ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Vendors are still waiting for refunds after the ‘As If’ 90s Festival was postponed multiple times and eventually canceled.
Organizers had promised refunds by June 14, but that deadline has passed.
A vendor said they’re frustrated and out of patience. Jason Prevatt, owner of Freddy Chicken Fingers and Fries, says he’s lost hundreds of dollars. “We have not received a refund at all,” Prevatt said.
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He explained the financial impact: “It was a lot of money for us to come up with at that period. It was a major financial hit not to get it back.” Prevatt said he is out $550 for the festival, which never took place.
The festival was originally scheduled for May 17th, but was postponed several times. “They told us there was a date change, then later on they told us there was a location change. It became very concerning,” said Prevatt
Ancient City Entertainment, the festival organizers, told Action News Jax that all ticket holders have been refunded and advised those still waiting to contact their card providers.
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Vendors were told refunds and rebates would take longer as the organizers work to secure a new event date expected next week.
This is the organizer’s full statement:
“All ticket holders have been refunded at this time. There is a statement on the 90s Facebook. Also, we’ve, encouraged anyone who has not seen the refund come through to formally dispute it with their card. Several forms of payment seem to take significantly longer to refund. We encourage anyone who hasn’t seen it come through yet to dispute directly with their card for a faster turnaround!
“Vendors have their own process, and we are sorting those on an individual basis of a combination of refunds and rebates- those will take a little longer because we are securing our new date next week and need to give them that to determine availability.”
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Organizers had pledged to issue full refunds by June 14, but that deadline has passed.
A June 10th email from Prevatt to the organizers showed he had not yet received his refund, and another email sent Sunday confirmed that.
A team member from the 90s Fest stated in a May 6th email that refunds would be issued within one week.
Prevatt also said the repeated rescheduling hurt his employees. “We already rescheduled our employees multiple times, and a couple of these guys didn’t no longer want to commit to the event,” he said.
Ancient City Entertainment blamed the delays on issues related to another event, the Blue Crab Festival, which faced complaints about high prices, fewer vendors, and no carnival.
The organizers said vendor refunds will take longer as they work on confirming a new date for the festival, which is expected next week.
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