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A small Georgia vacation spot and organizers of a historically rowdy festival called Orange Crush are coming together to try to make the event safer and more organized this spring.
Orange Crush, a spring break event in Tybee Island, Georgia, that used to be organized by students at nearby Savannah State University, brought “complete mayhem” to Tybee Island in 2023, according to Mayor Brian West, but he is optimistic for a better event this year.
West hosted a town hall on Friday, March 21, to discuss community concerns about the event, which will take place in Tybee on Saturday, April 19, and opened the discussion with a brief history of Orange Crush.
West explained how it began as a relatively small spring break gathering in 1989 but has since grown into a large festival that local officials have struggled to control in recent years.
West previously explained to Fox News Digital that Orange Crush in years past was “riotous” with “stampeding” and gunfire in the city’s parking lots.
On Friday, West shared the town’s extensive plans to coordinate traffic, parking and safety for both event-goers and locals on the weekend of April 19.
Orange Crush organizers Steven Smalls and George Turner approached West in December to apply for the event’s first-ever permit from Tybee Island.
On Jan. 29, Tybee Island issued a conditional letter of approval, and local officials have been meeting with organizers to discuss plans since then.
On Thursday, Tybee Island granted a special permit for Orange Crush after negotiating a one-day event rather than a three-day event, as well as an agreed-upon site plan, which blocks access to Tybee Island parking lots, where West said some nefarious activity occurred at past Orange Crush events.
Attendees can also rent beach equipment and there will be special VIP areas this year, West said. Additionally, Tybee Island will be bringing in extra police officers to help enforce public safety.
Kia Waters, COO of New Heights Management, said she has partnered with Orange Crush organizers to make the event safer, more efficient and more organized.
“We want to make sure the culture and the cleanliness of the beach is maintained post-event,” Waters said, adding that there will be a private cleanup after the event so that locals can attend a clean Easter event on the Sunday afterward.
“We want to, in our welcome center, make sure that they know how important this island is and how important this city is. We want them to know the history. We are taking a full day to educate them,” Waters said, adding that they will enforce the one-day event. “We are going to have a rapid cleanup.”
Turner and Smalls spoke afterward, similarly assuring locals that the event could be clean, safe and well-organized. Smalls expressed optimism at working with city leaders to organize the first “official” Orange Crush in Tybee Island this spring.
While the event is no longer affiliated with Savannah State, it is returning to Tybee Island on Easter weekend and expected to draw an estimated 50,000 attendees to the three-mile-long island.
Since the event’s inception in 1989, promoters have taken over the planning process with the goal of getting more attendees and more money, which has transformed Orange Crush into a wild weekend for the typically quiet beach town, according to West.
Locals have previously complained of litter, traffic issues and violence as a result of the party and the masses of people it draws to Tybee Island. In parking lots after sundown, attendees get on top of police cars and engage in violent behavior like throwing glass bottles. Local leaders and law enforcement have been working to contain those issues to keep residents and Orange Crush participants as safe as possible.
“One of our officers was hit in the head with a bottle. It was complete mayhem. So, we had to close our parking lots so they’re not available for use,” the mayor explained previously told Fox News Digital the 2023 Orange Crush.
West previously expressed concern with approving the permit due to promoters that have given the city issues during past Orange Crush events.
Smalls previously told Fox News Digital in a statement that his team has “implemented a structured system to bring organization, security, and entertainment to this event — something that has never been done before.”
“I have worked closely with Tybee Island officials, including Mayor Brian West, law enforcement in Tybee Island and Savannah, and other key stakeholders, to develop a rigorous plan for this year’s festival,” Smalls said. “Our team has followed a strict schedule to ensure that every detail is carefully organized and executed with safety and structure in mind.”
Smalls noted that Orange Crush has “been a longstanding tradition, occurring with or without a permit,” but this year will be different because “for the first time, the event is officially structured, with security, waste management, and traffic coordination in place.”
“While we cannot control every outside promoter who associates themselves with the event, we are the official organizers and have taken the necessary steps to bring accountability and order to the festival,” he continued. “If the City of Tybee Island is concerned about certain individuals, we encourage them to apply consistent enforcement across all local businesses that choose to work with outside promoters during this weekend.”
Smalls asked “the public to not rush to judgment but instead allow this newly organized Orange Crush Festival the opportunity to demonstrate the positive changes we’ve made.”
“This is a new era for the event, and for the first time, there is a clear plan of action to ensure it is structured and well-managed,” he said.
At past events, festival promoters have formed circles packed with people on the beach or in parking lots where attendees have to pay to see what is happening inside the circle, which could be anything from two men fighting to people having sex to naked women dancing.
“If an officer tries to go and control that situation, all of the sudden, they’re surrounded by 5,000 people,” West said. “Even if they tried to arrest someone, our jail is an hour away in Savannah, so that means taking an officer off their job and away from where we need them, so the best thing they can do is try to keep the crowd in their space.”
Tybee Island has a one-lane road that leads to the island from Savannah, and with the event drawing tens of thousands of people, it leads to traffic chaos, including cars that end up on neighboring islands because they can’t make it to Tybee Island.
“It’s very uncomfortable for the people who live in this area,” West said. “People actually drive through other people’s yards. It can get really out of hand.”
The city has tried to control traffic by fencing off neighborhood backstreets, closing certain parking lots and assigning personnel to direct cars.
Tybee Island leaders closed parking lots in 2024 and plan to do so in 2025 as well. The city also rents out a pier on the beach so that law enforcement can use it during the event.
The Tybee Island Police Department typically has about 30 officers covering an area of about 3,200 homes, so the city is bringing in other state and local officers during Orange Crush weekend, West said. There are about 100 to 150 officers expected for the festival in April.
Orange Crush attendees at past events have also littered parts of Tybee Island’s beach with trash in the sand and in the water.
Back in 2018, Tybee Island implemented new regulations cracking down on Orange Crush weekend, including restrictions on open alcohol, as Tybee is an open container city; increased traffic stops and property searches; and limits on home rentals.
An activist group called the Concerned Citizens of Tybee complained about the regulations and involved the Justice Department. Eventually, the group and city leaders came to a mediation in July 2018.
The agreement states that Tybee will apply the same rules and restrictions to all large events on the island, “permitted or unpermitted,” that will be applied equally.
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