Food Festival-Foxboro-boo!

Very disappointing. Just back.
Myself and my son. Luckily he is only 10, so in only set me back $45, instead of 90.
Numerous no shows both for restaurants and performers, as well as significant scale back on the performing schedule.

Restaurant no shows or last minute cancels:
Anchor Bar
Neely's BBQ
Southside Market
Ted Drewe's Custard
Tony Luke's
Turtle Alley
Willie Mae's Scotch House
Tamale place from AZ (I forget the name)

Performer no shows:
Tony Luke
The Neelys

Performers who only performed in the evening, despite schedule showing a daytime performance as well:
Paula Deen
Tom Colicchio

For first few hours, no one from event with any clue as to who was performing when.
No info given as to why Deen and Colicchio not doing a daytime show.

The Mento's-Diet Coke show was very cool. Southside Johnny was great as usual (although his keyboard player missed the first 1/2 of his performance).
The food that was there was fine, although given no shows cut into variety quite a bit.
Must say I was very disappointed. Anyone else there today?

that really sucks. the promoters should be ashamed of themselves,but I doubt if they care.
how extensively was this advertised?
throughout New England or just locally?
I don't remember seeing anything posted on this board about it. I would have noticed because I'm from Connecticut & I would have been there if I still lived there (moved to Daytona 3 yrs. ago)
did any other Roadfooders go?
I thought Southside Johnny himself was the keyboard player. he used to be.

The Sterns and Stephen Rushmore had posted extensively about it.  It was the Great American Food and Music Festival.  Foxboro was the second location and the Meadowlands in NJ was the first location.  Roadfood had given away a pair of tickets to Roadfooder last month.   

There were a few posts about it on the Eat & Greets Forum when they held the contest to give away the tickets and Ellen 4641 had posted about her experience on the RF New Forum after she went to the Meadowlands.  The Sterns and Stephen Rushmore announced after the Meadowlands that they would not be attending the Foxboro event.

I note however, they fairly abruptly ended their sponsorship after the NJ event.
I wonder if what I noted is why.

The Sterns were not sponsoring the events. They were offered tickets, which they gave away to a member of Roadfood.

They had some type of official relationship with the festival. The logo for the festival was on the Roadfood website, and the Roadfood logo was on the festival website. They also had an appearance onstage in the Meadowlands. They were on the schedule to appear in Foxboro. Then right after the NJ event, they announced they would not be appearing in Foxboro, and the logos were taken off the sites.
I can't help but wonder what happened.

I remember seeing & reading about the Meadowlands deal & the Sterns withdrawing from Foxboro.
just by looking at the Meadowlands pics that looked liked like a bust.
too bad for both venues.

I don't believe in burning bridges or making enemies, but since the second event is over I can explain our perspective.

We were called in at the last minute to help bring some credible restaurants to the event in exchange for some stage time and sponsor perks.  We more than did our job in the time period allotted, but decided to pull out after the first show in NJ after we saw how those restaurants were being treated.  The first red-flag was raised when they ignored my suggestion to serve Rancatore's homemade hot fudge sauce (which is one the best in the world) on their ice cream and replaced it with canned Sysco #10 chocolate sauce.  Doing this without telling me didn't help the relationship.

Example #2 - The Sterns and I put together a PowerPoint presentation to be used during our stage time.  It took several hours to put together and was the cornerstone to our 30 minute act.  I was assured everything would be working, and even got a call from the AV guy the night before confirming we were all set.  When we got to the stage, the manager knew nothing about it, couldn't get it to work, and said we had to go on without it.  So we were left on the stage literally a minute before our start time with no presentation and 30 minutes to fill.  Not cool.  We pulled it off, but that's not a way to treat the people who literally brought food credibility to a Food and Music fest.

That was two of about 50 things that didn't go well.  I can share some more stories with you over a beer during our third well-run festival in New Orleans.

I assumed the story was something like that. Please don't think from my posts I was in anyway blaming the Roadfood team. I figured you guys had somehow gotten a raw deal. One didn't have to be any kind of an insider to sense the disorganization today. Ticketbuyers are absolutely owed an apology and even some money back based on the number of no-shows today, but I'm not going to hold my breath waiting.

