NOODLE Festival - Complete WASTE of Tax Payers Dollars - Either Criminal or Incompetence

Slated for Memorial Day Weekend 2026, Noodle: The Thinkers Convention is a massive, city-backed event in Newport News, Virginia, designed to feature panel discussions, art installations, and a major music festival headlined by artists like Chance the Rapper. The city invested $3 million into the event to boost downtown tourism. However, just weeks before the festival, a wave of controversy and logistical panic hit. In early May 2026, Mayor Phillip Jones had to call a special, closed-door City Council meeting to urgently address legal, contractual, and safety concerns. It was revealed that event organizers were scrambling to secure over 35 necessary permits, finalize basic site plans, and arrange parking. Furthermore, the original crowd capacity plans were flagged as unsafe by both the police and fire chiefs, forcing the city to unexpectedly downsize the music venue's capacity to 8,000 people. While the mayor has stated that the fears have been resolved and the event is moving forward, the last-minute scramble raised significant concerns among residents about the handling of the $3 million taxpayer investment and the overall safety and organization of the festival.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)What is the Noodle Convention?"Noodle: The Thinkers Convention" is a two-day event in the Yard District of Newport News scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend 2026. It combines intellectual panel discussions, interactive community workshops, and a large-scale music festival. Why was there a sudden City Council meeting about it?Because the event was rapidly approaching and critical logistical elements were missing. The city leaders held a closed session to address missing permits, unfinalized site plans, and potential legal or contract issues. What were the safety concerns?The police and fire chiefs determined that the original crowd capacity numbers proposed for the music venue (located in the parking lot next to Ironclad Distilling) were inappropriate and unsafe. How was the capacity issue resolved?The city was forced to downsize the event. The maximum capacity for the music festival portion is now strictly capped at 8,000 people. How much did Newport News pay for this event?The Newport News City Council approved a $3 million grant from a year-end surplus to support the launch of the festival, partnering with the Port Warwick Foundation and Global Music Touring. Is the festival still happening?Yes. Despite the frantic last-minute meetings, Mayor Phillip Jones stated that the permit timelines and safety fears have been resolved and that the final plans will be shared with the community.

The NN City Council appropriating $3.03 million on December 9, 2025, one month after the contractor responsible for creating the amphitheater declared bankruptcy and stopped all work for an event for 30,000 people on May 22-23, 2026.

Initial Price Tag: The original contract amount was $6,628,412.97.

The Stoppage: Contractor Bankruptcy and Default
Work on the amphitheater and the broader James River Strand ground to a halt in late 2025.



The Collapse: Carolina Marine Structures, Inc. went bankrupt, defaulting on multiple municipal contracts across the region (including a boardwalk reconstruction project in the Town of Cape Charles).

The Timeline: The City of Newport News officially placed the James River Strand project on a "Construction Hold due to Contractor Default" beginning on November 4, 2025.


Project Completion at Default: The city's engineering logs indicate the project was hovering around 84% to 88% complete when CMS went under. Over $4.2 million had already been paid out to the contractor.

CLAIM: (re-written to protect authors identity) Curtis Bethany is the mastermind behind the noodle convention. He completely cut off John Eley and refused to let him help. The plan is to use Alan Archer as the scapegoat when it fails.

RELATED NOTE REGUARDING ELEY & BETHANY - Newport News Councilman John Eley reimbursed the city a little more than $1,000 for meals that exceeded the reimbursable rate, which included dinners at Bay Local and P.F. Chang's.
The second person you are referring to is likely Vice Mayor Curtis Bethany. He paid back a little more than $2,700 for ineligible expenses that included Cash App transactions, a personal LinkedIn subscription, and an upgraded flight to an NCAA championship game.
The combined total paid back by both men was a little over $3,700.

Records indicate that at the time the Foundation was awarded the $3.03 million NOODLE grant, the organization—which reported $71,000 in assets—lacked a written conflict-of-interest policy and did not require annual disclosures from its board members.

During this period, the board included three city employees who simultaneously held key municipal roles in ROI evaluation, cultural arts, and official communications. The Foundation's 2026 directory specifically lists Brint Martin, the City’s Deputy Director of Communications & Marketing, as a board member. Additionally, McDaniel, who led the City’s ROI modeling, served on the board and was directly copied on the signed grant agreement.

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Yes, the statement is fully validated and accurate based on the provided 2024 Form 990 and the 2026 Board of Directors page screenshot.
Here are the exact confirmations from the documents:
1. Two Newport News city employees listed as Board Members on the 2024 Form 990

Marlin McDaniel is explicitly listed in Part VII, Section A (page 7 of the Form 990) as a Board Member.
Joanne Palmeira is also explicitly listed in Part VII, Section A (page 7) as a Board Member.
The form confirms zero compensation was paid to any current officer, director, or trustee (the checkbox at the top of Part VII is checked).

