This just in: Dallas Beer Festival, the multi-brewery event/festival that had been scheduled for this Saturday at Fair Park, is no more. Citing concerns over low ticket sales, the organizers pulled the plug yesterday afternoon. The local opinion on the cancellation seems to be landing in two camps:
- The organizers tried to start too big with a full week and a festival. The should have looked to events like Oak Cliff’s Brew Riot for evidence of the value of starting small.
- People don’t advance purchase tickets for this sort of thing. Folks who had planned to show up and pay at the door are a little pissed.
Luckily, none of the week’s other events at pubs and bars around town have been cancelled. Shannon Wynne (Flying Saucer, Meddlesome Moth) says, “”We are still holding steady with our Beer Week. We are local, and people know us. We are not swooping in to make a quick buck off Dallas beer enthusiasts and then leave. We serve hard-to-find beers 365 days a year and are working hard to help enlighten the public to the flavors available throughout the world.”
Word up, Shannon!
UPDATE: I’ve heard that some folks are confused by the festival cancellation. TO BE CLEAR: Beer Week has not been cancelled, just the Saturday festival. Everything else should still be going on as planned.
jump for the press release from the folks behind Dallas Beer Week…
Here’s the scoop:
We’ve done our best to provide incredible craft beer, entertainment, and everything else a great festival brings. You’ve seen other large-scale beer events in Dallas in the last year, which have been sponsored by large-scale breweries you’re familiar with. As avid craft beer fans, we chose to create this festival without these sponsors. However, ticket sales have been extremely slow, and in recent days, it has become increasingly apparent that the financial risk is just too high for us to take. We’d really like to get this right the first time around, but we just haven’t been able to generate the interest this festival needs to succeed this year.
Obviously, anyone who purchased a ticket will receive a full refund for the cost of your ticket(s). We have already contacted our ticketing company (Showclix), and your refund will post back to your account in the next 7-10 days.
We apologize for any inconvenience this has has caused, and we certainly hope to make a few adjustments and hold this festival next year. This announcement only affects the Dallas Beer Festival and not any other event that is scheduled. Thanks very much for your understanding, and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Most sincerely,
Cathy & Jay Rascoe
