic during festival hours beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 28, through Sunday April 30. Please use the 200 blocks between Atlantic and Pacific avenues at 9th and 17th streets to gain access to the closed areas of Atlantic Avenue.
• During the vehicular closure times, pedestrians without a Festival ticket and vehicles with an access pass will be permitted within this area. Residents and guests staying south of 5th Street will have access to their residences by displaying the access pass on their dashboard. Passes will be available in early April and will be distributed by the Virginia Beach Resort Management Office to business and community managers directly.
• Atlantic Avenue north of 17th Street will be open with normal traffic patterns. Pacific Avenue will be open to all traffic; however, you should expect congestion.
• Atlantic Avenue will close each night at 9 p.m. over the weekend to facilitate our egress plans.
• All roads will reopen at approximately 2 a.m.

Will the interstate be shut down?

There are no planned closures of I-264 however you should plan for traffic congestion heading east, especially on Friday afternoon. Diversions and closures will be updated and available on the Waze traffic app.

If I live in Shadowlawn or the Winston Salem corridor, what is the best way for me to get in and out of my neighborhood?

Access to the Winston Salem corridor and Shadowlawn is encouraged via 9th Street/Norfolk Avenue so as not to conflict with event shuttle operations. The City encourages residents who are going to the festival to use rideshare options, event shuttle, or bike or walk. The “official parking lot” for bicycles is located at 1503 Atlantic Ave. If you plan to drive to the Oceanfront, we encourage the use of the VBGo parking app to find available parking spaces in real-time and pay for parking before you go.

What if I live or have a business in the festival footprint?

If you live or own a business within the festival footprint (17th Street south), you will receive a special pass to allow you to travel by car to your residence or business. Passes will be available in early April and will be distributed by the Virginia Beach Resort Management Office.

If you are an out-of-town owner planning to come into town that weekend, please reach out to your association manager to discuss delivery of your pass before you arrive. If you have any questions or haven’t received your pass by the week of April 17, please contact SITW@vbgov.com.

I have employees that need to get to work that weekend. Where will they park and what can they expect?

We know that it will be a busy weekend and hope that you and your employees are excited to roll out the red carpet for festivalgoers and visitors! Your business parking lot, if applicable, should not be impacted by festival operations.

If you do not have parking available for your employees, we encourage them to plan ahead as parking may be challenging by downloading the VBGo parking app. HRT will be running public transportation as normal, although their schedules and routes may be impacted by traffic patterns and road diversions.

Will I have access to the Sports Center and Convention Center that weekend?

If you are attending a convention or a sporting event at the Virginia Beach Convention Center or the Sports Center, you will have access to the facilities, including parking. Access to these facilities, and local businesses in the ViBe District, via 19th Street will not be impacted. Please reach out to your event organizer in advance if you have questions.

Will I be able to find parking?

Parking lots will be open; however, due to the significant number of visitors at the Oceanfront during the weekend, we encourage you to download the VBGo parking app to plan ahead. We will have signage throughout the area to communicate parking updates.

If you are attending the festival, we encourage you to use the Park and Ride Shuttle which departs from the Virginia Beach Amphitheater to the 12th Street parking lot on Pacific Avenue where ingress to the venue will occur for entry to the scheduled concerts. Public transportation and rideshare options are also available.

What if I have a dinner reservation at the Oceanfront that weekend?

Oceanfront businesses are open and looking forward to serving residents, visitors and festivalgoers! Please plan ahead and take note of road closures and diversions which will be updated on the Waze traffic app.

If you plan to park at the Oceanfront, consider using the VBGo parking app to reserve and pay for parking in advance, or consider public transportation or rideshare options to get you to your destination.

Are golf carts allowed on Atlantic Avenue in the closure area?

Atlantic Avenue within the festival footprint is reserved for pedestrian traffic only. Pacific Avenue is open for vehicle traffic, including street legal golf carts.

This is a lot of information! How do I stay informed about community impacts and festival updates?

To stay in the know about how to navigate this fun weekend at the Oceanfront you can:

• Visit VirginiaBeach.gov/EventInfo
• Sign up for text alerts by texting SITW to 67283 (standard messaging rates will apply)
• Register to receive the City Newsletter at VirginiaBeach.gov/BeInTheKnow
• Follow us on social media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
• Download the Waze app

If you are looking for festival-specific updates like tickets, lineup information, VIP access and more, visit the official website for SOMETHING IN THE WATER at somethinginthewater.com or download the SOMETHING IN THE WATER app.

Have more questions? Join us at 6 p.m. TONIGHT, April 6, at the Virginia Beach Convention Center for a public informational meeting where we will be talking logistics for residents, festival updates, and answering your questions.

Some notes from the April 6 SITW information meeting:

• Utilize 9th and 17th streets to get to businesses south of 17th Street. Those are the entry and exit routes.
• The east lane of Pacific will be used by shuttle busses for drop off at 12th Street.
• If there is a diversion at Parks Avenue, it will be temporary and will only be used for extreme traffic and or need for emergency vehicles to get through.
• Plan for inclement weather. A meteorologist will be monitoring the weather in real time.
• HRT's VB Wave Trolleys will not be running.

We will update virginiabeach.gov/eventinfo as we get more details.

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