Hey Guys...I know for a fact that the Food Festival has been heavily publicized at least on most of the stations I watch.  It has also shown the Roadfood logo giving every impression that Roadfood was sponsoring it.  I'm so tired now after going to the fiasco but the only name I do remember them actually mentioning is Viking Range! 
 
I also am not as forgiving as you guys sound.  I'm going to see if my credit card will fight the charges.  I have major GI problems so I went for the entertainment and not necessarily the food.  Altho I did bring Ziploc bags figuring that I might find something to bring home for dinner.  I also talked my niece and mother into going as well as my niece's daughter who thankfully (sort of) is only 10.  But both my mother and I are disabled and mom's in a wheelchair.  I bought my tickets directly from the Stadium and I can't find any fine print on them as to subject to change and no refunds.  So I may even be going after Mr Kraft <g> no matter how much I like him!
It was so absurdly ridiculously that even the workers had no idea what was happening when we got there that not only did they not have schedules for us but the major workers had and knew nothing!  They kept saying there would be constant announcements with the info instead however they had a band playing with the amps as loud as they went.  So either no announcements were continuously made or they were drowned out (NOT)!
With mom in a wheelchair we had to get a special worker to take us up onto the concourse level where they were doing the Sundaes and where they had Eepybird.  They did announce Eepybird at 2:00pm so we went up thru the maze of the stadium with a guard and finally got over to eepybird when they announced they were going to be starting Duff Goldman (sorry...forget the time but about 2:15) and that eepybird had been moved back to basically the end of Duff! 
 
So needless to say we missed Duff since I don't consider sitting underneath a Jumbotron looking up watching him when we would have loved to have been in yelling/t-shirt catching distance as he was VERY interactive with the audience.  But out of 4 of us with 2 disabled, 1 in a wheelchair and no direct access down, we had no way to get to see him and then come back up to the concourse level.
 
When Eepybird finished...who were fantastic, btw, and very friendly......we could not find a single security person to take us back down to the main field so we ended up going the doorway and handicapped elevator sign we *thought* was the one we came up on.  We got down to the Field level and needless to say it was the wrong level and the door to get out was locked!
 
Someone from Patriots organization saw us....thank goodness and he tried getting us back to the beginning or down to the field a direct route...NO LUCK!  WE HAD TO WALK AROUND THE WHOLE OUTSIDE OF THE STADIUM AND THEN BACK INTO THE ENTRANCE AND SHOW OUR TICKETS AGAIN!  I don't know what they would have done had my niece taken the tickets with her when she left!!!
 
By that time it was almost 5:00pm and they had said Paula was going to be signing books from 4:00-4:30.  Well, they didn't even know where she was yet!!!  Of course there was still a line a mile long for autographs!
 
  I have no idea if and when they ever did do Duff's book signing!  At that point too when we got back in they did have a tiny schedule printed.  No Neelys even tho they said several times they were on their way!  We went back in to try and find someone with authority and the workers that had been helpful most of the day said they all worked for Foxboro Stadium and didn't even know who was running the event! (And I honestly believe that most if not all meant it!)  I tried to get to the DJ that came for the afternoon as I know him well, but I couldn't get into the VIP area to get to him!
 
   I swear I was ready to kill someone but some of it had to do with what were probably ADA violations.  I'd have to look those up!
 
   As we finally were leaving about 5:30 there was still a line for Paula to sign books so I sent my 10 y.o. niece over to humor me and look for her and she had only just left mom and I when I saw Michael Groover so I knew Paula had finally made.  The little one was starstruck so we left it to her if she wanted to get in line for our booked signed.  Her answer was yes so we headed for the end of the line.
 
    I apparently looked like Chief Thundercloud or had murder someone written on my forehead because some very nice couple was there and the wife came and grabbed us and we ended up about 40 closer in line than we would have been.  (But I also know of Paula that it is normal practice for her NOT to leave until she has signed every book and autograph!)
 
