Jax Beach city officials confident Springing the Blues Festival will be safe and secure

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — Thousands will be flocking to Jax Beach this weekend for the Springing the Blues Festival.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

City officials told Action News Jax they’re prepared to ensure the safety of the public this weekend.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Screaming guitars and swinging blues rhythms have been attracting thousands of attendees to Jax Beach from far and wide for more than three decades.

“We’ve been coming for more than 25 years,” said festival-goer Robin Bode.

But this year, the festival is being hosted in the shadow of a chaotic St. Patrick’s Day at the beach.

Three shootings in the span of an hour sent patrons running for cover and prompted authorities to clear out local businesses.

RELATED: Jacksonville Beach shootings: Timeline of events that left 1 dead, 3 injured on St. Patrick’s Day

“Here they have, not only do they hire extra police officers to work the event, but they have their own security as well,” said Jacksonville Beach Mayor Chritine Hoffman.

Hoffman explained unlike on St. Patrick’s Day, where hundreds of people had shown up for a unpermitted event dubbed “Drunk Day at the Beach 2″, the blues festival is permitted.

Additionally, attendees are being screened before entering the free festival and local law enforcement worked with festival organizers throughout the planning of the event.

RELATED: Jacksonville Beach shootings: Police identify man killed, release description of suspects

“And they have a really great relationship with the city. Our police department is involved in the planning and the planning of the security measures for all of our permitted events, which is why it’s so important for our events to be permitted so that we have that communication going on throughout the planning process,” said Hoffman.

And festival-goers who have been congregating at Jax Beach year after year told Action News Jax they’re not worried, as the family-friendly event is generally good vibes all around.

“I think the St. Patrick’s things, it was just people getting into fights with the wrong people at the wrong place,” said Christian Smithson.

“Never have we seen a fight or any kind of public disturbance of any kind,” said Bode.

Not only can you catch some free blues music at the beach through Sunday, but there’s also a host of vendors, food trucks and kid-friendly activities open to the public.

The festivities kick off at noon on Saturday and Sunday.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.