Acts and traders still owed after festival axed

Phil Harper was due to perform at the cancelled Party in the Park event in the summer

Stallholders and performers say they remain out of pocket after a festival which was billed as a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community was suddenly cancelled.

Party in the Park, which was due to take place at Trinity Park, Ipswich, in July, promised a line-up of artists, over 100 stalls, a food court, and funfair rides.

But it was pulled at the last minute, and four months on, food vendors say they are still yet to be refunded, while artists say their contracts have not been honoured.

The BBC previously contacted organiser Sam Arbon to ask if the money he had been paid would be refunded, but he said he would "prefer not to discuss it".

According to Graham Thurston, events and estate manager at Trinity Park, the event was cancelled when the outstanding balance required to hire the venue was not paid.

While ticketholders were understood to be able to get their money back, traders who had paid anywhere between £100 and £1,000 to have a plot at the event were not.

The event was supposed to take place at Trinity Park, in Ipswich, on 12 July but was cancelled at the last minute

Samantha Kuhl, 35, from Essex, paid about £100 to have her sweet stand there.

"I am shocked because this involves quite a fair few hundred people and so it is extremely disappointing, very, very sad, and disheartening," she said.

"They took money off anyone who inquired about being at the event, which was a big problem as it seemed like there was going to be more traders than footfall.

"Someone doing the bar said it cost them about £1,000, so the amount of money taken off people is a lot - I would say it is probably easy about £20,000."

Samantha Khul had paid to sell her sweets at the festival

Another food vendor, John George, parted ways with £400 for a pitch.

"Many of us food vendors paid out on stock for the event so the real losses for several of us were in the region of £2,500," he said.

"One supplier upgraded their grill to meet the promised demand which was an outlay of £4,000. It is very hard for us to trust event organisers now."

Phil Harper says the cancellation of the event had financial implications for many LGBTQ+ artists

Drag artist Phil Harper, 36, from Birmingham, signed up to perform at the event before becoming a committee member. It was not long before they had concerns.

"A lot of things just did not add up and it has annoyed me because I have a decent drag reputation, but now it is absolutely decimated," they said.

"Some of the artists were my friends and I got them involved, so I feel a bit stupid because when you look at it so much does not add up."

According to Phil, the fee being offered to artists was "significant", with many of them relying on the money as part of their main source of income.

"A lot of these LGBTQ+ artists are living pay-cheque to pay-cheque and I know this has impacted people affording their rent, bills and food," they added.

'Investigation is ongoing'

Suffolk Police arrested a 36-year-old man on suspicion of fraud by false representation who was bailed and released under investigation. The force told the BBC its investigation was ongoing.

Reports were also made to Action Fraud, which stallholders and performers believe is no longer looking into the fallout from the cancellation of the event.

In a response to one victim, for example, they said "on this occasion it has not been possible to identify a line of enquiry".

"Action Fraud said they couldn't do anything and it makes you feel like what is the point of Action Fraud if they are not going to investigate anything," said Harper.

"I think everyone has just given up and decided it is not worth the stress to worry about it anymore."

Action Fraud, which is a national reporting service run by the City of London Police, has been contacted for comment but has not responded.