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Experience Virginia Beach 

Landing Events

As you make your plans to attend 2025 IPF, be sure to leave time to experience the city’s vibrant coastal charm, delicious cuisine, and rich cultural attractions that make Virginia Beach a popular East Coast destination. In addition to the recommendations below, check out our IPF map that that has all conference events as well as our food and sight-seeing recommendations.

Check out our IPF Map!
Bee and the Biscuit | Credit: City of Virginia Beach

Southern, Coastal, and Global Cuisine 

Virginia Beach’s culinary scene highlights fresh seafood and coastal flavors. Start your day with a hearty breakfast at Bay Local Eatery, known for creative brunch dishes and a laid-back beach vibe. In the Pungo area to the south, Bee and the Biscuit is a cozy farmhouse-style eatery famous for its giant biscuits and Southern hospitality. Near the Oceanfront, Doc Taylor’s serves classic breakfast dishes in a relaxed, retro-style setting. 

After a day of exploring, enjoy dinner at one of the city’s standout spots. Waterman’s Grille is a classic Oceanfront restaurant known for its fresh seafood and the signature Orange Crush cocktail. For an upscale experience with panoramic ocean views, head to Orion’s Roof, which offers high-end Asian-fusion cuisine. At Rudee Inlet, Rockafeller’s serves locally sourced seafood with stunning water views. If you prefer a more relaxed vibe, The Porch in the Chesapeake Bay area focuses on farm-to-table dishes made with fresh, local ingredients. 

Tasty Treats for Tourists 

Satisfy your sweet tooth with a visit to Lolly’s, which offers homemade ice cream in creative flavors at locations in the Oceanfront, Inland, and ViBe districts. For something refreshing, head to the ViBe District, the city’s creative district, to try the shaved ice at Get Lost VB. If you’re craving rich, creamy ice cream, Gelati Celesti is a local favorite known for its small-batch flavors. Pastries more your style? Be sure to visit the Sugar Plum Bakery , which serves up delicious baked goods and also offers employment opportunities for people with disabilities.  

Lolly’s | Credit: City of Virginia Beach
King Neptune Statue | Credit: City of Virginia Beach
14th Street Pier Oceanfront | Credit: City of Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach Boardwalk 

The heart of Virginia Beach is the iconic three-mile-long Virginia Beach Boardwalk, which offers plenty of space for walkers, runners, and bikers. Lined with restaurants, shops, and live entertainment, the boardwalk provides stunning ocean views and easy access to the beach. Don’t miss the famous King Neptune statue at 31st Street. 

For a different beach experience, take a short ride to Sandbridge Beach for a more private and relaxed setting. The quieter atmosphere is perfect for unwinding, and nearby outdoor spots like Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park offer additional opportunities for hiking, birding, and exploring Virginia Beach’s natural beauty. 

Explore Beyond the Boardwalk 

Virginia Beach’s rich history and culture extend well beyond the beach. Visit First Landing State Park, where the Virginia Company colonists landed in 1607 before moving on to establish Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America. The park offers over 19 miles of trails for hiking and biking, along with opportunities for swimming and boating. 

History buffs will also enjoy the Military Aviation Museum, home to one of the world’s largest collections of historic military aircraft in flying condition. The collection includes planes from the early 1900s through the 1950s. 

For a unique cultural experience, stop by the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). MOCA features rotating exhibitions of modern art and offers workshops and special events throughout the year. And for a bit of maritime history, climb to the top of the Cape Henry Lighthouse — the fourth oldest lighthouse in the country and the first federally funded public works project of the United States government. 

First Landing State Park | Credit: City of Virginia Beach
Military Aviation Museum | Credit: City of Virginia Beach
Cape Henry Lighthouse | Credit: City of Virginia Beach

 

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Learn about offshore renewable energy innovations from the winners of Startup Alley! 

For the fourth year, Oceantic Network has partnered with SeaAhead, a bluetech open innovation platform that helps to build and catalyze startups in ocean industries and ocean sustainability.

SeaAhead has selected seven (7) startup companies to deliver five-minute pitches to IPF attendees. Congratulations to the following companies who have been selected to present their business innovations at 2025 IPF! Companies will present their pitches during two “Pitch and Brew” sessions on Tuesday, April 29 and Wednesday, April 30, at 3 p.m. each day. View the full IPF agenda. 

Sponsor:

2025 Startup Alley Pitches 

Coastal Measures 

CUMULUS replaces the old paradigm where every sensor sends data in proprietary formats to siloed data repositories. Instead, an innovative plugin architecture lets sensor vendors integrate directly into CUMULUS to reduce their data management costs by more than 30% while staying focused on creating state-of-the-art hardware. CUMULUS delivers a unified data stream from any sensor, private or public, that is immediately ready for AI or other analytics to support decision-making. Whether it is to enable our renewable energy industry or mitigating risk for coastal communities, Coastal Measures is making ocean data work better right now.

