EUREKA, Mo. — It was billed as a night of an unforgettable spectacle. Lanterns lighting the sky above St. Louis County.
But now, some are saying that so-called magical experience may have left them in the dark.
Thousands of tickets were sold for an event called The Lantern Fest, but the event those buyers were promised will likely never exist.
"When I saw the tickets were on sale, I jumped on it and bought some," Kristen Brosch said.
Last August, Brosch spent more than $150 for her family to go to The Lantern Fest in Eureka. Bad weather postponed the event twice in November and it was rescheduled for June 2019.
"We were just really excited to go see it," she said. "You can't get a refund for your tickets they just let you use it for a future event."
As the new event date neared, she said the organizers went silent.
'"I emailed the people and I immediately got an email back saying that it wasn't a working email address anymore," Brosch told 5 On Your Side.
The event's venue, Brookdale Farms, also got the same response. It wrote on its Facebook page that it appeared the company had gone out of business.
"We're under the assumption that it's not going to happen," Austin Kirk, with Brookdale Farms, said.
5 On Your Side did some digging. We found the company in charge of the event is called "Sack Lunch Productions." A quick search the Better Business Bureau website found the company has an "F" rating. The BBB cites a pattern of complaints concerning the festival.
"It's pretty shady on their part that they just kind of packed up shop and didn't say anything," Kirk said.
Brosch said the unexpected cancellation of the event makes her angry and she hopes in the future someone is held responsible.
"We spent all this money and now not only do we get to do it we don't get our money back," she said. "I would like somebody to answer for it or give us answers on what happened."
Brookdale Farms encouraged anyone who wants their money back to call their credit card company for fraud protection.
5 On Your Side tried to reach out to "Sack Lunch Productions" several times this week by phone and email, but has not gotten any response.
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