Summer Festival Defaults on Payments, Files Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Written by CFB Blogger. Posted in Blog

The Board of Directors and event organizers of Aloft, Inc., formerly Freedom Weekend Aloft, have announced that the summer festival has filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Aloft has been the organization behind the summer festival that sponsored the annual Memorial Day festivities in Simpsonville, South Carolina. From a release from the group; “Aloft, along with its many sponsors and dedicated volunteers has contributed to the Upstate for more than three decades. This premier Southeastern event filled with beautiful hot air balloons, music venues, outdoor adventures, and a community focus will be no more due to lack of attendance.” According to an article on www.wyff4.com by Liz Lohuis, vendors and workers have said that they have not been paid by the festival since it ended in May. One festival worker who had worked at the festival for the last three years stated that this is the first time he hadn’t received his paycheck from Aloft. The band TJ Lazer, which performed both this year and last, reported that they got paid last year, albeit several weeks late.  Band member Thomas McPartland said that the musicians are concerned that they won’t get paid at all this year. In the news report he stated, “’Honestly I was not surprised. There had been murmurings for the past year to 18 months about how Aloft last year didn’t really make any money.” WYFF News 4 reports that Aloft owes the city of Simpsonville tens of thousands of dollars in back rent from the 2013 festival. Interim City Manager David Dyrhaug confirmed that Aloft defaulted on its payment plan when it missed its May 31 payment of $2,000 plus interest. “According to the payment plan WYFF obtained through the Freedom Of Information Act, Aloft was scheduled to pay the city of Simpsonville $7,500 in June and $12,500 in July, plus interest, to clear the 2013 balance…in August a $30,000 payment is scheduled to cover the 2014 festival.” The Client First Bankruptcy attorneys are an unsurpassed staff of the most knowledgeable consumer bankruptcy lawyers in the country, representing thousands of clients each year in consumer bankruptcy matters. Client First Bankruptcy attorneys are current on all of the new Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy laws and, with offices in Colorado, Florida and Illinois, we are familiar with specific bankruptcy law in many states. Client First Bankruptcy attorneys answer their phones 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (Central Time), Monday thru Friday, so you can get your initial complimentary consultation at a time that is most convenient for you. Our aggressive representation and extensive experience have earned the Client First Bankruptcy attorneys a national reputation for excellence in the representation of debtors in financial distress. Call us toll-free at 1-800-383-6004 and log onto our newly designed, interactive website, www.clientfirstbankruptcy.com.