Departure music festival in Mexico cancels five-day event just MINUTES before it was due to start

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A five-day destination music festival in Mexico that was canceled ‘minutes’ before it was set to begin because of newly-introduced COVID restrictions is being called the ‘Fyre Fest’ of 2022.

Departure Festival, produced by the company Pollen, was originally scheduled to run in Playa Del Carmen from January 6 through January 11, with musical acts like Black Coffee and Adam Beyer drawing in international festival-goers who flew in and booked stays at nearby resorts.

But on January 6, the organizers announced that the first day of the festival had been canceled due to elements ‘out of our control’ in relation to the pandemic.

The festival was still scheduled to go on the next day, but on January 7 — in what one prospective attendee said was ‘minutes’ before showtime — the organizers announced that the festival was being canceled altogether due to newly-introduced COVID-19 restrictions

A five-day destination music festival in Mexico that was canceled ‘minutes’ before it was set to begin because of newly-introduced COVID restrictions is being called the ‘Fyre Fest’ of 2022

Departure Festival, produced by the company Pollen, was originally scheduled to run in Playa Del Carmen from January 6 through January 11

Pollen began promoting the festival in August of 2021, with the first tickets going on sale in September.

Artists scheduled to perform included Amelie Lens, Vintage Culture, Lee Foss, DJ Tennis, Jamie Jones, Kaz James, Michael Bibi, Seth Troxler, Yokoo, Yotto, Yulia Niko, and Zombies in Miami.

But on the day the first performances were set to go on, Departure announced on Facebook that the start of the festival was postponed until the following day.

‘Due to local changes in COVID-19 permitting since this morning, we must announce that today’s opening of DEPARTURE has been postponed until tomorrow, Friday, January 7,’ they wrote, offering full refunds to single-day ticket holders and partial refunds and a future purchase credit to multi-day pass holders.

The local changes were instituted when the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, where Playa Del Carmen is located, increased its COVID-19 threat level from green to yellow.

Under yellow, Governor Carlos Manuel González said, open-air events would be limited to 70 per cent capacity, but bars, nightclubs, and ‘show centers’ could not open at all.

However, those guidelines were only to go into effect from January 10 through January 16 — meaning they would not have applied to the first four days of the festival.

Artists scheduled to perform included Amelie Lens, Vintage Culture, Lee Foss, DJ Tennis, Jamie Jones, Kaz James, Michael Bibi, Seth Troxler, Yokoo, Yulia Niko, and Zombies in Miami

But on the day the first performances were set to go on, Departure announced on Facebook that the start of the festival was postponed until the following day

‘While we are heartbroken to announce this, this remains out of our control. We appreciate your support and look forward to having you join us tomorrow to celebrate our first day of DEPARTURE TOGETHER,’ the organizers wrote.

Though the initial announcement only called for a postponement by one day, on January 7, the festival came back with a disappointing update.

‘It is with an incredibly heavy heart that on the weekend of our show, after 10 days of building and months of planning, we have been instructed that we cannot operate Departure,’ they wrote on Instagram.

‘We have been liaising with local authorities from Playa del Carmen and with the recent severe rise in the cases of Omicron in the past few days, the Governor announced last night that Playa del Carmen is returning to yellow tier COVID restrictions and therefore we cannot continue with a show of this size as planned,’ they went on, adding that all attendees would be refunded.

‘We know so many of you have travelled so far to be here — it breaks our hearts that we can’t put on the incredible experience that we had planned,’ they continued.

‘For those that are already here, we sincerely hope that you can continue to enjoy the incredible location.’

Local changes were instituted in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, where Playa Del Carmen is located. Concerts could not be held starting January 10, partway into the festival

Speaking to DailyMail.com, Pollen CMO Cliff Hopkins explained that on January 6, the local government in Quintana Roo informed Pollen of the new COVID restrictions due to a +700% increase in Omicron cases in the region.

‘As a result, the government deemed it unsafe to continue with Departure because of the capacities, scale, and shows Pollen had planned,’ he said.

‘With over 4 stages, 70 artists, 175 hours of programming and thousands of guests, it would have been simply impossible to operate with midnight curfews and capacity restrictions.’

He continued: ‘We bring tens of thousands of customers to Mexico each year with Pollen Presents experiences, we have a great relationship with the Mexican authorities, and we always act on their advice and requirements.

‘We are supportive of reducing any impact of COVID and care deeply about the health and well-being of our guests, staff and communities.

‘We were heartbroken to share this news with our guests. It hurt to let our customers down, as well as the local community and our partners whose livelihoods were impacted by this news.’

Though the initial announcement only called for a postponement by one day, on January 7, the festival came back with a disappointing update

He also reiterated customers would get a 100 per cent refund, as well as a $200 credit for a future experience.

He added that customers continued to be able to stay at their hotels, ‘at Pollen’s expense.’

Despite the full refunds — and being aware of the inherent risk of traveling in a pandemic — some attendees appear to be dissatisfied with how everything was handled.

TikTok user Cy Keefer took to the app on January 7, when he was already in Mexico and had just learned of the cancelation.

‘I have flown down to Tulum for a five-day music festival called Departure,’ he began.

