Botched Beer, Barbecue Event Called 'Fyre Festival Of Meat'
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — An L.A. beer and barbecue event was called the "Fyre Festival of Meat" after thousands of hungry, prepaid customers were left waiting for hours on the street.
The operator of the Los Angeles Beer and World Barbeque Festival says health inspectors would not let them open their doors for last Saturday's event on time because of water that wouldn't come up to temperature.
The event was put on by Fever, an event app that shows people what's going on in several big cities. Attendees paid at least $32 for the opportunity to taste barbecue samples from a variety of global cuisines and at least one alcoholic drink ticket.
On the day of the event, more than 2,000 people stood in line for up to two hours waiting for the doors to open. Johann Chan was one of the first in line.
"After two hours of waiting, we were like, 'no thanks, it's not worth the wait anymore," he said.
Furious customers left scathing reviews about the event on Yelp.
"Worst most disorganized event i have ever experienced. Waited in line for hours and was never allowed entry. It was obvious that they sold too many tickets for the small venue that they provided," Jane of Bell Gardens wrote.
"The Fyre Festival of Meat. What a disaster!" Ran of Los Angeles wrote.
The Fyre Festival, which is the subject of documentaries available on Netflix and Hulu, was referenced repeatedly by attendees. That 2017 event, promoted by rapper Ja Rule and his business partner, Billy McFarland, sold tickets between $1,000 and $125,000 promising luxury accommodations for a music festival in the Bahamas that ended up stranding concert goers with only FEMA tents to sleep in and the barest of hastily-thrown together sandwiches.
Ed Gross, the general manager of Fever in Los Angeles, says the event opened an hour and a half late due to the health inspector finding the temperature of water in a rented sink was 5 degrees too cold.
"The idea that this is some sort of scam or money-making scheme like the Fyre Festival -- I understand this is on Netflix right now and it's a compelling story -- but I just don't think that narrative at all applies in this situation," Gross said.
Fever says they are offering refunds via the app, no questions asked.
