Despite all the changes, Virginia Beach is not a perfect example of civic harmony. Tough issues remain unsolved. For example, city officials are studying an ongoing problem of people using foul language in public, a behavior they fear could lead to the impression that the Oceanfront is an unsavory place. The resort also continues to have a kind of split personality, with the days centered on families and the nights evolving into an uneasy mix of reckless, undisciplined teen-agers, weary visitors and watchful police. And not all change is Greekfest-related.
Tourism has, if anything, become more competitive.
Photo by Steve Earley. To help combat that and to thwart continuing issues of rowdiness, the city turned to Beach Street USA, a kind of multifaceted talent show where musicians stand at each block and perform. Busch Gardens is a major sponsor. The goal was to seize control of the sometimes unruly stretch of Atlantic Avenue between 17th and 25th streets and to compete with other tourism-oriented cities. A city-sponsored study released last year found that 97 percent of those surveyed enjoyed the Beach Street program and that Virginia Beach residents took their families to the Oceanfront more often.