Near RIOT Breaks Out After Portland Taco Festival Runs Out Of Food

“Anger and chaos” is how KATU described the scene after a Portland taco festival, held at Portland Meadows in North Portland, ran out of food. At one point, Hundreds of angry attendees circled the on-site event organizer.

Event organizers began turning people away as those already in attendance demanded refunds. The issue caused organizers of Portland Taco Festival to cancel the event for Sunday.

A website for the event billed it this way, “We are creating a full weekend of fun and food. Join your family and friends along with several thousand other TACO lovers to enjoy a carefully crafted group of the best TACO creators in the whole city.” The website listed today’s activities as “canceled.”

Hundreds of attendees demanded refunds from organizers of the Portland Taco Festival when tacos at the highly anticipated two-day event were sold out in reportedly 90 minutes. Attendees paid $17.50 for entry and $10 for parking per car. Portland Police were called to help manage the growing crowd.

The event organized by Connected Soul and Another Brother Productions, which is based in Denver, Colo., advertised music, dancing, a drink expo and tacos from “the best independent food trucks” and “restaurants in Oregon.”

According to their policy, all amounts paid are non-refundable.

They said several factors kept the event from being successful, including technical problems and unclear signage.