The last-minute cancellation of the Giant Village New Year's Eve celebration in downtown Los Angeles didn't just throw people's Saturday night plans into disarray. In some cases, it disrupted lives, as in the case of the man set to propose to his girlfriend from the stage.
Some disappointed, angry ticket-holders are talking about a class-action lawsuit against the organizer, whose home address and phone number were posted on the Web by disgruntled fans.
Some ticket-holders said the cancellation had less to do with city officials' safety concerns than with poor advance sales. A spokeswoman for the event said Tuesday that the charge was untrue.
The heavily hyped music festival had been expected to draw more than 15,000 people. But festivities were canceled by event planners at the last minute after a Los Angeles fire marshal advised that Saturday's heavy rains posed a significant safety hazard for the public.
A message posted on www.giantvillage.com Tuesday afternoon said: "We would like to reassure all of our customers that everyone whom purchased tickets for the Giant Village NYE 2006 from Groovetickets.com will be eligible for a makeup events package ... or a full refund for the face value of your tickets."
Information about the event's other ticket sellers, such as the Virgin Megastore chain, would be posted later, an organizer said.
Although the website promised a makeup event, Giant Village organizer Dave Dean said Tuesday that there would be no such event.
"In the exhaustion of the moment, it was considered," he said. "The only makeup gig we could do is to do a better New Year's event next year."
News of the refund came as little consolation to James Smith, a journalist from England. He planned to propose to his girlfriend onstage, during a set by the alternative rock band the Flaming Lips, while wearing a squirrel costume. The group is known for its outlandish live performances involving animal outfits, lights and video screens.
He said he spent more than he could afford to buy plane tickets from London and rent a hotel room. But once at the event site, he and his girlfriend were turned away by security.
"It was one of the most crushing disappointments I've had," said Smith, 29. "It blew my plans out of the water. I was completely gutted."
"To dance onstage with the Lips was my life's ambition," his girlfriend, Tara Street, added. Smith later proposed at the hotel and she accepted.