    I have to say I have attended MANY as in MANY food events in my 50 something <g> years and this was the absolute worst event I ever intended in my life!  I had even attended the Phantom Gourmet BBQ Fest on Friday which was in East Boston at Suffold Downs Racetrack, was FREE, had about 10 BBQers the majority from across the country, including Jack McDavid who used to do Grillin' n'  Chillin with Bobby Flay and Jack couldn't have been happier to talk to you and take pictures with you, etc.  There were other guys famous in their own right from the BBQ circuit!  And it was happening Saturday and Sunday as well with admission ONLY $5 each day and the food much more reasonable!  They had more than ribs but the average price for a full slab of ribs was $22 and several places included sides with that!
 
    Doctor I appreciate your list of today because I hadn't even taken the time to figure how many places were missing!  But I also asked someone what happened to the 6 stages they were supposed to have but I never got a decent answer!
 
   It was just sooooo pathetic, maddening, ridiculous, etc.  If they had even half of what they said and just concentrated on that it might have been a decent show!
  
    Thanks for letting me rant!  I think I'm just practicing for my credit card company! <g>
 
     Jody from Sharon, MA

Wow.  Thanks, Stephen, for bringing us all up to (some) speed on the issue.  I don't think there could be an issue of burning bridges here.  It just sounds like this is a poorly managed event.

I am not much of a country music fan, but I think Garth Brooks sang a song some time ago about unanswered prayers.  Had I won the tickets being offered on this site, I would have chosen the Foxboro event, as the Meadowlands function conflicted with my trip to the College World Series.  In the end, I am pretty glad that I didn't win - as it doesn't sound like the trip would have been worth the cost of the plane ticket.  Hard to look a gift horse in the mouth, though, so I will just be grateful for unanswered prayers.

Sorry your experience was even worse than mine Jody. I also a hard time figuring how to get up to espy bird. Went up and down the stadium stairs twice as was getting pointed to different direction by stadium security. Finally me and my son, and a group of about 5 people confronted a security guard and made him get on his radio to figure it out.
The only reason I am not going to fight for a refund is I only bought 1 ticket (kids 10 and under were free) and I figure even if I get 10-20 bucks back, not worth the aggravation. Would be different story if I was arguing about multiple tickets.
Also haven't noted the very poor attendance. I have to assume they were hoping for multiple times the attendance that was there.
Let us know if you have any luck with a refund.

Hey DoctorRick....I'll let you know what happens.  I looked for a contact number on the credit card statement and that too says Gillette Stadium so that is who I am going after.  And since I am less than 10 minutes I will go with letter in hand as to ALL their downfalls.  Glad I have a ream of paper!   
I will, however, not deal with the ticket window. If I have to go to the ProShop and ask for management I will.  BTW, I did buy my tickets at the Stadium since I am so close. 
One other person that was supposed to be there and not listed anywhere was former American Idol Melinda Doolittle.  I *think* she was also a no show but I am pretty sure I left before you.  Did you hear her sing?  She is definitely not listed on the mini revised schedule.
   I'm known for being stubborn so if I have to sit in their lobby or be obnoxious...legally....I will until I get to speak to someone and they do something to make it right.  If they don't want to refund it then fine, give me a ProShop gift card for the same value!!!  I'm not beyond going to Susan Warnick or one of the TV Stations!  As I mentioned I'm disabled so I unfortunately have to count my pennies!

     Stephen.....I wish Jane and Michael could make it clear they were NOT involved because if I had not known this website I would have been mad at them too where they were advertised as sponsors!  I really appreciate you setting the record straight!

     Today it's off to Natick to American Girl for my little niece to meet her Author friend that is doing a book signing at AG and having dinner with her and I don't know how many girl's to discuss the book for the Girl of the Year!  Never a dull moment...yet!  I'll crash tonight!

     Jody from Sharon

Left at 6p, and never saw or heard her name.
However, I never remember reading about her on the schedule.
Here is their website, which still lists many of the performers/restaurants that were not there, as well as what the schedule was supposed to be.

DOCTORRICK

Left at 6p, and never saw or heard her name.
However, I never remember reading about her on the schedule.
Here is their website, which still lists many of the performers/restaurants that were not there, as well as what the schedule was supposed to be.

