A huge dance party that brought thousands to the beach in Wildwood last summer is set to return this year.
More than 7,000 people attended the BeachGlow Music Festival at East Garfield Avenue and the Boardwalk in Wildwood last year. The electronic dance music show raises money for a selected charity or cause. BeachGlow raised $40,000 for the American Red Cross during last year’s concert.
Planning has now begun for another BeachGlow Music Festival set to take place between two piers in Wildwood over the July 4th weekend. City officials are also in the process of finalizing a three year contract with BeachGlow.
Yet some in the Wildwood community are not happy about the concert’s return due to complaints the concert received regarding underage drinking, arrests and profanity from the performers.
“We don’t want not only children but adults exposed to this kind of language,” said Steve Tecco, the President of the Greater Wildwood Hotel and Motel Association.
Officials with Morey’s Piers also wrote a letter to Wildwood mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. opposing the concert’s return. The letter cites the 37 arrests made during the last show as well as reports of widespread underage drinking, including an incident in which a teenage boy was found wandering half-naked after soiling his clothing.
“We’re trying to create revenue for the city without blackening the eye of the city,” Mayor Troiano Jr. said. “Yeah, kids get stupid and do stupid things but it’s not just because of the EDM concert.”
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The organization’s president also said it has a zero tolerance policy towards profanity and artists are warned that vulgar language is prohibited.
Mayor Troiano Jr. also told NBC10 the city will end the concert if any profanity is said on stage during the show.
