NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- There's a rush to clean up the destruction left behind after last weekend's rain turned Norfolk’s Town Point Park into a muddy mess.
Thousands of Virginia Beer Festival-goers got rained on after sudden downpours drenched the area. They were left tromping through the park's muddy lawn.
Downtown Norfolk resident Louis Vega witnessed the mounds of mud left behind, as he bikes in the park every day.
"This whole yard just looks muddy, and it took a beating. You could tell it took a beating," said Vega.
City Spokesperson Lori Crouch said they learned of the park's messy conditions on Saturday. By Monday, officials were meeting to discuss how to fix it.
On Wednesday, city crews spent much of the morning raking, smoothing out and removing piles of dirt on the park's lawn. Crouch said it's part of the process to repair the damage.
"We are putting down some sand, spreading out the dirt, and doing what we can to get that area dried up so we can better assess the conditions of the grass," said Crouch.
Until the area is completely dried up, Crouch said they can't determine how much it will cost to fix the damage.
In the meantime, this weekend's annual Kam Chancellor cookout in the park had to be moved to a new location.
"Kam Cares, those folks have been awesome. They have absolutely embraced the relocation to Scope. They were really supportive and so we really do appreciate that," said Crouch.
Likewise, Crouch said some changes would be made to Harborfest, which is to take place in two weeks at the park.
"We are making some changes to the layout and we are probably going to move more people onto the street, because we close the street anyways and maybe use some of those pedestrian hardscapes to move things around so people are not walking into the areas if they have not dried up yet," said Crouch.
Norfolk Festevents, which is sponsoring the 42nd Annual Harborfest, will also be laying out turf protection mates to help preserve and repair the park's lawn.