The annual Orange Crush Festival on Georgia’s Tybee Island attracted tens of thousands of co-ed party seekers, creating chaos over the weekend. Videos of violent brawls and unruly behavior went viral on social media, showing women fighting, litter scattered along the beach, and crowds egging on the fighters. The small police department of Tybee Island had their hands full attempting to maintain order during the festival, which drew students and alumni from historically Black colleges and universities for a weekend of partying. Police are still sorting through records to determine what incidents occurred and if any arrests were made.
While many of the festival attendees did not cause trouble, some instances of unruly behavior were captured on video and shared online. The exact cause of the fights and whether anyone was arrested or cited remains unclear as police continue to investigate the weekend’s incidents. The Orange Crush Festival, originally started in the late 1980s in Jacksonville for HBCU students and alumni, relocated to Tybee Island a couple of years ago. The event draws large crowds for a weekend of parties, drinking, and celebration of student culture, but also has a history of escalating to criminal activity.
The Orange Crush Festival has been compared to the controversial Freaknik event which began as a picnic for HBCU students in Atlanta in the early ’80s, but was eventually banned in 2010 due to high crime rates. Despite the brawl and incidents of criminal activity, some view the Orange Crush Festival as a celebration of student culture and a nod to the past events like Freaknik. Tybee Island Police Chief Tiffany Hayes expressed satisfaction with how the weekend went, crediting the community’s support in helping maintain order during the event. Moving forward, the police department aims to work with residents and guests to continue making Tybee Island a safe place to live, work, and play.
The Orange Crush Festival has a long history of wild and crime-filled weekends, with reports of violence leading to disassociation from Savannah State University in 1991. The event has faced several challenges, such as lack of resources and civil rights violations, prompting a move to Jacksonville, Florida, in recent years. The event returned to Tybee Island for the first time since 2020, drawing a large crowd of partygoers. It remains to be seen how the festival will be managed in the future to prevent incidents of violence and unruly behavior and ensure the safety of attendees.
