First City Winery Open Prematurely Canceled

The City Winery Open, which was to be held for the first time at Forest Hills Stadium, was canceled by its promoters one week after it was announced.

The two-day festival was to take place Sept. 17 and 18 and had superstars of the stage Aretha Franklin and Sheryl Crow headlining on the bandstand, while over 40 gourmet chefs and 75 wineries from around New York and the world were on hand to showcase their culinary artistry.

In a statement on their website and sent out to ticket holders, City Winery apologized to would-be patrons for the cancellation and clarified that the event was postponed until September 2017. “We needed much more time to fully produce an event of this magnitude,” Michael Dorf, founder of City Winery wrote.

Tickets for the weekend-long event, ranged from $75 to $750 for one-day passes and from $140 to $1,350 for a two-day pass went on sale July 21, but ticket holders can breathe easier knowing that City Winery is refunding their purchases in full.

In addition to the headliners, Jakob Dylan and The Wallflowers, Dawes, Gillian Welch, Deer Tick, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Josh Ritter, Houndmouth and The Wild Feathers were also scheduled to perform.

"We really want the first year to be a huge success and just need the additional time to make it work correctly." Dorf continued. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the City Winery Open is still scheduled for Sept. 16 and 17, 2017.