Is it Fyber Fest?
Angry diners in New York’s Vegandale are comparing the much-hyped plant-based bash to “Fyre Festival” because of hours-long lines, shortages of water and toilet paper and other issues.
“We were hungry and weird and miserable,” Rocco Marrongelli, 46, a graphic designer from Queens, told the New York Times of the botched event, for which he stood in line for an hour before giving up and to leave for home.
NYC’s Vegandale game, part of an eight-city bonanza of raw ingredients spanning the U.S. and Canada, took place last Saturday at Citi Field.
The festival attracted thousands of attendees who were eager to visit over 200 vendors and watch a thrilling performance by GloRilla.
Instead, they encountered a massive line at the entrance caused by too few metal detectors and a lengthy process to purchase tickets, which ranged from $15 for general admission to $90 for VIP access.
“I don’t think they had the manpower to deal with the waves of vegans trying to knock down those gates,” Marrongelli griped.
One participant complained in a Reddit thread that there were only “two staff” to control a crowd that had “grown to include the entire exterior of Citi Field.”
And that was just the tip of the iceberg lettuce. Guests who managed to get in — and must have thought they were on greener pastures — struggled to find shade or seats amid the 84-degree heat. Others reported that there was a shortage of toilet paper, as well as drinking water and water in the bathrooms for washing hands.
Brooklyn social media manager Sanirena Denerville, 30, who came in after waiting an hour, said there were only a few stalls pouring water and she was dizzy from dehydration.
On the line, she reportedly heard that at least one person had fainted and been taken to the hospital — a claim made by other Vegandale visitors in the aforementioned Reddit thread.
Denerville said she couldn’t even wash her hands after going to the bathroom because the sinks ran out of water, the New York Times reported.
“Some security came out to offer water bottles and those people were just mobbed,” Marrongelli said.
Online, some are now demanding refunds and claiming that the recent Chicago event was just as bad. Meanwhile, Vegandale has turned off comments on its Instagram page.
Many critics compared the fiasco to Fyre Festival, the ill-fated 2017 luxury music festival that infamously stranded thousands of revelers on an island with nothing but poor food and makeshift tents.
Detractors on Reddit even asked visitors to report the slur to the “NYC Department of Consumer Protection and the NY Attorney General.” The Times reported that the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) received two complaints, as did the state Attorney General’s office.
It wasn’t just the attendees who objected to the event, which began in Toronto in 2015.
Erica Muñoz, who owns Pinche Vegana and has had a booth at Vegandale in New York for several years now, claimed that organizers changed their fee structure so they collected a 30% commission on all sales instead of paying a fee fixed for the cabin.
She estimated it cost her $3,000 — triple what she had paid during previous events.
Despite the stomach ache, many attendees tweeted positively about the evening, with Denerville admitting to enjoying tasty vegan offerings like jackfruit empanadas.
“We faced some logistical challenges, which are part of working with a new venue,” said Jenna Lindsay, Vegandale’s vice president of communications and entertainment. “It was our first year at Citi Field, but the overall experience was really positive.”
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Image Source : nypost.com