JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — Three days of Orange Crush Festival have come to an end.
From live music, beach days to car shows, organizers say it has been a successful weekend. It brought many people from in and out of state to Jacksonville and the beaches.
“We’re moving from Georgia to Florida and it looks like we found a really great home,” George Mikey said.
Mikey is the Founder of the Orange Crush Festival and he spoke with Action News Jax reporter Ben Ryan for the first time Sunday night.
Mikey acknowledged the negativity surrounding the events and understood why there were concerns.
“Building that trust, that takes time. Not only from authorities, but honestly authorities were helpful early but with the community,” Mikey said.
“Making sure all sides of the community understands what’s going on, understands what we’re doing to be safe and doing to be organized.”
Action News Jax has told you that leading up to Orange Crush weekend, JSO had moved inmates out of jail, businesses closed or altered hours and extra law enforcement was on deck.
Mikey said they thrived because the festival was not built on negativity.
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“It’s built on love, it’s built on culture and it’s built on building for the future in a positive aspect,” Mikey said.
On Sunday, Jacksonville Beach Mayor Chris Hoffman posted on Facebook, saying things went smoothly this weekend but with “no thanks” to the organizers. Mikey was shown that same post by Action News Jax.
“I’m just going to go high and say no comment and continue to work and to be progressively better moving forward,” Mikey said.
Mikey said they are looking forward to next year.