These articles mention Melinda Doolitle: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/dishing/2010/05/the_great_ameri.html

http://www.last.fm/event/1518644+++%22Great+American+Food+And+Music+Fest%22

http://www.yelp.com/events/foxborough-great-american-food-and-music-fest-gillette-stadium

Sounds like an utter and complete disaster. my condolences to all who were inconvenienced and/or screwed over by the ineptness of the people who sponsored the event.

I just had a fun time reading the food and music facebook page.  Boy are there a ton of furious people.  Many are talking about going to Help Me Hank for help.  I think as long as the majority is going there I will start with her.  I did read where someone was so mad they went to the ticket window for a refund and they did upgrade them to VIP tickets.  By 5pm I was so fed up it would have been miserable to stay until 10pm!   There also were tons of complaints of the constant schedule changes!
    I did read somewhere again tho about how Jane and Michael and Stephen were supporting it!!!  I know that's not what happened now thanks to this site but I would definitely want to get my name disassociated from the whole thing.

    And I did read that Melinda Doolittle felt there wasn't enough interest in her so she pulled out!  Well, what a major bunch of baloney!  She would have no way of knowing.  Not to mention I'm pretty sure she would have gotten a very good reception!  Among the food people she was the music draw for my family!

   And I've read so much now I forget what I read about the 6 stages but there was a comment on that.  I'm so tired I'm probably totally wrong but I think it did refer to them having all of the stages!   GEESH!!!

     Jody from Sharon

I just checked on the Facebook page, thanks. Not sure I read it correctly, but did Tom Colicchio not show up either?
Boy would I be pissed if I waited for him. Up until at least 6:30 he was on the schedule.
Lot of pissed of people.

We won the Roadfood raffle for the two VIP tickets at Foxboro
We drove all the way from Florida ,when we got there at 11 Am the will call window didn't know what we were talking about
After several telcons Steve Rushmore we finally got in two and a half hours latter
Since we are in our late seventys and were standing in the sun all this time,we had about had it
Well when we finally learned where the Green Room was ,we found another long long line
We looked into the room and it was full of people standig shoulder to shoulderThere was no way to get in
It would be to long to tell every thing that went wrong We finaly gave up and left at about three o clock with no food
Went back to the hotel and got a pizza
Perhaps when we get back to Florida I can expand more
However we are experiencing a good number of Roadfood places on our dive so far
Will list them later

Heartburn, Sorry to hear about the way you were treated.  Glad you enjoyed the road trip!


Jody Thomas, I'm working in Stoughton.  Where is the good Roadfood in Sharon?

