Ontario-based Wayhome Music and Arts festival is offering free tickets for anyone who is stuck with Pemberton Music Festival tickets.
The festival said it wanted to help its “WayHomies in the West” after the Pemberton Music Festival announced Thursday it was cancelling its 2017 event because the organizers filed for bankruptcy.
Earlier this week, in a statement, Pemberton said for the past three years it had incurred "significant losses," citing a weakening Canadian dollar and trouble attracting talent as contributing factors.
Pemberton added it would not be able to refund already purchased tickets because it is now in bankruptcy protection.
“Just to hear the fact that we might not be getting our money back is pretty heart-breaking,” said ticket holder Anthea Psarianos, who paid over $1,000 for her pass.
She told CTV Vancouver : “The money that we have saved to put towards the festival has been hard-earned money, especially people for our age who are working students [and] don’t have a large income at the moment.”
But bankruptcy lawyer Geoffrey Dabbs told CTV Vancouver that ticket holders will unfortunately fall at the bottom of the list of people and companies trying to recover money.
“They’re what’s known as an unsecured creditor because an amount paid to buy the ticket is really just like an advance or a loan to the company ahead of time,” he explained.
On social media music lovers expressed outrage and disappointment over the cancellation, many drawing parallels to the recent Frye Festival disaster.
When pemby said they weren't gonna refund #PembyFest pic.twitter.com/unHb16fAdh
— babywebba (@babywebba) May 18, 2017
Ok #PembyFest, who's running this operation? pic.twitter.com/UVo86y7fg1
— Pauleeze (@Pauleeze) May 19, 2017
Fyre Festival: We're going to be the biggest music festival disappointment of 2017#PembyFest: Hold my beer
— Robin Mazumder (@RobinMazumder) May 19, 2017
What a shame #PembyFest is canceled and bankrupt; the best live show I ever went to was at Pemberton 2014, by @theflaminglips.
— Peter Azak (@thepha) May 20, 2017
Pemberton Festival has also shut down all of its social media accounts, which has further angered pass holders.
Did we just get ghosted by #PembyFest twitter account?
— BigRED (@KateEPeriod) May 18, 2017
Since #PembyFest is cancelled, I guess their social media accounts are too �� HT https://t.co/Rbxqe2IduN pic.twitter.com/vYLsMqNqIv
— Melissa Lachica (@Lacheeeks) May 19, 2017
So, now #PembyFest has deleted its Twitter account. Guess that's a way to deal with lingering questions.
— Dustin Godfrey (@dustinrgodfrey) May 19, 2017
Wayhome organizers say Pemberton ticket holders can redeem their WayHome ticket by sending in a copy of their cancelled pass.
The festival is being held July 28 to 30th in Medonte, Ontario, with headliners such as Frank Ocean, Imagine Dragons, Solange and Tegan and Sara.
The offer is valid until June 30.
But Pemberton ticket holder Katy Penny said while the offer from WayHome Music and Arts festival is admirable, many people will not be able to afford the extra cost and time needed to travel to Ontario.
Ticket holders who want their money back have been urged to file a proof of claim through Pemberton’s website, or contact their bank or credit card company to determine whether a refund could be obtained.
With files from The Canadian Press and CTV Vancouver
