city leaders claimed after the 1988 event that the number of greekfest attendees overwhelmed virginia beach's capacity for large events. mayor meyera e. oberndorf made it plain that the african american end-of-summer event was simply not welcome in the city. organizers of the event were told by city officials that they could not rent any public facilities for 1989's greekfest. without the use of city facilities, upwards of 100,000 greekfest attendees in 1989 were left with nothing to do but mill around the oceanfront. city leaders additionally put new ordinances and policies in place that led to the arrests and citations of hundreds of party-goers, primarily for relatively minor offenses such as jay-walking and loud music. the virginia national guard was placed on call for labor day weekend 1989. attendees claimed that they felt unwelcomed by the inhospitable nature of the police and other city officials.