CHICAGO – A popular convention—set to make a stop in Chicago next weekend—suddenly shut down. Now, fans are left with questions and no clear path to getting their money back.
Meanwhile, the owners of Epic Events and Entertainment, which hosts the convention, could be facing financial trouble.
What we know:
With about one week’s notice, ticket holders and vendors who were gearing up for Epic Cons Chicago 3 (ECC3) said they found out on social media that the convention was canceled.
With flights booked, tickets paid for, and fans eager to meet their favorite TV stars, Epic Events and Entertainment not only pulled the plug on their Windy City convention, but also on “all upcoming events,” according to the company’s Facebook page.
Scheduled for July 26-27 at Navy Pier, the company addressed the abrupt cancellation by writing: “We regret to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances outside of our control, we are canceling Epic Cons Chicago 3.”
The convention company’s website still displays an event countdown clock and a lineup.
Navy Pier, however, has removed ECC3 from its website.
What they’re saying:
Epic Cons Chicago 3 was curated for fans of popular tv shows, including The Rookie, Pretty Little Liars, and Station 19.
“I love creating. I love making things and products that are inspirational and especially to a fandom,” said Jenny Johnson, owner, Witch Way Book-ish Totes N’ Things. “For me, I was vending to help my family. And so, it puts our family in a bind of not being able to make it through the next couple of months.”
FOX 32 Chicago also spoke with a mom from Florida, who asked us not to identify her, and says she gifted the experience to her daughter for her birthday.
“She has been waiting months for this,” the woman said. “Me personally, I’m out about $1,000 right now.”
Between admission and extras like meet-and-greets with their favorite celebrities, attendees said they’ve spent big bucks. Vendors have also paid a pretty penny for booths.
“Mine was $800 plus $30 in electricity, so $830 and that’s not counting supplies,” Johnson said.
Another woman who also asked to remain anonymous said she shelled out $1,200 dollars for a spot, and that does not include the time and costs that went into creating her merchandise.
“We count on this money as an income,” the vendor shared. “Now we are sitting with merch we made specifically for this show and we don’t know if we’re going to be able to sell it anywhere else.”
Fans said they’ve reached out, but the company has not given them any answers about refunds.
FOX 32 sent a refund inquiry via email and received an automatic response asking for purchase information.
It stated:
“For further communication please reply to this email with the following:
Purchaser’s name
Purchaser’s email address
Purchaser’s mailing address
Thank you”
Dig deeper:
At the same time, Epic Events and Entertainment’s owners, Alexis Arnold and Anna Owen, have been named in two lawsuits filed out of New York by lenders for breach of contract and hundreds of thousands of dollars allegedly owed.
One of the lawsuits, filed by Kash Advance, LLC states: “There remains a balance due and owing to Plaintiff on the Agreement in the amount of $611,818.62 plus interest, costs, and disbursements.”
Johnson explained that conventions like this one are her livelihood and is demanding transparency and accountability.
“It’s very disheartening because if you look on their Facebook page there’s over 24,000 attendee followers and if you divide that number up to the number of conventions you have, you have millions of dollars,” Johnson said.
What’s next:
FOX 32 Chicago made multiple attempts to reach Epic Events and Entertainment but did not immediately hear back. We also called one of the owners directly, but it appears that her phone number has been disconnected.
The Source: Information in this article was obtained through court documents, interviews with attendees and vendors, and through Epic Events and Entertainment’s website and Facebook page.