NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) – Hundreds of people were left stranded, wandering in unfamiliar areas of North Charleston after a two-day music festival drew thousands to the area over the weekend.
High Water Festival-goers were previously encouraged to take advantage of carpool options after Saturday night’s concert, but they say misunderstandings, road closures and a lack of cell phone service have led to ride cancellations.
New Hampshire native and festival attendee Annabel Boisvert turned 17 at midnight on Saturday and was stranded on the side of the road next to a construction site with police sirens blaring in the distance.
“It’s definitely not how I thought my seventeenth birthday would go,” Boisvert said.
With about 15,000 tickets sold and only about 7,500 parking spaces, attendees were encouraged to use carpool services.
Annabelle’s mother, Jennifer Boisvert, says she gave her the tickets at Christmas. Annabelle Bower’s best friend, Mia Powers, and her mother also pitched in.
They all had only positive things to say about the actual concert and venue experience, but things turned around as they headed home.
“No one really knew what was going on,” Powers said.
“We started seeing some Lyfts go by and the police were telling them to go a different way,” Jennifer Boisvert said. “And once someone gets a ride, they’re going to be dropped.”
She added that it was incredibly stressful and unnerving to see so many people, especially young girls, so late at night looking helpless.
“It turned into a nightmare pretty quickly,” Jennifer Boisvert said.
This group says it took them more than two and a half hours to catch a $175 cab.
Another attendee, Marykate Acquisto, said she had an almost identical experience Saturday night, prompting her to change her plans for Sunday.
“We had a place to stay, but I ended up booking a hotel so we could actually go to the concert,” Acquisto said.
That hotel was within walking distance of Riverfront Park, but she says it cost her and her fiance an extra $350 to stay the night.
Everyone says something has to change.
“Maybe better communication and maybe a shuttle too,” Annabelle Boavert said.
“A taxi line like the one we’re doing here in New York,” Acquisto said.
“Solid plan with the city,” Jennifer Boisvert said. “Especially if there are road closures, what are they going to do to make sure we can get people out of here?”
The City of North Charleston Communications Coordinator, Tony Tassarotti, sent the following statement:
The city acknowledges the frustration experienced with congestion at the High Water Festival last weekend. Although we developed strategies to manage the closure of McMillan Avenue – the main access road to Riverfront Park due to the construction of a new overpass – it is clear that our plans did not sufficiently mitigate the impact. We have spoken with the promoters of High Water to let them know and want our citizens to know that we are committed to continually refining these strategies to ensure that every visit to Riverfront Park is a positive experience.
Attendees were asked if they would return to the High Water Festival in the future.
“I don’t think I would do it just because of how stressful it was,” Annabelle said.
“It’s not worth it if you’re going to be stuck here without a phone and no one can pick you up,” Acquisto said.
“If I had a means of safe transportation, yes,” Powers said. “The festival was wonderful. I just need a different way to get home.
To learn more about this year’s High Water Festival, click here.
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