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May 22, 2008 11:39 pm US/Eastern
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Expect Crowds On Miami Beach For Hip-Hop Weekend
It's The 9th Annual Urban Beach Week
Thousands Of People Expected To Attend From Around The U.S.
MIAMI BEACH (CBS4 News) ―
Memorial Day weekend is upon us and that means hundreds of thousands of hip-hop fans are expected to flock to South Beach this weekend for four days of partying, dancing and drinking by the sand.
The annual bash is known as the 'largest urban beach festival' in the world.
While Miami Beach Police will be out in force to help with crowd control--their presence will be different this year. There will be hundreds of officers on duty, in uniform and plainclothes.
Miami Beach Police Chief Carlos Noriega says he has a vision for a gentler approach during the holiday festivities.
"We're gonna show more tolerance, issuing more warnings, whether it's for minor stuff such as drinking in public, or nosie violations," said Noriega. "We'll issue tickets, we'll issue warnings."
In the past, most arrests result from disorderly conduct and intoxication.
Code enforcement officers will be out in full force inspecting clubs for overcrowding and fire code violations. And once again, a team of volunteers called Goodwill Ambassadors will provide information to visitors, which will include a map and important contacts and tips to ensure safety.
Traffic is expected to be extremely congested. To help alleviate the problem, the city is offering free bus service starting at 6:00 p.m. Friday. The buses run about every 10 to 15 minutes. Visitors and residents are also urged to walk or take taxi cabs to their destinations.
If you need more information, you can call the Miami Beach Answer Center at
(305) 604-CITY (2489), or the Tourism Hotline at
(305) 673-7400.
How did Urban Beach Week Begin?According to the website blackbeachweek.com
www.blackbeachweek.com Urban Beach Week started 9 years ago as a small urban fashion show for a few thousand people interested in something different for Memorial Day Weekend in Miami.
In 1999, there was a smaller crowd but little did people know it was the start of something that was going to be big in the future.
A lot of urban clothing companies such as FUBU and other well known brands wanted a place where they could show off their new fashions. To model their clothes, those fashion companies brought in entertainers, actors and models to put a spotlight on their fashion. There were fashion shows every day all day.
It was actually called Urban Fashion Week in the beginning and it was very successful.
With that success, word begin to spread to people all over the internet, the Black Beach Week Newsletters and word of mouth, that Miami Beach was the place to go for Memorial Day Weekend.
The very next year in 2000 over 250,000 people shocked Miami Beach when people arrived for an all out party.
Since then, the event has grown and generated huge events such as the Celebrity Basketball Game, reggae festival, vendor area, shopping district, pool parties and it has become the ultimate beach party for the Hip Hop culture.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)