Joerogo.....there are a few good places depending what you want altho Sharon itself is sparse.  For ice cream in Sharon...dessert 1st...you have to go to Crescent Ridge on the corner of Bay Road and Mountain Rd.
Basically in Sharon center is Pizzagando that has excellent pizza, great spaghetti and meatballs and the sauce is delish.  A block down from there is Mandarin Taste....always referred to as Alice's since she has owned it forever yet she looks very young and is very nice.  Her food is excellent.  The 1st time I had Lo Mein I was thrown by the yellowy color but it is delicious and tasted as good as I hoped.  I also love her crab rangoon....to die for!  She makes another dish that my niece's friend has shared with me but I don't know what it;s called.  It has cubed eggplant and is in some kind of sauce with garlic.  She has them adjust the garlic but I don't know how to order it without her.  Yet I fell in love with it.  There is a new Indian restauarant called Coriander that has gotten rave reviews and I know at least at lunch time they serve a very reasonable buffet.  I'm not big on Indian so haven't tried it yet but my friends all have been telling me I would like it.
  At Cobbs Corner in Canton is Cobbs Corner Pizza a few doors down from Dunkies.  I get either a pizza with double onion or their spaghetti with a marinara sauce and cheese melted over the top and garlic bread.  (that btw is $5.25.)  My niece loves their pepperoni pizza.  I personally hate Papa Ginos and Chinatown a few doors down from it has never been good but I haven't tried them again in ages.  I have not tried the Korean BBQ that sits in the lot next to Dunkies because the menu they sent us the food prices were ouytrageous!  I also hate Bertucci's but my nieces go there quite a bit.  I can't wait for the Five Guys Burgers that is opening 2 doors down.  On the opposite side is Halfway Cafe and I have liked pretty much everything I got there with the exception of the 1 lb. Pearl Country Klub Frank.  I found it to be too spicy!  Further down in Canton up by Walgreen's is Golden China.  Everything we get from there we have loved.  Especially the egg foo yong.  In that plaza is another pizza place that I forget the name but that too has always been fantastic.  We always used to go on Fridays for Fish and Chips.  They are Greek owned and all the greeks around here know how to cook. 
A bit further down from there is Centerfield's.  They have a big menu with fabulous food.  The chef is trained at Johnson and Wales!
  My favorite pizza I would have to say comes from Dennenos on Pleasant Street in Canton.  But then you also got great pizza in stoughton at Town Spa.  (Sorry I forget the route/street)  Also in Stoughton is Nocera's that great.  It's near the Caritas Hospital.  And speaking of Nocera's they have Le Chateau on Route 1 in Norwood near Ernie Boch's but on the opposite side of the street.  However, they did just open another place next door to Ernie's Ferrari place called Jake and Joe's Sports Grille.  I know nothing of prices but was told the food is fantastic.  It's only been open about a week now.  And one of our favorite places if you keep coming down Route one and head towards Petco and heading towards IHOP but not quite that far.  It's by that Boch giant used car lot and past the Four Point Hotel is a Teppanyaki Restaurant called Hibachi.  Only once have we ever been there that we got a chef on his off day.  Prices are very reasonable for what it is....about $25 including tax....and the food is excellent.
  I have skipped a few as there are a couple newer ones in Canton that I have heard nothing about!

    Out of curiosity...I know it killed the cat <g>......why are you working in Stoughton if you are from PA?   Which BTW I should add we love Texas Roadhouse at Westgate Mall.

    Jody from Sharon

Wow, about 1/2  of the Food Vendors Cancelled, or were No Shows...!!

Sorry to hear about your experiences, DoctorRick, and JODY !

I had mixed feelings about the Meadowlands event, (hated the $25 to park, but LOVED being able to schmooze with Jane & Michael again)
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/JANE-MICHAEL-STERN-and-Stephen-Rushmore-appeared-LIVE-at-the-MEADOWLANDS-STADIUM-m593228.aspx
but it sounds like I was at the Ritz Carlton , compared to the FOXBORO event...
 
P.S.  You are not alone, DoctorRick, and Jody !!  Check out the Facebook "fan page" for the GREAT AMERICAN FOOD AND MUSIC FEST ...  .....disgruntled festival goers !!  They want refunds!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/greatamericanfoodandmusicfest?ref=ts
...if you are having trouble accessing the link, just get on it thru Facebook...


 

Wow!!  Heartburn, I'm so sorry for all of the trouble you had to go through.  My sympathies go out to all who attended.  I read about the same festival in 2009 that was held at the Shoreline Ampitheatre outside of San Francisco and it appeared to be an even bigger SNAFU.  

Here is the link from SeriousEats.com: http://www.seriouseats.co...t-intentions-gone.html