2. No written conflict-of-interest policy and no annual disclosure requirement

Part VI, Section B, line 12a: “Did the organization have a written conflict of interest policy?” → No.
Part VI, Section B, line 12b: “Were officers, directors, or trustees, and key employees required to disclose annually interests that could give rise to conflicts?” → No.
Line 12c (monitoring/enforcement) is therefore not applicable.

3. Tiny nonprofit size — $71k in total assets

Part X, line 20 (Balance Sheet, page 1):
Beginning of year total assets: $57,568
End of year total assets: $70,971

This matches the “$71k assets” description.

4. 2026 Board page confirms the third city employee

The attached screenshot from portwarwick.com (labeled “Port Warwick Foundation 2026 Board of Directors”) lists:
Brint Martin – Board Member

The same page also still shows Marlin McDaniel (now listed as Vice Chair) and other overlapping names (Ray Suttle, Howard Waters, Jesse Young, Laura Fisher).

5. Additional context from the 990 (not required for validation but supports the overall picture)

The organization is a public 501(c)(3) charity whose mission is “organizing and managing regional arts and entertainment events located at Styron Square in Port Warwick, Newport News, Virginia” (Part III).
Total revenue (current year): $262,720; total program service expenses: $237,942 (Part III, line 4a).
No compensation to board members or the Executive Director is reported.

Bottom line: The 2024 Form 990 (the most recent full filing provided) officially documents Marlin McDaniel and Joanne Palmeira as board members, confirms the complete absence of a conflict-of-interest policy or annual disclosure requirement, and shows the organization had only ~$71k in total assets at year-end. The current (2026) board page independently confirms Brint Martin is also a board member. All three city employees you referenced were therefore serving on the board of this small nonprofit at the relevant times.

While continuing my research into public projects in Newport News, I’ve uncovered more details about NOODLE – The Thinker’s Convention that raise several pointed questions.
Did the Mayor disclose to citizens that multiple city employees serve on the Board of the tax-exempt Port Warwick Foundation (PWF) when announcing that this organization would receive public funds for organizing and managing the event? If not, why was that connection omitted?
Notably, the PWF is a 501(c)(3) public charity whose stated mission is “organizing and managing regional arts and entertainment events located at Styron Square in Port Warwick, Newport News, Virginia.” Yet the Mayor described the purpose of NOODLE as promoting the Yard District in downtown Newport News — the same area where construction of the amphitheater remains stalled after the contractor declared bankruptcy on November 4, 2025.

Since Styron Square is not located in the downtown Yard District, did the Mayor deliberately overlook the PWF’s published mission? By directing public funds to the Foundation while respecting its charter, does this indicate that some NOODLE events are actually planned for Styron Square in Port Warwick? If so, which events — and have the Port Warwick homeowners been notified? If not, why not?

The deeper I dig into this City Council’s expenditure of public funds, the more unanswered questions surface. While there may well be reasonable explanations, the apparent secrecy surrounding these decisions makes it increasingly difficult for residents to stay truly informed about what’s happening in Newport News.

There is current speculation regarding the ticketing for the Noodle event. Allegedly, after selling only 175 tickets—which were subsequently refunded—the treasurer's office intervened and purchased the remaining 8,000 tickets. This action, potentially taken to bypass a promoter's clause prohibiting free events, would represent an estimated $1 million expenditure of taxpayer funds to conceal the event's poor commercial performance. The immediate depletion of ticket inventory once they were listed as "free" is highly unusual. It remains unclear whether the general public has actually acquired physical tickets or if they have been reserved for specific groups.

The short answer is yes, in the commercial live music industry, it is standard practice to require that an event is ticketed. However, the existence of such a clause depends entirely on the financial structure of the show and who is bearing the financial risk.

Here is how promoters typically handle the concept of "free" in their contracts:

1. The Commercial Standard: Ticket-Driven Contracts
For standard concerts, the promoter takes on the financial risk of booking the artist, renting the venue, and marketing the show. Their primary method of recouping those costs and making a profit is through the door.

Minimum Ticket Price Clauses: Instead of a clause simply stating "the event cannot be free," standard contracts explicitly outline the ticketing structure. They will mandate a minimum ticket price, VIP pricing tiers, and strict limits on how many complimentary tickets (comps) the promoter and artist are allowed to give away.

Door Splits: Many artists are paid via a "guarantee versus a percentage." (e.g., The artist gets $5,000 guaranteed, or 80% of the ticket sales, whichever is higher). If the event were free, the percentage model collapses, and the promoter would be operating at a guaranteed loss.

