Share and Follow
What began as a cherished spring break event for a local Georgia college in the 1980s has transformed into a “riotous” festival in recent years, drawing tens of thousands of attendees to a small island struggling to work proactively with the event organizers.
Orange Crush, a spring break event in Tybee Island, Georgia, that used to be organized by students at nearby Savannah State University, brought “complete mayhem” to Tybee Island in 2023, according to Mayor Brian West.
“Parking areas basically became disaster areas because we had people who were either shooting off fireworks that sounded like guns, or they were actually shooting guns, and people were running and stampeding. … It was riotous. It was really bad,” West said of the 2023 event.
While the event is no longer affiliated with Savannah State, it is returning to Tybee Island on Easter weekend, expected to draw an estimated 50,000 attendees to the three-mile-long island.
Back in 2018, Tybee Island implemented new regulations cracking down on Orange Crush weekend, including restrictions on open alcohol, as Tybee is an open container city; increased traffic stops and property searches; and limits on home rentals. An activist group called the Concerned Citizens of Tybee complained about the regulations and involved the Justice Department. Eventually, the group and city leaders came to a mediation in July 2018.
Tybee Island Mayor Brian West said volunteers clean up after Orange Crush for about a week after the event. (Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News/USA TODAY NETWORK)
The agreement states that Tybee will apply the same rules and restrictions to all large events on the island, “permitted or unpermitted,” that will be applied equally.
West described last year’s Orange Crush as more successful than the 2023 festival after the city made more preparations to mitigate crime and traffic issues. College students who attended the festival were able to stay safe in 2024, the mayor said, but he’s not exactly encouraging people to attend.
“The party needs to be at a bigger place with more access.”
In fact, West is urging Easter visitors and other tourists to avoid Tybee Island during Orange Crush weekend.
For those attending Orange Crush, West said the “chances are better that you’re not going to have a good experience” than the chances of having a good experience.
