'Bamboozled': Popular Atlanta reggae festival canceled but vendors, attendees miss the memo
Vendors, attendees upset over BeReggae fest cancellation
A usually well-attended event in Atlanta became a well-attended disappointment Sunday when it was apparently canceled the night before. Hundreds of people and many vendors still showed up to Piedmont Park for the BeReggae Music and Arts Festival because they said they had no idea and ultimately felt "bamboozled." FOX 5 spoke to vendors, out-of-state attendees and even the event's organizer.
ATLANTA - Organizers of the BeREGGAE Music and Arts festival say they canceled the concert Sunday for safety concerns, but hundreds still showed up because they had no idea it had been nixed.
Whitehouse Chicken and Fish staff packed up their booth in Piedmont Park Sunday afternoon after not getting the business they hoped for from the BeREGGAE festival.
"Each booth costs about $2-3,000…so we out about $6,000, plus the $2,000 I had to pay to get in the gate, and the $3,000 worth of food we paid for that we're going to have to throw away," said Whitehouse owner Robert White.
He says the only reason he and his team even showed up was because they didn’t get the memo.
Angry vendors and disappointed attendees packed up their things at Piedmont Park after learning the BeReggae Festival they were there for had been canceled. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
"We didn't find out until 10 o'clock this morning. So we really feel like we got bamboozled," White said.
FOX 5 asked BeREGGAE CEO Eric Barnes why the event was dropped last minute.
He says strong storms the day before left the park soaked, and didn’t want people slipping and falling. The storms even caused some trees to come down in Piedmont Park. He claims he didn’t want anyone to get hurt.
"I didn't feel good with bringing people out here and gathering thousands of people out here," Barnes said.
Organizers emailed vendors letting them know about the cancelation, but it was sent in the middle of the night and many told FOX 5 they didn’t see it.
Despite the cancellation, hundreds of concertgoers still gathered. They told FOX 5 they didn't hear about the scratch either.
Ola Rich flew in from New York to attend the festival with friends.
"I'm so disappointed that the festival is not going to be on, because I came all the way here specifically for that," Rich said.
Barnes says they also posted about Sunday's cancellation on social media, but the posts appeared not to circulate very well on social media.
Now vendors like White and Chekiah Edoye, who packed up his booth full of traditional African clothing, say they want a refund of the thousands they paid to rent vendor space.
Angry vendors and disappointed attendees packed up their things at Piedmont Park after learning the BeReggae Festival they were there for had been canceled. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
"To not make any money, that's a big loss," Edoye said.
Barnes says they’re working on a plan to compensate the vendors.
"Our goal is to make sure every each and every vendor is made whole. And to make sure that they either have an opportunity to make up whatever revenue they missed out on, or to get a full refund," Barnes said.
He also says they’re currently in the process of rescheduling the concert and hope they can put it on as soon as 30 to 45 days from now.
When asked if they would be up for a redo, many vendors told FOX 5 this mishap left a bad taste in their mouths.