2. The Radius Clause: Banning Free Competition
Even when a promoter books a paid event, they are highly sensitive to free events happening nearby. Commercial contracts almost universally include a Radius Clause.

What it does: This clause prohibits an artist from performing within a certain geographic radius (e.g., 60 to 100 miles) for a specific timeframe before and after the contracted show (e.g., 30 to 90 days).

The "Free" Stipulation: Radius clauses often explicitly call out free shows, radio station appearances, or unsanctioned pop-ups. Promoters know that if a fan can see an artist for free at a local street fair or sponsored event on a Wednesday, they are highly unlikely to buy a $40 ticket to see them at a club on a Friday.

3. The Exception: Sponsored or Municipally Funded Events
The major exception to this rule is when the event's revenue model does not rely on the attendees. If an event is intentionally free to the public—such as a city-sponsored summer festival, a university spring concert, or a corporate-backed convention—the contract looks completely different.

The Flat Guarantee: In these scenarios, the "promoter" (which might be a municipal government, a university board, or a corporate entity) pays the artist a flat, upfront guaranteed fee.

No Ticketing Clauses: Because the artist's compensation is not tied to door revenue, and the event is fully funded by municipal budgets, grants, or corporate sponsorships, the contract will not require a ticket price. In fact, the contract will often explicitly acknowledge that the performance is part of a free, public-facing event.

Summary
If a promoter is relying on attendees to make their money back, the contract will absolutely prevent the event from being free. If the event is fully subsidized by outside funding (like city budgets or sponsors), the promoter pays a flat fee, and the "cannot be free" clauses are removed.

The Trap Karaoke Lawsuit: Dowe, along with Pusha T and the City of Norfolk, is currently embroiled in an ongoing federal trademark infringement lawsuit filed by UGX Brands and Trap Karaoke.

The Allegations: Trap Karaoke, which owns the "Meet the Cousins" mark, alleges that Dowe and his partners blatantly infringed on their intellectual property by naming their event the "COUSINZ Festival" and selling associated merchandise.

The Status: The lawsuit was originally filed in the Southern District of New York but was recently transferred to the Eastern District of Virginia in early 2026. This demonstrates a significant breakdown of trust with established event producers who feel their brand was actively misappropriated.

CLAIM: I heard the vice mayor behind this event. He been telling city staff what to do and my friend said that is against the law and can get him throwed outta office.

Noodle ("Noodle: The Thinkers' Convention") context: The event is real—a controversial Memorial Day 2026 event in Newport News' Yard District (Port Warwick area), organized/produced with involvement from the Port Warwick Foundation (via Global Music Touring). It received city funding/approval (~$3M in taxpayer support mentioned in critiques), faced tight timelines, permit issues, and closed-session council discussions on logistics/safety.
Brint Martin has attended relevant council work sessions as a communications staffer. Her dual role (city comms + Port Warwick Foundation board) plausibly gives her input on planning/promotion.

City Council connections (John Eley, Cleon Long): Both are current Newport News City Council members (John R. Eley III and Cleon M. Long). Brint Martin routinely appears in meetings they attend, including Noodle-related updates. No public evidence of improper personal ties, but as a senior city communications official, professional overlap is expected
e event's rushed timeline, Port Warwick Foundation lead, and closed sessions have drawn public criticism (e.g., on Reddit and local news) about transparency and city involvement. Her position makes involvement likely for comms/marketing, but "significant input" or exclusion of others remains interpretive
https://tips.presswhatmatters.com/view.php?code=NKJGGY

Because the Victory Arch location was used as entrance to the Noodle Festival, the annual Memorial Day ceremony sponsored by the city and American Legion Post has to be relocated to the Post. This is troubling for a number of reasons. It is a monument for those who served our country, both those who returned safely and especially those whom gave the ultimate sacrifice of their life for this country. The local American Legion Post has been the guardian of the Arch having pushed for its construction temporarily and then for a permanent Arch years later. It seems very short sighted on the city and Noodle festival’s part to choose the Victory Arch for the entrance to the festival especially on Memorial Day weekend. Hope this never ever happens again!

There will be talk about the weather playing a part. That's not true.
Events like the Juneteenth festival in Newport News show the draw and people will go and that you don't have to shut down access to the area for 10 days.
Also in April 2025 the Great Food Truck Race visited Port Warwick and Victory Landing Park. On the PW day it was pouring rain and cold and the VL day was cold and was on the water. Here's the City's own coverage showing people will come out and this was on a Monday and Tuesday. https://youtu.be/adkVXIk7_Mw?si=6mYjf5nN1bP0Am_o And the actual episode is on Disney Plus (Season 18, Episode 7). At the end the host revealed that new sales records in the history of the show for the two days they were there on cold, wet days. So any excuses about weather or location do not hold up.