Frustrated fans who attended the inaugural Kultureland Festival near Toronto this past weekend got an apology late Monday as well as a promise of refunds.
Hyped as “Canada’s biggest Afro-fusion weekend,” the event was plagued by problems – including a string of cancelled acts and an overnight change of venue – that had people comparing it on social media to the infamous Fyre Festival.
Reached early Monday morning, Ferell Laditi of Code R.E.D Entertainment told iHeartRadio.ca an official announcement would be made later in the day.
“First and foremost we want to extend our sincerest apologies to all attendees,” the statement reads. It identified “some issues that arose that were out of our control” on the first day of the festival “such as delayed soundcheck paired with the unexpected heatwave and staff shortage.”
According to the statement, there was “some miscommunication” with Markham Fairgrounds that forced organizers to move the event to Ajax Downs Racetrack, roughly 30 minutes southeast.
“Rather than just canceling the event, we made a poor decision in moving forward with the venue change,” it acknowledges. “This was in no way to hold on to your money but rather to still find a way to give you some of the performances you were expecting.”
Organizers admitted that several artists in the line-up were not even in Canada on the weekend “due to ongoing VISA and routing issues.”
According to the statement, Sunday’s ticket holders “will be refunded in full.”
It concluded: “Moving forward we hope you can forgive our mistakes and we will continue to accept feedback on what we could have done to make this a better experience for everyone attending.”
Read the full statement below:
Our sincerest apologies. We will strive to make this right. Thank you for your patience. pic.twitter.com/eIWCnnn7sY
— Kultureland (@KulturelandFest) August 8, 2022