by Kerry Dougherty
Talk about spinning until you’re dizzy, get a load of the local coverage of last weekend’s taxpayer-subsidized Audacity Oceanfront Concerts:
Describing the anemic “crowds” as “smaller-than-expected” The Virginian-Pilot added “That’s not to say those who attended didn’t have a good time.”
Oh please.
We, the taxpayers, gave the organizers of this dud $750,000 to bring the show to the oceanfront, plus an untold number of “in-kind-city services” in return for an advertising campaign showcasing Virginia Beach.
Judging from the virtually empty resort area last weekend even that p.r. offensive fell flat.
The organizers blamed the weather for the poor turnout, but there wasn’t a drop of rain, just chilly late April temperatures.
What happened was actually good news: it appears that Beach College Weekend, an annual headache for the Resort City, may have moved on. Continue reading