Weekend heat lowered Harborfest attendance

Get rid of the beer and there'll be less drunks, less problems, and more families that will buy food and non-alcohol beverages. What a novel idea, maybe if Norfolk tries it, my friends and families will go next year. After this year we won't unless some real positive changes are made. Enough of the sleaze and drunks.

In 1983 Festevents kicked off Harborfest at the new Waterside/Town Point Park area, and it was quite a specticle. The Friday night parade was awesome. After a couple years the event had to be cut back. People had been bused in from everywhere including Hampton and VABeach, and the city was out of control. The drunks were everywhere, and yes there were bigger name attractions than what we see today. People were everywhere. The event did not go off without problems, from parking, to drunks out of control, and some even criminal. I totally understand the cutbacks, becuase I worked for the city, and with the Harborfest and Festevents committee. I have not attended a Harborfest or any other Festevent event since 1994 and have no intentions on doing so. While I loved my job with the City, the events downtown, and there were many, simply wore me out. When I found myself with 2 drunk female school teachers from Hampton who could not find their vehicle at 2 AM. I knew things had to change. Walking the streets of Norfolk at that hour is not good for your health!

mg30737, I totally agree...it's now become a VendorFest. And suew58912, thanks for the history. I didn't realize the Kiwanis originally sponsored Harborfest. The first one I attended was 1983, when the warehouses were still down at the waterfront. What an event it was back then!

I'm 52 years old and I've lived in this area for 45 years. Norfolk is my "home". I went to high school there. I grew up in the Wards Corner/DePaul/Talbot Park area but I'll be darned if I'd ever go back there now due to crime. Although I haven't lived *in* Norfolk for over 20 years, I feel a certain pride, but if it weren't for my husband and his family, I'd have been long gone from Hampton Roads. Norfolk, listen to your citizens. Give the locals their sense of pride back. It's (or could be) a wonderful city.

The news reports from channel 13 said for people in only the best of health to go out doors due to the smoke. However, the next day the wind had changed and there was very little smoke. I was amazed they made such a proclamation.

Why blame the weather? What about musical events and vendors that have nothing to do with the local harbor, region or history? What about vendors that have nothing to do with a "Harborfest"? I laughed about a display for bathtub refinishing. What does that have to do with a celebration of the harbor? It also was very un-family friendly. Sleezy dancers under the disquise of caribbean flavor, when it was more akin to a brazilian carnivale. It would have been more appropriately called Carnivale Beerfest. To me harborfest should be honoring our own harbor history, not the caribbean. Have a caribbean festival, and I'll be there, but if you want to have a local harborfest, keep it about the local harbor. Maybe the real reason for poor attendence was the 9,000 players at sand soccer, a mojority were kids from this region playing soccer at the beach all weekend, which of course brought their families with them.

Harborfest used to be run by the Kiwanis as a fundraiser. These folks understood the harbor and the water, and it was a water themed event. Mostly local entertainment, with a big name headliner usually on Saturday. I attended many times by land and by water. The difference is, folks who come by land spend money. Folks who come by boat usually don't: they bring their food and booze and they stay on their boat all weekend. The Kiwanis didn't care about this as long as they hit their target each year. When Festevents took over, the event became a MONEY MAKER. Harborfest revenues help fund other events, as well as pretty flags and such downtown. So the focus of the event became getting as many folks on land as possible, thus the change in event focus and the change in entertainment to low quality/high profit margin acts. I personally haven't attended in years unless invited by friends to join the Parade of Sail. I won't even be doing that anymore since the timing has been changed to accommodate a more commercial success.

Not only does Harborfest need revamping, so does Festevents. Karen, while she may have done a good job in the past, has lost her enthusiasm. The biggest problem with Harborfest is that is run by people who have little if any experience or interest in boating. The focus used to be the water and attracting boaters. Now it is focused on land events that aren't any different than any of the other event. This needs to be a waterfront event!

I went to Harborfest, and saw many of the same vendors that were at beerfest. I bet they were the same vendors at most of the festivals. So the real question is, what do you think would make harborfest killer? I mean, what can you do with a park and a stage that hasn't been done? If I was doing it, I'd find a nice decent band that can get the crowd worked up (but not in a riot!). Maybe some 40 watt static laser beams hitting mirrors along some of the buildings (in time with the light programming). If there are any other local fests in the cities (maybe ptown?) I'd come up with some sort of fun game that people could play against the other city. Maybe use waterscreens out in the water and do video projection along with the fireworks, after cutting the fireworks down a bit. Add something else to them.

I last attended in 2001. Nuff said.

