No refunds for Ever After ticket holders after festival cancelled once again

Kitchener -

Ticket holders for Ever After, an electronic dance music festival in Kitchener, won't be able to get a refund after the concert was cancelled for the second year in a row amid ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

“There would be no way for us to pick certain customers over the other, and not being able to blanket refund, we have to make some tough decisions,” said Gabriel Mattacchione, the president of Beyond Oz Productions, a company that helps organize the annual event.

Beyond Oz Productions blames its inability to offer refunds on the timing of the first cancellation last year.

“We spent about 80 per cent of the budget in March,” Mattacchione said.

By that time, organizers said they had already paid deposits for vendors and nearly 100 performers and now have no money left over to refund the thousands of tickets sold.

“With the 90 per cent of people that rolled their tickets over we were still over the 15,000 tickets sold,” said Mattacchione.

The company is allowing ticketholders to roll their passes over to 2022 or 2023 or to repurpose or resell their tickets if they choose not to go.

Maude Provost, a ticket holder from Montreal, said she no longer wants to attend. She said she spent more than $500 on VIP tickets for her and her boyfriend, which she already tried reselling.

“I tried it and no one bought my tickets so I didn’t get refunded,” Provost said.

She said she had tickets for other cancelled festivals and got her money back.

“I don’t want to give them my $500 after this,” she said. “They just dealt with this so late compared to other festivals. I think it was really unprofessional. So, I would want to have my money back," Provost said.

But Kitchener resident Russell Hilhartner said he doesn’t want a refund, eager to attend Ever After when it returns.

“I’m going to keep hang onto my ticket as long as I can,” said Hilhartner.

Festival organizers said they "sympathize" with ticket holders and appreciate everyone’s patience during this tough time.

Officials claim they are working to rectify the situation for those who still want a refund.

Beyond Oz said if there’s any silver lining it's that when they do get the green light to host the festival in 2022 or 2023, they will be able to do so quickly as deposits and artists are already lined up.