The inaugural Lompoc Music Festival has been postponed, but those who bought tickets apparently won’t receive refunds.
Organizers had touted the event as taking place at Ryon Memorial Park in Lompoc on Saturday and sold tickets for the festival with the theme “Where music is good for the soul.”
“The first-ever Lompoc Musical Festival is the much-needed revival of live concerts, art, culture and exciting experiences for individuals, friends and families. The festival will feature the best of the Central Coast’s robust heritage, outstanding wines and delicious cross-cultural cuisines — offering something fo everyone,” its website stated.
The website identified “seasoned veteran concept promoter Chuck Dennis Productions” and community member Darrell Tullis as the organizers of the event to feature Latin jazz, light rock, funk and reggae music that will “flourish your mind, body and soul.”
In addition to selling tickets for $40 for lawn seating or $80 for table seating, the promoters advertised VIP cabana seating for $1,000.
“Yes it’s true! We regret to announce that due to unforeseen circumstances, the Inaugural Lompoc Music Festival has been POSTPONED,” according to a Lompoc Music Festival post on Facebook. “Ticket holders have been contacted directly and advised of plans to honor ALL tickets for the new festival date. We thank you for your continued support and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that may be experienced as a result of this event postponement.”
Ticket sales have been ongoing since at least April, but reports of the event’s postponement began circulating Wednesday as would-be attendees were irked that the ticket purchases were deemed nonrefundable.
Those who bought tickets reportedly were told the event’s postponement occurred “due to unavoidable circumstances and certain security/safety requirements that could not be met at this time.”
The organizers claimed they have already started planning for an event in March.
“The Lompoc Music Festival scheduled for this coming weekend and recently postponed by organizers had acquired the necessary permits and approvals from the City of Lompoc to move forward,” city leaders said in a written statement. “The city was looking forward along with the community to this inaugural event, and is disappointed to learn of the postponement. We look forward to supporting the Lompoc Music Festival when a new date is scheduled.”
Lompoc Music Festival organizers did not respond to an email seeking comment on Thursday.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.