Orange Crush Festival returning to Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Orange Crush Festival is coming back to Jacksonville. Organizers confirmed with Action News Jax as well as posts to their social media accounts, that it will be in town the second weekend of March.

Last year, the event was spread across the Jacksonville area, from Downtown to Northside locations and Jacksonville Beach.

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However, while organizers say it’s returning, Jacksonville Beach Mayor Chris Hoffman said she hasn’t heard from them yet.

“We have not heard from the organizers; we have tried to reach out just like we would with any formal or informal events that we (have) here coming to our community, we want to be as prepared as possible,” she said.

Organizers say the festival plans to be here from March 11-13, the same weeekend as The Players Championship and the beginning of spring break for both DCPS and SJCSD.

Action News Jax reached out to a main organizer by phone and email. Although we didn’t get answers to our questions today, we were told they’d be answered in the near future.

We were sent this statement:

“We are excited to make announcements via news & the official orangecrushfestival.com website. Exciting news coming soon.”

Mayor Hoffman said there’s already events booked at the beaches, and told me organizers of the festival also haven’t requested any permits for property.

“They don’t defray the cost of any additional law enforcement or any additional cost to the community that they have claimed as their host community,” Mayor Hoffman said.

There was a lot of hype and controversy surrounding the event in 2021 given its history in Tybee Island, where police have said litter, stolen guns and drugs were a concern.

At the time, JSO moved inmates out of jail in preparation, while also assisting the Jacksonville Beach Police Department. A few businesses around the beaches closed, and many didn’t know what to expect as the area was hearing about roughly 20,000 people showing up.

A main organizer said its time in Jacksonville was successful, and the mayor said it went much smoother than expected.

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A spokesperson for JSO told Action News Jax they will help again if needed, saying in part: “Seeing as the event is over a month away, we do not know what the population of the pretrial detention facility will be at that time. If we assist, the decision to transfer inmates or not will be made at a later date and will hinge on many factors.”

Beach businesses like The Wreck Tiki Bar and Lounge said they’re already expecting a large crowd.

“We will be prepared no matter what,” co-owner Fernando Mesa said. “Whether Orange Crush happens or not, TPC is going to be here, and we expect crowds to start gathering on Tuesday.”

As for Mayor Hoffman, she said they welcome everyone and they know it will be busy.

“We will be preapred for a busy weekend, hopefully a great weekend for anybody who comes out,” she said.

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