We’ve got bad news for cocktail fans. According to a press release sent out last night, the first-ever L.A. Spirits Expo has been “regrettably cancelled” in light of “an emergency which has forced [them] to cancel this gathering.”
Originally scheduled to run on May 9 and May 10, the event aimed to host “craft bartenders, spirit enthusiasts, restaurateurs, consumers, and the business community” to educate themselves on a variety of spirit and cocktail-related topics. It would have been the second Tales of the Cocktail-style seminar series to hit L.A. this year, following the well-received Golden State of Cocktails which occurred earlier in 2014.
A press statement released by L.A. Spirits Expo assured attendees that any purchased tickets would be refunded in full—though, oddly, tickets were still available for purchase on the Eventbrite homepage as of press time.
Maricela Lopez, the founder of the planned L.A. Spirits Expo, had this to say:
“It is with great disappointment that I, along with my investors, have decided to cancel the Los Angeles Spirits Expo taking place tomorrow, May 9 and Saturday, May 10 in downtown Los Angeles. For circumstances beyond our control, we have had many obstacles in planning and executing this event. In the best interest of our participants, including the speakers and the craft spirit distillers, as well as the attendees who supported us, we have decided not to proceed. Ticket holders will be issued a refund through Eventbrite, and we hope to produce a successful Los Angeles Spirits Expo in the near future.”
