Angry families have today blasted the organisers of a £70 a ticket children’s festival calling it a ‘money grabbing shambles’ with queues ‘visible from space’.
The Big Jam Sandwich event for children in Southend, Essex, on Sunday drew complaints for extra charges and was blasted an ‘overcrowded and overpriced’ disgrace.
Organisers Jam Sandwich Ltd defended the event but accepted there were ‘teething problems’.
The event involved a series of live acts on stage as well as other entertainment on offer at the venue with guests including Peppa Pig, Mr Bloom, and Ben and Holly.
Families claimed they paid more than £70 for tickets and then found extra charges inside.
The Big Jam Sandwich event for children in Southend, Essex, on Sunday drew complaints for extra charges, while some blasted the use of tissue paper as confetti (shown)
Angry families blasted the organisers of a £70 a ticket children’s festival calling it a ‘money grabbing shambles’ with queues ‘visible from space’
Kate Wye, 42, from Southend, took her two children aged nine and two.
She said: ‘It was absolute chaos. Traffic was choc-a-block getting in there, and even when people had parked up they were queuing for ages just to get into the event. It was pretty much a glorified fun fair.
‘There were rides and food stalls you would expect from a casual free event, but everything you had to pay extra for, apart from the inflatables they put in the middle of the field.
‘Many families paid a lot of money for the event and so many were forced to leave early because they couldn’t do anything.’
Mother Kerry Merchant, from Southend also took to Facebook to share her disappointment.
She wrote: ‘So….big jam sandwich festival at garons Park! You are a joke!!!!!
‘Gates had been open an hour and traffic was not moving, and the queue on foot to get in was immense!!!!!!!
‘The event inside was overcrowded, overpriced, under equipped, poorly managed and quite frankly had totally mis informed the public on what was to be available for their money!
Families claimed they paid more than £70 for tickets and then found extra charges inside for such activities as fair ground rides
Parents fumed about the long wait to get into the festival, which they also complained was ‘overcrowded, overpriced and under equipped’
‘Complete money grabbing Shambles just about sums it up.
‘Luckily for us, We have some amazing friends who have amazing children and so we made the most of a disappointingly frustrating and expensive day.’
Simon Harris, who blogs as Man Behaving Dadly, attracted more than 750 comments when he reviewed the event on Facebook.
‘A lot of people said it was like the Fyre Festival because of its shambolic nature.
‘But my feeling is general frustration that parents are looked at as nothing more than piggy banks.’
Dad James Helsted, 37, said: ‘It was a total waste of money for a family ticket for us only to queue forever and get in to find you practically have to pay for everything inside.
‘The stage had very poor lighting and poor screenings.’
Organisers Jam Sandwich Ltd defended the event but accepted there were ‘teething problems’ such as long queues
Families moaned about traffic surrounding the event, which was followed by long queues waiting to get into the festival
A spokesman for Jam Sandwich Ltd said: ‘Our attractions we advertised were all present, our main attraction was the live shows on the stage which were absolutely great from start to finish.
‘All our acts were fantastic, we’re sorry some people couldn’t see although we did have a viewing screen too to try and aid peoples view.
‘The funfair was never advertised as part of the ticket price and this was chargeable, although no proceeds or pricing for the fun fair was part of big jam sandwich. The funfair is its own company.
‘We will be looking into both traffic, location, field size and layout, plus more information and signs for customers.’
Kimberley Stevens paid £65 for a family ticket and then a further £50 on the day on activities and drinks for her children Max, five, and Addilyn, three.
‘I felt like we spent £65 to walk around a field looking for something to do,’ said Miss Stevens, 31. ‘It was so overcrowded.’
The event involved a series of live acts on stage (pictured) as well as other entertainment on offer at the venue with guests including Peppa Pig, Mr Bloom, and Ben and Holly