The Vans Warped Tour stopped in Orlando on Sunday and attracted 11,500 people, roughly the same as last year, to the Central Florida Fairgrounds despite a change in venue just 10 days before the event. The nationwide traveling music festival is currently in its 16th year and includes more than 60 bands on seven stages at 43 stops around the country.
After the festival was originally scheduled to take place at Firestone Live in downtown Orlando, promoter Harry Tiyler of Fat Harry Productions said the city’s parking and road-closure regulations for the venue had too many restrictions that would have added to the cost of the show. As a result, organizers decided on July 15 to return the tour to the fairgrounds, which hosted the event the past seven years.
After deciding to move, organizers used social media sites to spread the word to attendees. “This past year we really embraced Facebook and Twitter,” said Paul Kersh, new media manager for tour production company 4Fini Inc. “We were able to communicate directly with fans about the venue change.”
Kersh added that they also created iPhone and Android apps to communicate tour news and to assist attendees in managing the concert schedule, which has multiple bands performing at the same time on different stages.
In addition to concerts from punk, alternative, hip-hop, ska, rock, and hardcore bands, the Warped Tour has a circus-like atmosphere with multiple vendors, nonprofit organizations, gaming stations, and skateboarding shows to entertain the crowd.
The Vans Warped Tour continued to Atlanta and Cincinnati, and will hit 13 other cities before wrapping up in Hillsboro, Oregon, on August 15.
