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Culliton confirmed that no tickets for this year’s event were sold.

In an interview, Cantley, Que., resident Jasmine Hubble, a fan of the festival in recent years, said she contacted Elizabeth McMenemy, the festival’s director of sales, in early October about attending this year.

“She responded to my email saying tickets would be available very soon,” said Hubble.

She went ahead and booked a non-refundable hotel room “for a trip that now appears to be unnecessary,” she said, before Culliton announced the cancellation.

“I’m shocked at the lack of the communication from an event that has had (up until now) an excellent reputation. I’m disappointed beyond belief and out hard-earned money that I had saved up to be able to attend,” she said.

Culliton said she apologized to fans of the festival.

“It would have been good for us to have gotten it (the word) out sooner,” she said.

Culliton added that a member of her family had been critically ill this fall, and that emergency had taken priority in her life.

Regarding the plans for this year’s event, Culliton said “things weren’t exactly where we wanted them to be … we don’t do anything that’s not excellent.”

The festival was not able to work out a pricing scheme for what it had in mind for this year, she continued, stating that the festival wanted to move to an all-in-one entrance fee, replacing the typical regimen of sample tickets.

In the fall of 2016, after many years of being held in downtown Ottawa, the festival moved to the EY Centre. That year, tickets and details were available in mid-September.