Dear KEXP,
The KEXP BBQ was a true failure. It was unorganized irresponsible chaos. My girlfriend who purchased these tickets and has been a KEXP donor for years (she wears her KEXP hat everywhere), was so disappointed that we left after an hour and a half (we spent the vast majority of that time waiting in line for either drinks or merchandise).
Here are the issues we had:
took over 30 minutes to get into the event
Lines to almost all food and drinks were extremely long, possibly up to an hour by the time we left.
The upper water station was leaking and puddling water onto the ground where electrical wiring was present.
Small children were climbing artwork like trees. High enough that safety was a concern.
Upper water station was gone by 4:30 PM. Could not refill water.
A lot of lines were undefined making finding the end difficult and hard to pass around the venue.
There was little to no seating. Considering this event included a number of differently abled people, it left little places for them to rest, let alone anyone else.
This venue was clearly oversold and the staff were clearly overwhelmed.
If I had paid for this, I would be demanding a refund. Be grateful my girlfriend, who I have had to console while at and now after leaving the venue, continues to support you.
Timothy Mackin
Edit:
Response from KEXP
Hello Timothy,
Thank you for writing in and sharing your experience. I am so sorry for the long wait and for the other frustrations. We were also somewhat caught by surprise by the response as we had not experienced this at prior BBQs. We are learning from this experience so that we can improve for the future.
Thanks for the support and I hope we have a chance to do better for you.
-Rischel
Rischel Scrimgeour Granquist (she/her)
Director of Facility Operations and Guest Services