No-profanity clause to be put in Festevents contracts

NORFOLK

The head of Festevents said she plans to amend all contracts with bands and performers who play at Town Point Park to make it clear that profanity will not be tolerated.

On Saturday night during the annual Bayou Boogaloo and Cajun Festival, a rap performer was asked to leave the stage and was issued a misdemeanor citation from police for using obscenity in public. Rapper Raymond "Boots" Riley was a guest performer of the group Galactic.

Karen Scherberger, whose Festevents organization sponsors most downtown festivals, said for years agents for bands have been told that obscenity is not allowed in concerts at Town Point Park. She and Mike Jones, who helps Festevents book music, said they go through an extensive screening process to ensure that bands don't have a history of using obscenity.

Galactic has never had any problems when performing at Town Point Park, Scherberger said. The group is known by many for its "New Orleans funk," which blends hip-hop and jazz.

"There's a big difference between what's acceptable at a public park and a frat party," said Jones, co-president of More Music Group in Virginia Beach, which books most music for Festevents.

Scherberger said that once Riley cursed, most in the crowd of 4,000 began to exit the park. Riley used an embellishment of the F-word as he introduced members of the band.

"It was a mass exodus," she said. "It was not a good scene. It was probably the worst night I've had in 26 years."

She said she asked police to cite Riley for his use of profanity. Riley was cooperative back stage, she said. Norfolk Police Department spokesman Chris Amos said Monday that he did not know when Riley is scheduled to be in court.

The Virginian-Pilot could not contact Riley for comment.

The incident comes less than a month after some downtown residents and Vice Mayor Anthony L. Burfoot complained that they heard obscene language during Afr'Am Fest over Memorial Day weekend.

City officials, including Mayor Paul Fraim, Burfoot, City Manager Regina V.K. Williams and three other members of the City Council, said that Scherberger handled the situation appropriately. Although Festevents is not a city-run agency, it gets much of its funding from the city.

Festevents is a private group designed to create entertainment and draw people into Town Point Park and other city venues, such as Ocean View Beach Park.

"We simply cannot tolerate that sort of obscene language in the park by people we pay to perform," Fraim said.

Riley, who is from Oakland, Calif., is the lead singer for the rap group Coup. Some of his album titles include "Kill My Landlord" and "Genocide and Juice." According to the East Bay Express newspaper in the Oakland area, Riley determined at age 15 he wanted to become a revolutionary.

Norfolk city officials said they received one e-mail Monday from a person complaining that Festevents violated Riley's right to free speech. Fraim, an attorney, disagreed.

"If you're paying somebody to perform, I don't think you have a First Amendment issue," he said.

Scherberger said it's rare that profanity is used by performers at Town Point Park. The last she recalls was about 15 years ago, when a disgruntled singer gave a Friday afternoon concert to a small crowd and began shouting expletives.

"I couldn't get him to step off the stage, so we took the sound down," she said. She said he was not cited for profanity.

Burfoot said he was leaving Town Point Park on Saturday about 9:30 p.m. with his daughter when Riley began to speak.

"When I heard what he was saying, I said, 'Oh my goodness,' " he said. Todd Owens, lead singer for the Trauma Dolls, a Norfolk rock 'n' roll band, said city officials may have gone overboard in pressing charges.

"Maybe they just could have pulled the plug on the band."

Scherberger said she wants to make sure people know that Town Point Park is a family venue.

"Some might argue that children shouldn't be out that time of night, but they are out," she said. "We want families to feel safe downtown at any time of night."

Staff writers Jaedda Armstrong and Matthew Bowers contributed to this story.

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com