The organizers of Something in the Water sign a contract after the mayor of Virginia Beach threatens to cancel

VIRGINIA BEACH — Pharrell Williams’ Something in the Water festival is back this spring at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

After missing the Nov. 1 deadline to sign the city’s sponsorship contract, festival organizers regrouped this week and signed the contract Friday, a city spokesperson said.

Mayor Bobby Dyer had done that threatened this week to propose canceling the festival if the contract has not been signed by the end of the working day on Friday.

I am very angry about this,” Dyer said Tuesday during the city council meeting, where he and other council members were told that negotiations between the city and the festival producers have reached a stalemate. “This is what I consider a culture of arrogance and disrespect for this council and the people of Virginia Beach.”

Last month, the city council unanimously approved a decision direct the city manager to impose conditions about the city’s future financial support for the festival after Williams abruptly canceled plans to hold the festival in October.

Williams announced the cancellation after tickets went on sale in mid-September, writing in a public letter to fans that the festival wasn’t ready yet. Festival producers have asked to move the event from April 26 to 27.

City leaders were overwhelmed by the cancellationand urged the city to take a more proactive role in plans for the festival.

The contract negotiations were aimed at giving the city more control over planning and coordination. The city’s sponsorship was conditional on the line-up being announced and ticket sales starting before December 31.

On Tuesday, with no signed contract in sight, Dyer said the September festival’s cancellation gave Virginia Beach a “black eye” and that he didn’t want the city to be “played.”

“If they don’t get this signed, sealed and delivered by Friday, I will make a recommendation on Tuesday to pull the plug,” the mayor said, referring to the council’s next meeting next week.

Last year, the city provided festival organizers with $970,075 in sponsorship dollars, most of which came from the festival’s admission tax revenue. In total, the city provided $1.8 million, including in-kind services, which the city said was primarily personnel costs.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, [email protected]