Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival working on refunds in wake of cancellation

Photo: Salmon Arm Roots & Blues

Roots & Blues says the refunds are coming.

It's been almost a month since the Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival was forced to cancel after its first night due to the Shuswap wildfire situation.

"We know that many of you have questions about refunds," the festival says on its Facebook page.

"We wanted to reach out to let you all know that donation and refund options will be available soon, and our staff has been working diligently to make this possible."

Organizers say it was a "difficult decision" to pull the plug on the 31st annual event.

The festival is put together by the Salmon Arm Folk Music Society, a non-profit charity, and ticket sales fund production of the following year's event.

"However, much of the work is done before the festival gates open on Friday night, and we are still obligated to pay our suppliers, contractors and artists for their services," the society says.

Staff is working with suppliers and stakeholders "to better understand the financial impact."

"As you might expect, cancelling the festival has triggered a whole new set of processes, actions, and negotiations that need to be established and approved before we can begin the ticket donation and refund process. This process takes time, but we will be announcing our refund and donation options soon."

Ticket holders will be notified by email in the coming weeks on what ticket types will be eligible for refunds and how to go about that process.