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[title]The misadventures of the Great GoogaMooga—the two-day food-and-music festival that had its shaky debut in Prospect Park this weekend—have been exhaustively documented. Of particular interest is the $250 ExtraMooga ticket, which was marketed as an all-inclusive experience but fell inexcusably short of expectations. Many sources, including TONY, suggested that a refund for ExtraMooga ticket holders would be a game-changing move to help turn the tides of public opinion. TONY has the exclusive word this morning that organizers Superfly, responding to the negative feedback, have decided to do just that.
RECOMMENDED: Full coverage of The Great GoogaMooga
“We are offering a 100% refund to anyone who attended ExtraMooga: the full ticket price, credit card fees—everything,” said Superfly’s Jon Mayers in a phone interview last night. “Our intentions were to do something great. We were definitely ambitious. But we also wanted to do something top notch. We did not deliver on the promise we made for the ExtraMooga, and that’s why we’re going to make it right.” Ticket holders can expect a communiqué from Superfly within the hour.
For a festival with annual ambitions, the refund is a good-will gesture that, organizers hope, will go a long way in appeasing dissatisfied ticket holders. Mayers confirmed that Superfly hopes to reprise the festival next year with some key improvements in place. “There’s certainly a lot to regroup on, but we do want to return to Prospect Park next year and create something that we, and the whole community, can be proud of,” he said. “We will be evolving the whole pricing model, and taking a look at what the ExtraMooga experience really is. Obviously we will be working to make sure there’s enough food, and continue to work on the lines. We plan to build out our team and make the investment to make sure we can deliver next year.”
Mayers also responded to criticisms that Superfly used a public space to throw a for-profit affair, citing the event’s positive economic impact (the booths and signs, for example, were built by Brooklyn-based artisans.) “We also gave non-profit organizations Just Food, Edible Schoolyard and the Prospect Park Alliance a platform to connect with the audience at the event,” he said, adding that he'd argue GoogaMooga exposed New Yorkers to the Nethermead, an underused area of Prospect Park.
“This is just about doing good business, being fair and living up to your promises,” said Mayers. “Mistakes were made but it’s how you correct them [that is important]. We are not afraid to come back again.”
Here’s hoping that Superfly’s efforts to respond to community outrage will be enough to clear the air.
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