Update (11/26/18 12:15 p.m.) – Country Crossings will not be returning to The Expo. The music festival was scheduled to return next summer, but it’s been canceled. Any ticket purchases by prosepective concert-goers will reportedly be refunded.
—————————————————-
MEDFORD, Ore.– The future of the Country Crossings Music Festival is uncertain after Bi-Mart, it’s title sponsor, pulled out of it’s contract with the event.
According to a Bi-Mart spokesperson, the company decided to pull out of the 2019 festival to focus on other opportunities in it’s expanding northwest market. Now, with no major title sponsor, coordinators are attempting to work things out to ensure there will still be a 2019 Country Crossings.
In an email sent to Jackson County officials, Jackson County Parks Director John Vial outlined everything county staff currently know about the situation. In a phone interview with him early Tuesday, what they know isn’t much.
“Currently the official county position is we are planning on a festival next year,” said Vial. “We have not received any word that the festival is being cancelled but there are some concerns cause the sponsorship has been dropped, the box office is not open, you cannot call the company right now.”
On the 2019 Country Crossings Facebook page and current website, dates are still set for July 25-29, 2019 with tickets still being sold online. However, unlike Country Crossing’s first year where the 2018 festival lineup was announced promptly after 2017’s wrapped up, the only headliner to be announced for 2019 was Luke Combs.
Vial, who has been heavily involved in the festival’s first two years, sent the email to county officials as well as local law enforcement this month to notify them the festival was now being run by IMG Endeavor, the parent company of the production company behind the festival, WCMC.
“Our understanding is the parent company has stepped in and assumed operation but we’re not sure what that operation is, we’re not sure the relationship that we have to them,” said Vial.
Further in the email, Vial wrote he had spoken with IMG representatives and was notified that Country Crossing President Anne Hankins was suspended and “is to have no contact with promoters, vendors, etc. and is to complete no work for the 2019 event.”
NBC5 News reached out to IMG for comment. A WCMC spokesperson confirmed the company is in the process of assessing the festival and no decisions about 2019 have been made at this time.
Vial also recommended in the email that those who had not invoiced the music festival for expenses should do so immediately.
According to vendors of the festival like RoxyAnn Winery – who participated in both years so far – they still have not been paid for the 2018 event.
“Part of our contract, our understanding was that we would be paid 30 days after the event and here we are about 60 plus days and have yet to see anything back from them,” said Chad Day, owner of RoxyAnnWinery
Day says that the first year, the winery was paid promptly within the 30 days of the contract. But this year, the company is currently out $24,000. He reached out to coordinators of the event and said he received an email a few weeks ago.
“Saying that the reconciliation was taking a little bit longer than they thought and that they were hoping to have payment in the next few weeks,” he said.
Day hopes that payment comes soon but he still hasn’t written off RoxyAnn participating in next year’s Country Crossings, provided it goes on as planned and they’re paid for this year.
“Obviously we want to be reimbursed for the wine that we poured while we were at the event and we’ll go from there,” said Day. “I think it’s too early to tell to see where we’re going to be at in 2019.”
NBC5 News reached out to Hankins for comment. No contact has been made at this time.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.