Crewless Marine 

Crewless Marine equips unmanned platforms with underwatering monitoring capabilities for maritime security. We provide affordable and scalable hydrophone arrays and software to detect and localize sources of underwater noise across multiple platforms. 

Deep Anchor Solutions

Deep Anchor Solutions accelerates floating renewables with the Deeply Embedded Ring Anchor (DERA) – a compact, cost-effective, and sustainable anchoring system. DERA reduces costs by up to 75%, eliminates the need for port upgrades, protects marine life, and supports local economies, making floating renewables more scalable and viable. 

Equinox Ocean Turbines 

Ocean currents offer a consistent, round-the-clock energy source, providing robust and predictable baseload power. Our proprietary two-stage turbine technology concentrates energy before harvesting, maximizing efficiency and scalability. By leveraging proven materials and designs from other renewable sectors, we ensure a cost-effective and sustainable solution. The first commercial turbine will be launched in 2027 with a power production of up to 3 megawatts. 

MMSeas 

MM-SEAS USCG Licensing Software simplifies the process of obtaining and maintaining U.S. Coast Guard licenses for both mariners and maritime employers. Mariners benefit from clear guidance, document tracking, and sea service calculations, while employers can ensure crew MMC compliance. Offering “Stress-Free MMC submissions,” the MM-SEAS team provides a unique advantage by double-checking applications for common errors, paying correct federal fees, submitting the MMC application to the Coast Guard, and proactively tracking it. Should any issues arise, the MM-SEAS team actively works with the USCG to resolve them, ensuring a smooth and efficient process for its customers. 

Orpheus Ocean

Orpheus Ocean is enabling ultra-scalable access to seafloor environments. Powered by a constellation of unique autonomous vehicles, we streamline the acquisition of critical environmental, biological, and geotechnical data with high-resolution benthic surveys, seabed sample collection, and long-duration monitoring. 

Sperra 

Inadequate port infrastructure and supply chain capacity for foundation manufacturing and turbine assembly are some of the most critical impediments to floating offshore wind. U.S. ports need affordable and fast infrastructure upgrade solutions. This pitch will describe a versatile, Jones-Act-compliant, modular, floating concrete dock that can be used to manufacture, launch, and retrieve concrete floating wind foundations. It sidesteps dredging, infilling, and constructing the wharves conventionally needed to manufacture and deploy foundations, accelerating floating wind deployments by up to 10 years and reducing infrastructure costs up to 90%. 

Aikido Technologies

Aikido Technologies

In early November 2024, Aikido Technologies completed construction of the Aikido One platform, a 1:4 scale pilot, and transported it to Mississippi for testing. At the time of deployment, it represents the largest floating wind platform constructed in the U.S. to-date. The Aikido Platform is unique as it can fold up during assembly and transportation. Once it is in the water, a water ballasting procedure is used to bring it upright to its operational configuration. 

Linxon

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind has selected Linxon to deliver the onshore substation for Project 1, New Jersey’s first offshore wind project. This partnership enables early engineering, and procurement works to ensure a timely and reliable project delivery and bring over 1,510 MW of clean energy to more than 700,000 homes. Linxon brings considerable sector experience to New Jersey, having recently delivered the onshore substation serving the first large-scale offshore wind project in Massachusetts.

Vaisala

Vaisala is a renowned global leader in the industrial, weather, and environmental measurement sectors. They provide reliable, accurate, and innovative products and solutions that enable customers to maximize the output, performance, profitability, and safety of wind and solar farms. Vaisala provides 360-degree solutions to onshore and offshore wind and solar companies around the world — from the proven and reliable WindCube® lidar suite to weather forecasting and historical data, lightning data solutions, weather sensors, and stations. Vaisala has successfully brought to market an industrialized Dual Scanning Lidar (Dual-Doppler mode) solution for offshore Wind Resource Assessment (WRA) campaigns. Dual Scanning Lidar is an innovative wind measurement solution combining two long-range scanning lidars whose laser beams intersect at various angles and heights to reconstruct the horizontal wind speed at the locations where the beams intersect. 

Wave Power Engineering

Wave Power Engineering have developed the world’s leading wave energy converter.  Its Wave Mill Technology, with its unique, patented design, is the first WEC to generate uninterrupted, commercially viable electricity through harnessing the energy of the ocean. Over a decade of engineering R&D means that the Wave Mill Technology has a life span of 25 years and can generate electricity at a cost per kWh that could see the global deployment of utility scale assets.  

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind is a national leader in offshore wind development comprised of purposedriven professionals dedicated to delivering its 5+ gigawatt offshore wind portfolio. Atlantic Shores is strategically positioned to meet the growing demands of multiple east coast markets including New Jersey and New York. Atlantic Shores has three offshore wind energy lease areas totaling more than 400 square miles under active development. Two of our lease areas are located approximately 10-20 miles off the Jersey Shore between Atlantic City and Barnegat Light, with the third lease area located further into the Atlantic Ocean in what’s known as the New York Bight.