Jody Thomas

Jody Thomas


Joerogo.....there are a few good places depending what you want altho Sharon itself is sparse.  For ice cream in Sharon...dessert 1st...you have to go to Crescent Ridge on the corner of Bay Road and Mountain Rd.
Basically in Sharon center is Pizzagando that has excellent pizza, great spaghetti and meatballs and the sauce is delish.  A block down from there is Mandarin Taste....always referred to as Alice's since she has owned it forever yet she looks very young and is very nice.  Her food is excellent.  The 1st time I had Lo Mein I was thrown by the yellowy color but it is delicious and tasted as good as I hoped.  I also love her crab rangoon....to die for!  She makes another dish that my niece's friend has shared with me but I don't know what it;s called.  It has cubed eggplant and is in some kind of sauce with garlic.  She has them adjust the garlic but I don't know how to order it without her.  Yet I fell in love with it.  There is a new Indian restauarant called Coriander that has gotten rave reviews and I know at least at lunch time they serve a very reasonable buffet.  I'm not big on Indian so haven't tried it yet but my friends all have been telling me I would like it.
  At Cobbs Corner in Canton is Cobbs Corner Pizza a few doors down from Dunkies.  I get either a pizza with double onion or their spaghetti with a marinara sauce and cheese melted over the top and garlic bread.  (that btw is $5.25.)  My niece loves their pepperoni pizza.  I personally hate Papa Ginos and Chinatown a few doors down from it has never been good but I haven't tried them again in ages.  I have not tried the Korean BBQ that sits in the lot next to Dunkies because the menu they sent us the food prices were ouytrageous!  I also hate Bertucci's but my nieces go there quite a bit.  I can't wait for the Five Guys Burgers that is opening 2 doors down.  On the opposite side is Halfway Cafe and I have liked pretty much everything I got there with the exception of the 1 lb. Pearl Country Klub Frank.  I found it to be too spicy!  Further down in Canton up by Walgreen's is Golden China.  Everything we get from there we have loved.  Especially the egg foo yong.  In that plaza is another pizza place that I forget the name but that too has always been fantastic.  We always used to go on Fridays for Fish and Chips.  They are Greek owned and all the greeks around here know how to cook. 
A bit further down from there is Centerfield's.  They have a big menu with fabulous food.  The chef is trained at Johnson and Wales!
  My favorite pizza I would have to say comes from Dennenos on Pleasant Street in Canton.  But then you also got great pizza in stoughton at Town Spa.  (Sorry I forget the route/street)  Also in Stoughton is Nocera's that great.  It's near the Caritas Hospital.  And speaking of Nocera's they have Le Chateau on Route 1 in Norwood near Ernie Boch's but on the opposite side of the street.  However, they did just open another place next door to Ernie's Ferrari place called Jake and Joe's Sports Grille.  I know nothing of prices but was told the food is fantastic.  It's only been open about a week now.  And one of our favorite places if you keep coming down Route one and head towards Petco and heading towards IHOP but not quite that far.  It's by that Boch giant used car lot and past the Four Point Hotel is a Teppanyaki Restaurant called Hibachi.  Only once have we ever been there that we got a chef on his off day.  Prices are very reasonable for what it is....about $25 including tax....and the food is excellent.
  I have skipped a few as there are a couple newer ones in Canton that I have heard nothing about!

    Out of curiosity...I know it killed the cat <g>......why are you working in Stoughton if you are from PA?   Which BTW I should add we love Texas Roadhouse at Westgate Mall.

    Jody from Sharon

 


Hey Jody, I am a contractor.  I am doing a small job at Stone Ends on 27.


I ate at the Korean BBQ & Buffet place today.  This was my fist shot at Korean and it was fantastic.  Lunch was $11.99, the selection was small but more than adequate.  My server(Aden) explained every food and its preparation.  Kimchi is my new favorite food.


Thanks for the food info.  I am always on the lookout for good pizza.


Sorry about hijacking the thread.

Hey Jody, I am a contractor. I am doing a small job at Stone Ends on 27. I ate at the Korean BBQ & Buffet place today. This was my fist shot at Korean and it was fantastic. Lunch was $11.99, the selection was small but more than adequate. My server(Aden) explained every food and its preparation. Kimchi is my new favorite food. Thanks for the food info. I am always on the lookout for good pizza. Sorry about hijacking the thread.

joerogo

 


Hey Jody, I am a contractor.  I am doing a small job at Stone Ends on 27.


I ate at the Korean BBQ & Buffet place today.  This was my fist shot at Korean and it was fantastic.  Lunch was $11.99, the selection was small but more than adequate.  My server(Aden) explained every food and its preparation.  Kimchi is my new favorite food.


Thanks for the food info.  I am always on the lookout for good pizza.

Sorry about hijacking the thread.

 
Hey Joe....too funny about the Korean BBQ.  Right about the time they were opening they delivered copies of their menus to I assume all the surrounding neighbors.  Since I'm about 1/2 mile from Cobbs Corner on Rt 27 we obviously got one.  But the prices on it were definitely outrageous.  I get the feeling they have come down because I don't consider your lunch a bad price at all.  Especially if it was good. 
 
