TAMPA, Fla — Frustrated festival goers were left asking for a refund after organizers shut down day one of the Gasparilla Music Festival because of weather.
"We were looking at the radar and it did not look good out in the bay," festival goer, Heather Hames, said.
Hames said they were evacuated after wind gusts started to pick up.
"Still, we were a little disappointed because personally, I would have toughed it out myself. I live here. I’m used to this, but you know, they have their regulations, I respect it," Hames added.
Organizers of the festival said closing down operations was the safest decision.
"We were meeting with the city every 30 minutes. We had met with them earlier in the day. We were watching the weather all day long and it was just unfortunate. There was tornado watches happening and 15 mph gusts and it was just not a safe environment with all these tents around," Kelly Bustin, Gasparilla Music Festival board member, said.
Bustin said Saturday was a packed house with around 5,000 people in attendance and it was the first time since starting more than a decade ago the festival was cut short because of weather.
"It's heartbreaking. We invested a lot of time and money to bring these artists here and to bring it to people wanting to see these bands. It's super unfortunate. We're heartbroken. In twelve years, we've never had something like this happen," Bustin explained.
She said refunds are in the works and should be worked out sometime within the next week.
"Well, I love Gasparilla. I'm a die hard. I love Tampa. I think this particular event is an amazing event for our city. So, I have to respect their decision," Hames said.
Despite it all, bad weather couldn't keep some frustrated festival goer's away from finishing out the weekend.
"This is, in my opinion, the best place in Florida to have a festival. So, I'm just happy to be here!" Austin Craven, another festival goer, said.