I spent the weekend volunteering at Harborfest and I think the numbers were down well past 50% .
Most of the festival is not about the harbor or the boats , but selling $4 lemonades and warm beer , cotton candy , turkey legs and funnel cakes , cheap plastic toys , sun glasses and cel phone contracts.
Please explain to me what Jeff Burton's #31 NASCAR has to do with the harbor or harborfest ( and I'm a Burton fan ).

Maybe it should be called "VendorFest " , that would be more accurate .

It reminds me of a small town fair in the boondocks . The entertainment was mediocre at best .

If you can't do it right , then back off and don't do it or do it every other year .

I'd rather sit on the beach in Ocean View and watch the seagulls and listen to music than attend Harborfest.
It has outgrown it useful life. The citizens are trying to tell the powers-to-be to do away with it or reinvent it with a totally different concept. It needs to be more interactive, less of the same old. How about a public poll of the citizens from throughout the City to see what EVERYONE thinks. Perhaps it just needs to go away and smaller, neighborhood festivals (saving gas) would be more beneficial to the citizens who help pay for Harborfest.

I sure would love to get a job at FestEvents right now. I'm actually looking for jobs and very much enjoy reading this posting boards to get a sense of what people are thinking (though I don't always agree and think that it represents a small portion of the population). I too agree that HarborFest could use a facelift (right along with Town Point Park's facelift). They could coincide with each other. There is a to be a big stage/amphitheater area in the new park by Otter Berth. Great opportunity to bring really BIG NAMES next year to open the stage!

I believe the heat really did keep the people away this year. However, the entertainment was not that good. With the changes in the downtown area and the other issues, Festevents needs to overhaul Harborfest. Hope they are reading these comments.

OK, it was hot. But, the city is kidding itself if they think that is responsible for a 50% drop off. People have precious little disposable income this year, and are not going to waste it watching D list entertainment. I've talked to colleagues who vend food for these type of events, and they say this has been he worst summer in ten years. People are also sick of the rough trade that filter into these events, and the city sanctioned binge drinking. The back yard BBQ is making a comeback in a strong way for the weekend warrior.

I always go and truly enjoy myself, although I never stay past dark; I'm just a day light person. However, this year I decided it was in my best interest to stay home. Not only did the heat deter me, traffic, parking, prices, and yes, of course gas. Just getting there is usually a hassle for me (I can't stand dealing with people yakking on their cell phones while "trying" to drive). Hope those who went enjoyed. Maybe I'll try again next year.

Okay, so it was REALLY hot at harborfest this year but there was one great deal: sunset cruise for four around $50-you can't even take your own boat out for that! Plus, the boat wasn't crowded at all!!

Most locals I know, wouldn't think of going to Harborfest. What was once an interesting weekend, has turned into a carnival midway. Can you say BORING.

The only reason my local family did not attend Harborfest was because of the heat.
My family from Charlotte, North Carolina usually attends Harborfest every year. They didn't go because of gas prices.

We decided that we wouldn't go this year at the last minute. The heat was the deciding factor because there wasn't enough appeal to warrant the heat and the crowds. A good music lineup wouldn't have kept me away, regardless of the heat. Temptations REVIEW??? Is that the best you could do?

Yes, Harborfest has gone downhill, and what a shame. We went last year but it was so boring we didn't stay for the fireworks. We haven't missed Harborfest in 20 years. That was always the "official" start of our summer. It's probably the end of a tradition for us.

Is the real reason the bad weather or is it the bad economy? Last weekend it was hot but it is hot like that almost every summer. I would suggest it is the bad economy and high gas prices.

Time to build a huge bubble over Town Point Park (Not a housing bubble, we've already got one of those). The bubble can be air conditioned, and will stop the bass from annoying the old people during Afram Fest. The taxpayers can fund it, and only after it's built will they realize it operates like a big greenhouse with scorching temperatures.

Ask anyone downtown and they will say that their business was way off and that includes MacArthur Center. No wants to compete for parking during Harborfest. Wonder how much tax money is lost due to these major events?
I agree with those that say Harborfest has lost its zest. Maybe once every 4 years and bring back the fleet of tall ships. It's a different downtown than when Harborfest first started - you don't need an attraction to bring people downtown - they are already here! Just don't block all of the streets at the drop of a hat. Frankly, as a downtown resident, we are tired of the city closing Waterside drive almost every weekend. How about closing Hampton Blvd. instead if you need to close a major artery and see what kind of flak you will generate. Honestly, the city needs to rethink its weekend festivites - many people would like to come downtown to shop and eat a great dinner with friends not 10,000 people milling about.