ATLANTA — The main promoter behind the Orange Crush beach party says the 2024 bash is not happening this year.
The annual days-long party was scheduled for April 18 to April 21, but George Ramson Turner III, who has owned Orange Crush since 2006, told WJCL-TV that he’s not hosting the event this year.
Turner told the TV station he hasn’t hosted an event in Georgia in the last five years, but others have been using the Orange Crush name.
“It’s been a wild goose chase for me as a trademark owner, honestly, trying to track down how many different people are using the brand name in different areas,” Turner said.
Turner said he did try to apply for a permit to use Tybee Island’s Pier, which is owned by Chatham County, for an Orange Crush-related event but canceled after the permit was denied.
He did warn that just because he’s pulling out, that doesn’t mean others who use the name will do the same.
Tybee Island’s mayor, Brian West, said anyone who tries to host an Orange Crush event this year will face consequences.
“We know who they are. If those events take place and these promoters don’t try and cancel those events, then yes, there will be, you know, active lawsuits against those promoters,” West said.
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According to event officials, Orange Crush is the unofficial spring break beach party for Historically Black Colleges and Universities students in the South.
Last year, Georgia law enforcement said they were overwhelmed by multiple car crashes and a shooting on Highway 80 as thousands made their way to Orange Crush on Tybee Island.
Sometime during the event, a mother and daughter, who haven’t been identified, were beaten and robbed on the beach by a large group of people. A video captured the assault, prompting police to take to social media for help in identifying everyone involved.
“Many of you have since brought that video to the attention of our agency while expressing your shock and disgust that such a thing could happen on the island. We share in both your disappointment and concern,” the police department stated.
According to police, 22-year-old Jasmine Murphey shared videos of the beating on social media and implicated herself as a suspect. She said she was “leaving her footprint on Tybee Island.”
College Park police located Murphey at her job, arrested and charged her with aggravated assault and robbery.
Authorities have not said if anyone else was arrested in connection to the beating.
Police said they also issued 37 traffic citations and 53 code enforcement violations.
While the 2023 event gained much attention, police say they made 36 arrests during the 2018 Orange Crush event.
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