JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A popular throwback festival in St. Augustine is facing serious backlash after postponing yet again, and ticket holders say they’re still waiting on refunds after they were promised to be fulfilled by last week.
The “As If! 90s Fest” has now been rescheduled three times since tickets first went on sale. It’s now set to happen sometime this fall.
What started as a nostalgia-filled celebration of all things ‘90s has turned into a waiting game for frustrated fans like Krisann Bentley.
“I would never trust another event where she’s the promoter,” Bentley told News4JAX, speaking about organizer Jeanetta Cebollero.
Krisann says she first bought general admission tickets back in October but decided to upgrade to VIP when the festival was initially moved. After one smooth refund through Eventbrite, she’s now been stuck in limbo for her second transaction, waiting since May with no money back.
“I emailed them to escalate it like it said to, and she emailed me [Monday] and said to dispute it with my bank,” she explained. “But my bank has no record of it.”
News4JAX reached out to the organizer, and they said in a statement: “All refunds have been approved and escalated on our side, If you have not yet received your refund we encourage you to formally dispute at your point of purchase for a faster refund.
This dispute would be with your direct card or account that funded this purchase not with Eventbrite. We have observed in processing these refunds that the turn around time is massively varied bank to bank and card to card. Those that have formally disputed have consistently reported getting their funds within 24-48 processing time. For this reason, We are advising anyone who has not received by 6/14 to move forward with that course of action. We appreciate your reaching out, and apologize profusely for any inconvenience.”
A similar statement was also put out on Facebook, but Krisann never saw that update — because she says she was blocked from commenting or asking questions on the festival’s page.
“If you ask questions, you’re being blocked,” she said. “It feels like she’s stealing our money and running off.”
To get any kind of update, Krisann says she had to view the event page through her mother’s Facebook account. She says she hadn’t heard back from organizers in over a month — until Monday.
What she’s asking for now is simple: transparency.
“She owes everybody an apology,” Krisann said. “Just take accountability. If you’re having issues, be honest about it. That’s all I’ve ever asked for.”
In a video posted by the St. Johns Citizen, Cebollero addressed the issues with the festival and another event she promoted — the Blue Crab Festival in Palatka.
