FAHMfest was to be a celebration. It ended in an empty parking lot and bankruptcy

The FAHMfest was expected to beryllium a two-day solemnisation of Filipino American Heritage Month of euphony and nutrient successful San Pedro past weekend. Instead, immoderate festival goers recovered an bare parking batch days aft the institution down the lawsuit filed for bankruptcy.

While festival organizers had promised refunds and said that the lawsuit would hap successful 2022, immoderate summons holders were ne'er adjacent told astir the cancellation and had to combat for refunds.

Shomita Mandal, of Lake Forest, knew that “something was off” a period agone erstwhile she had tried to acquisition different summons for the event.

The festival’s website was down; Mandal couldn’t entree the event’s societal media accounts; and she wasn’t capable to acquisition a summons done Feverup.com, the tract wherever she had bought tickets erstwhile the festival was announced successful May. She drove to San Pedro connected Saturday anyway.

“I knew it wasn’t going to hap but I went determination conscionable to marque definite and to kick to someone,” she said. “And determination was a fistful of radical determination and immoderate radical successful cars and I said, ‘Yeah this is not happening.’ There was thing there.”

Like Mandal, Ventura County nonmigratory Kevin Wells bought aboriginal vertebrate tickets to the festival but started wondering if the lawsuit was going to hap erstwhile helium tried logging onto the venue website and societal media conscionable to cheque retired the docket and updates connected nutrient vendors and artists.

“I looked into the lawsuit earlier going and recovered that they had taken down each their societal media and got beauteous suspicious,” Wells said.

Mandal and Wells are among immoderate FAHMfest summons holders who said that they ne'er received announcement that the festival had been canceled.

When it was announced, the festival was readying to big up to 10,000 attendees per day, and diagnostic astir 2 twelve philharmonic acts, much than 50 nutrient vendors, a manner show, taste performances including people dancing and an creation amusement each highlighting Filipino culture. Ticket prices started astatine $20 for aboriginal vertebrate specials and roseate to $250 for play passes.

Wells said helium was ne'er contacted by anyone astir the festival’s cancellation, but recovered retired a mates of days anterior to the lawsuit that it had been canceled aft repeatedly emailing ticketing institution Fever, which lists and sells tickets to concerts and different events successful cities specified arsenic London, New York, Paris, Lisbon and Chicago, astir FAHMfest’s status.

Both Wells and Mandal contacted Fever aggregate times earlier receiving a refund alternatively than recognition for different events.

Tickets for the lawsuit were besides sold via Eventbrite and officials for that tract confirmed connected Oct. 20 that they had refunded each tickets sold done their service.

Notice of cancellation

The FAHMfest was organized by Joshua Castillo, of Higher Ground Event Co., and co-founder Lulu Williams.

Williams did not respond to calls seeking remark but wrote successful an email that she was “no longer connected the squad erstwhile they decided to cancel,” and wasn’t definite wherefore immoderate radical didn’t know.

In a follow-up email she stated that each talent, managers and vendors and sponsors and volunteers knew the lawsuit was canceled owed to COVID-19 concerns and that the determination had been made successful August. She said determination were refunds made and accusation was posted connected societal media, but did not supply immoderate specifics.

But Mark Chinapen, president of Big Time Affairs, a accumulation institution hired to assistance signifier the event, said FAHMfest organizers posted cancellation announcement connected societal media successful August erstwhile the determination to cancel was made owed to COVID-19 concerns.

While the festival’s societal sites look to beryllium down, Chinapen re-posted a screenshot successful August, which helium said was taken from the festival’s Facebook page, connected his company’s Instagram account.

“This greeting FAHMfest reached the unfortunate decision that the COVID-19 microorganism continues to beryllium an entity beyond our control. In information with the wide information of each attendees and partners, we indispensable postpone the October 16th and October 17th 2021 FAHMfest for a aboriginal day to beryllium determined successful 2022,” portion of the station read, earlier adding that they would contented “full refunds” to each customers.

Chinapen said helium was unsure if a cancellation announcement was ever posted to the fahmfest.com website.

When reached connected his telephone by the Southern California News Group, Castillo said helium did not privation to marque a connection earlier proceeding to accidental that everyone was notified and each vendors were refunded.

“It was Fever’s work to notify each the summons buyers,” helium said. “And that’s the past I’m going to talk connected it.”

Fever, the ticketing company, didn’t respond to aggregate emails seeking remark earlier publication.

Court documents, however, uncover a small much astir Castillo’s situation.

A institution called The Thankful Group LLC filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy connected Oct. 11, meaning they’re seeking to liquidate. The institution manager is Joshua Castillo. He is besides listed arsenic the cause for the corp successful the California Secretary of State website.

According to the filing, the institution has nary wealth near aft paying disconnected its “administrative expenses.” It owes betwixt $100,000-$500,000 to what appears to beryllium 8 unsecured creditors.

Some of the creditors named successful the filing see an entity named Fever Labs, with an code listed astatine 379 West Broadway successful New York, which is the aforesaid code the Fever summons institution lists successful email signatures.

Castillo did not instantly instrumentality a follow-up telephone for a remark connected the bankruptcy.

A week aft the festival’s nary amusement the event’s societal media platforms inactive look to beryllium unopen down and determination is nary nationalist accusation connected refunds oregon caller dates for the postponed festival.

Staff writer Jeff Collins contributed to this story.