GRAND PRARIE, TX (CelebrityAccess) — Things seemed to be looking up for the Starfest Music Festival after they announced on Friday that they'd found a new location to stage the event, but now organizers for the troubled fest revealed that they are seeking yet another new venue.
On Friday, festival organizers announced that Lone Star Park in Grand Prarie would host the festival, but on Monday, they learned that their plans had been derailed by previous bookings at the venue.
"While we were pleased to announce that Lone Star Park in Grand Prarie would be able to accommodate us for the festival, the management informed us on Monday morning that the facility was previously booked for an outside event on their parking lots that would take up 80% of usable parking for our guests. The team at Lone Star Park has been diligently working with us directly to help facilitate us with other dates in one capacity or another. This, unfortunately, may cause us to push back our event or move locations. More details to follow, but this Cinderella Story is not over yet!" Starfest organizers wrote in a post on their website.
Planned for September 8-9, the festival was originally planned to take place at Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve in Plano, Texas but on Thursday, the City of Plano announced that it was terminating its contract with Starfest’s promoters over failure to meet contractual obligations.
“The City of Plano has decided to terminate our contract with the promoters of the Starfest Music Festival, planned for September 8-9 at Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve. We believe the cancellation of this contract is in the best interest of the City and our community,” the city said in a terse statement released last week.
Festival co-founder David Taylor told the Star-Telegram that the city backed away from the event over a clause in the contract that requires the event to provide a 48-hour notice before announcing any artist booked to play at the festival. Taylor acknowledged that the clause had been difficult for festival organizers to comply with.
Initially conceived as a 'pop-up' style festival, where only a limited lineup would be announced, with remaining acts serving as a surprise for festival-goers, the event has since struggled to find its footing. Taylor has declined to comment on ticket sales, but as the Dallas Observer noted, ticket prices for the event have been reduced, with general admission now starting at $49, down from $85. If you're feeling particularly deep-pocketed, you can always go for the $15,000 VIP pass, which includes a private box suite along with unlimited food and alcohol for the weekend.