DEME

DEME Offshore US and Local 56 Piledrivers

In an industry first, DEME brought eight US union pile drivers across the Atlantic in early 2024 to work in the European offshore wind industry.  This unprecedented development was the result of a training partnership between DEME and Local 56 Pile Drivers for the Vineyard Wind project.  Because the US pile drivers performed at such a high level, DEME recruited these union workers to join a foundation installation campaign in Scotland, demonstrating how quickly US union workers can be trained and how that expertise can translate to projects across the globe.

Dr. Subrina D. Oliver, O-High Technologies

Dr. Subrina D. Oliver, a U.S. Navy veteran turned trailblazing educator and technology entrepreneur,  has revolutionized STEM education, expanded manufacturing awareness, and created career connected pathways for underserved communities. As a driving force behind workforce readiness for Long Island’s offshore wind industry, Dr. Oliver’s impact spans education, advocacy, and entrepreneurship. Throughout her 22-year career in education, Dr. Oliver occupied diverse roles spanning various domains. She emerged not only as one of the few women certified in Technology Education but also as a versatile educator with extensive experience in Transportation Systems, Engineering, Automotive Technology, and more.

NJEDA

The Wind Institute Fellowship Program directly invests in building the next generation of offshore wind (OSW) leaders. The program is designed to encourage and support interdisciplinary student research in topics that further the development of OSW and nurture thought leadership in the industry and the state. Undergraduate, masters and Ph.D students are provided the opportunity to conduct paid, independent OSW research under the advisement of faculty members at their home university over an academic year. In addition to receiving stipends for their research, students attend monthly cohort meetings organized by NJEDA that allow students to gain additional industry knowledge and the opportunity to build connections with other Fellows across universities and disciplines. At the end of the Fellowship, students present their research findings to industry members, academic institutions, and community stakeholders at the annual Wind Institute Research Symposium hosted by NJEDA. 

Baltimore County Government

Baltimore County is deeply committed to the incorporation of offshore wind into its local economy. Since the early inception of offshore wind into the United States, the state of Maryland identified the former site of Bethlehem Steel, once one of the largest steel-producing facilities in the world, within Baltimore County as a pivotal asset that could be converted to support the offshore wind industry and bring good jobs back to the community. Baltimore County has tirelessly supported multiple state administrations, culminating in the recent work of two federally-supported projects: the Baltimore County Offshore Wind Manufacturing Hub (“BOWMH”) and Maryland Works for Wind (“MWW”).  The work through BOWMH develops an offshore wind manufacturing and marshaling facilities, supporting the offshore wind industry by enhancing supply chain efficiency and supporting regional economic growth.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

NYSERDA and NJEDA partnered to create OffshoreWindTraining.org, a ground-breaking project designed to help build a robust offshore wind workforce and domestic supply chain in New York and New Jersey. The site provides two powerful tools: a Career Pathways Flowchart to help job seekers understand the career opportunities available in the offshore wind industry and a Training Locations Map to help job seekers find relevant training opportunities close to them. Building a strong workforce is critical the U.S. meeting its ambitious offshore wind goals, yet it is not always clear how new or transitioning workers can enter the industry. NYSERDA heard from industry stakeholders that job titles were confusing and prospective workers did not know what skills, training, and credentials they needed to get a job in offshore wind. Responding to these needs, NYSERDA and NJEDA partnered to build a one-stop-shop to help people learn how to enter the industry.

Port of Albany

The Port of Albany, New York, alongside globally recognized private partners, is undertaking construction of what will be the first offshore wind tower manufacturing facility in the United States. The Port of Albany prompted this endeavor by pursuing an expansion to its boundaries with the independent acquisition of over 80 acres adjacent to its operations and initiating the feasibility and permitting of the site in order to show the industry the site could serve its time frame. The Port invested at risk and in a speculative manner to prepare for and be responsive to both the state and the federal initiative for renewable energy and combating climate change. The Port brought on a world class consulting team of structural, civil and wharf engineers to advance the feasibility, design, engineering and permitting of developing the site.

Virginia Economic Development Partnership

In July 2024, LS Greenlink announced a $681 million investment in a facility on a 100-acre brownfield site in the City of Chesapeake in the Hampton Roads region, creating more than 330 new full-time jobs. Virginia officials navigated significant complexity in the Commonwealth’s successful proposal for Project Genesis, LS GreenLink’s effort to find a site for a high-voltage direct current submarine cable manufacturing facility. Collaboration and a robust suite of capabilities helped VEDP see the project through to a successful end, with VEDP’s Economic Competitiveness and Virginia Talent Accelerator Program divisions helping the company navigate federal grant applications and working to navigate any workforce concerns that existed despite the top-notch maritime workforce in Hampton Roads.

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