OttawaThe Tacos and Tequila Festival was initially slated to be held at the Ottawa Stadium in early August, before being rescheduled for Sept. 27 and then ultimately cancelled.Organizer says it cancelled event at Ottawa Stadium after city demanded date changeSocial House Entertainment initially advertised the Tacos and Tequila Festival in Ottawa for Aug. 2, before changing the date to Sep. 27 and then finally cancelling the event. (Tacos and Tequila Festival)Several people who bought tickets to a cancelled tacos-and-tequila festival in Ottawa say they’re still waiting for refunds they were promised weeks ago. The Tacos and Tequila Festival was initially slated for Aug. 2, and then rescheduled for Sept. 27, before ultimately being cancelled.Organized by U.S.-based Social House Entertainment, the event was to feature performances by Ludacris, Fat Joe and Chingy, among other acts, plus craft margaritas and a Chihuahua beauty pageant.The festival was also promoted by the Ottawa Stadium and the Ottawa Titans baseball team that plays there.”The artists themselves were great. But I mean, I love tacos, I love margaritas and I love Chihuahuas, so I was like, ‘This is my event,'” said Cornwall, Ont., resident Angel McCutcheon.Social House Entertainment sold tickets to a Tacos and Tequila Festival in Ottawa on Sep. 27, including a ‘Chihuahua beauty pageant.’ (Tacos and Tequila Festival)McCutcheon said she bought two tickets, booked a hotel and purchased costumes for the event, spending over $600 in total. But on Aug. 14, she received an email telling her the festival had been cancelled. Despite being promised a refund within 10 business days, McCutcheon had not received her money back as of earlier this week.After CBC reached out to Social House Entertainment, however, McCutcheon said she was refunded on Friday. Other ticket buyers CBC spoke to said they were still waiting for their own refunds as of Friday afternoon. City asked for date changeSocial House Entertainment told CBC the City of Ottawa required them to change the event date, prompting them to cancel the event.The city confirmed this in an email, saying it had received a permit application, but that the date “conflicted with concurrent large-scope special events and the city’s available operational resources.””As such, city staff worked closely with the applicant, who then moved the event to September 27. A second application was submitted for [a different date], but was later withdrawn by the applicant,” said Ryan Perrault, the city’s general manager of emergency and protective services.Michelle Sanders, Social House Entertainment ‘s vice-president of marketing, said on Tuesday she believed refunds had been completed, and that anyone who had not yet received their money should contact the company. Sanders added the company is working with the Ottawa Stadium on an event in the future.The festival was slated to take place at the Ottawa Stadium, which hosts the Ottawa Titans baseball team during the summer. (Andrew Foote/CBC)’It’s disappointing’Regan Katz, vice-president and chief operating officer of the Ottawa Titans, told CBC he’s worked with Social House Entertainment before — including twice hosting the Tacos and Tequila event at a ballpark he operates in Winnipeg — and was “pleased to confirm [the company’s] legitimacy.”Katz said the city’s request to change the festival dates is ultimately what sank the event in Ottawa.”Changing the date forced us to change the lineup, which had its own impact. And then furthermore, several of those who had purchased tickets for the original date were no longer able to attend on the new date or no longer interested in the lineup. So we lost a large portion of the ticket sales,” he said.”It’s disappointing. Obviously a cancelled show is never a good thing.”The city said the festival would be welcome to return to Ottawa. “We understand this outcome is disappointing for those who had planned to attend. As with all event organizers, the city remains available to work with them again if they decide to plan the event in the future,” said Perrault.ABOUT THE AUTHORCampbell MacDiarmid is a reporter with the CBC Ottawa bureau
Some ticket holders for cancelled tacos-and-tequila festival still awaiting refunds