    Pretty funny in that the saying *small world* holds true as one of my niece's best friends lives in Stone Ends.  I have a friend that could live on kimchi. <g>  I've never tried it since I think it's probably too spicy for me.
 
   If you know where the Stoughton Courthouse is not far beyond the fork, Pleasant St is at the light there and you would make a left turn to get to Dennenos Pizza.  (Right down Pleasant on your right.)  It is funny because they still after MANY moons still use scissors to cut their pizza slices!
  
    Enjoy your stay in the area!
 
    Jody from Sharon

P.S.  You are not alone, DoctorRick, and Jody !!  Check out the Facebook "fan page" for the GREAT AMERICAN FOOD AND MUSIC FEST ...  .....disgruntled festival goers !!  They want refunds!

...if you are having trouble accessing the link, just get on it thru Facebook...  end quote!
 
Hey Ellen...I did find the Facebook page the other day.  I didn't comment on it but my niece said she did.  After reading that several people had already contacted Hank I sent Hank an email early yesterday morning with I'm sure quite a bit more info than most gave her and I did give her the Facebook page as well so she hopefully will look it up.  I also contacted a person I know at Viking Kitchens and told her I hoped they didn't get any fallout as they were advertised as a supporter.
 
    And while it really was so horrible for us I feel even worse for Heartburn!  To come all the way up from Florida and go thru what they did and in the heat we had that day I'd consider it cruel and unusual punishment.
 
      He has a great outlook that he can make the best out of what they went thru by stopping at Roadfood restaurants on the way home!  He's my hero! 
 
     Jody from Sharon

Hi Jody,
When you said your mom was in a wheelchair, I realized you were the same Roadfooder
who asked about the Food Fest on my Meadowlands thread...

I wrote back to you extensively about an hour or so later, giving you the lowdown...
(it's on page 1 of the thread)
...was never sure if you even saw it ....

It's all about perspective. I went for 2 reasons. The beer/wine tasting and Southside Johnny. Both were excellent. Buying at the early bird price of $90 I feel I got my moneys worth easily. 5 hours of all the beer and wine I want and a private concert from Southside? Sign me up every time! I felt bad for the Jukes and Buckwheat Zydeco though. They deserved a bigger crowd than the 300 or so that paid attention to them. But they both killed like the pros they are.

For the record, since someone brought it up, Johnny was never the keyboard player for the Jukes.

I also feel bad for those who went for the food network stuff. To say that Paula Deen was a joke would be the understatement of the year. She told stories and answered questions for 45 mins while her husband, some other woman and a kid from the audience cooked behind her. Barely even mentioned food at all. And the people asking the questions MUST have been planted, given the gushing "you're my hero / you're my idol / I LOVE YOU" stuff. It was quite vomit inducing.

Best food of the day was from the local Tavolino's Gourmet Pizza. They are located right at Patriot's Place and they're the only one's whose food wasn't sitting out in the hot sun all day. I hear the Foxboro board of health was having a field day out there.

Jody Thomas
 
    And I did read that Melinda Doolittle felt there wasn't enough interest in her so she pulled out!  Well, what a major bunch of baloney!  She would have no way of knowing.  Not to mention I'm pretty sure she would have gotten a very good reception! 

Perhaps MELINDA DOOLITTLE was going by the small crowd that watched her sing in the rain at the Meadowlands Food Fest???
Here's Melinda performing back on June 13th, around 5 pm...
(word has it she got a bad break on American Idol ....) (cut too soon???)
Since she pulled out of Foxboro, at least you can do a visual now !!
She's got that Aretha Franklin style voice !!

 
However, I hate  to think  that a would- be professional singer would blow off a gig at Foxboro Stadium ...
(like you said, something does'nt sound right...)
cuz, no matter WHAT, it would look good on a resume !!  
And future scouting agents will just see "Foxboro Stadium" on a resume; they won't realize  only 20 people might've been in the audience...
 
A professional musician is supposed to stay confident, and perform a great show whether it's for 20 people or 1000 people..
I've seen plenty sing their hearts out in near empty Vegas lounges...
 

 

Wow, that is the first concert I have seen where there are more people on stage than the seats!