‘OK, you guys, it’s not real. The first day was canceled and, like, the DJs were really sad. But then we woke up this morning, and this is the stage,’ he complained, showing an image of a main stage, partially constructed.

‘What I want to know, Departure, why are you being silent throughout all of this?’ he asked, adding that the festival as canceled ‘within minutes of the start time.’

TikTok user Cy Keefer took to the app on January 7, when he was already in Mexico and had just learned of the cancelation

‘OK, you guys, it’s not real. The first day was canceled and, like, the DJs were really sad. But then we woke up this morning, and this is the stage,’ he said

‘When I tell you it was canceled, it was as if it never existed. Like, the box office where we got our wristbands from — gone. The stages, the staff, and the crew — they’re gone,’ he said

‘When I tell you it was canceled, it was as if it never existed. Like, the box office where we got our wristbands from — gone. The stages, the staff, and the crew — they’re gone,’ he said.

‘The only way you knew there was a festival is there was a bunch of confused-looking people walking around in neon mesh.’

However, the TikToker admitted: ‘It’s hard to really complain, because they’re issuing us a refund, we’re at these nice beach clubs, staying in these nice hotels, going to these fun parties.’

Yet he still has a bone to pick with Pollen about whether or not the company will fulfill the refunds it promised.

He said that upon researching Pollen, he found several complaints from people who had bought tickets to past events that were canceled but did not receive refunds.

Commenters are even comparing the disastrous destination event to Fyre Fest, a fraudulent 2017 musical festival in the Bahamas that led to lawsuits

Some commenters on Departure’s Instagram post complained that it took months to get refunds on previously canceled engagements.

Others have also echoed Keefer’s accusation that the festival wasn’t ‘real,’ insisting that Pollen wasn’t prepared for the show to go on even before the cancelation.

‘You hired a media team to walk around this morning to take pictures of unfinished stages to pretend you were ready. You had people building bathrooms yesterday after the festival was supposed to already start,’ wrote one commenter on Departure’s Instagram page.

‘People in the fb group were posting pics of concrete being laid. They absolutely weren’t ready,’ insisted another commenter.

Commenters are even comparing the disastrous destination event to Fyre Festival, a fraudulent 2017 musical festival in the Bahamas, which was co-founded by rapper Ja Rule.

‘It’s giving Fyre Fest,’ wrote one, while another joked: ‘Who’s running this thing, Ja Rule?’

Yet other commenters think the comparisons are unfounded, pointing out that the world is still in the midst of a pandemic with rising COVID cases.

Yet other commenters thing the comparisons are unfounded, pointing out that the world is still in the midst of a pandemic

‘For those comparing this to Fyre festival, that is just so dumb. It is pretty simple…we are in a Pandemic still and s*** happens,’ wrote one.

‘I really can’t stand the references to Fyre Festival that people so lightly throw around in judgement of productions that go wrong for matters completely out of their control,’ said another.

‘So sorry guys. Hard to imagine how much work and planning must have gone into this,’ wrote another.

‘I feel bad for the organizers and for all who worked on this event. If you’ve ever worked on festival production, you understand just what an incredible undertaking in planning and expense it is. Sorry guys!’ said one more.

‘So much time invested and stages look incredible!! So sad this isn’t happening,’ wrote Serge Devant, one of the performers.

Baby monitor captures ’terrifying’ moment a HUGE spider propelled down onto a sleeping child’s HEAD

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The horrifying moment that an enormous spider dropped from the ceiling onto a sleeping baby was captured on the snoozing child’s baby monitor.

mother Emily Stewart, from Bradley, Illinois, shared the footage on TikTok, showing how the spider was first filmed crawling across the baby monitor’s camera while the small child was blissfully unaware in her crib.

But a moment later, the spider drops several feet, landing in tension-building slow-motion on the baby’s head.

The horrifying moment that an enormous spider dropped from the ceiling onto a sleeping baby was captured on the snoozing child’s baby monitor

Suddenly, two bright white lines appear on camera, obscuring almost everything else. They continue to move, as the body of spider reveals itself, crawling directly over the camera lens

The arachnid scuttles by, moving past the lens before dropping off the ceiling from a strand of silk, slowly lowering itself closer and closer to the baby

‘Trigger warning!!’ Emily captioned the video, which has been viewed 3.2 million times since it was posted on January 4.

‘I think my life would have been better if I didn’t see this. Now I have to burn the house down,’ she wrote.

Using audio from the Kreepa song ‘Oh no,’ she uploaded a few seconds of the toe-curling incident.

For a moment, everything seems fine from the vantage point of the baby monitor, which appears to be mounted on the ceiling.

Down below, baby Kyla is alone in her room, sleeping on her side in her crib.

Thanks to a glowing effect, it’s clearly visible all the way down as it appears to land on the unsuspecting baby’s head

‘I think my life would have been better if I didn’t see this. Now I have to burn the house down,’ other Emily Stewart, from Bradley, Illinois wrote on TikTok

Emily did not see the footage until the morning and killed the spider, which had not bitten her daughter, Kyla

But suddenly, two bright white lines appear on camera, obscuring almost everything else. They continue to move, as the body of spider reveals itself, crawling directly over the camera lens.

Because the video is black and white and was filmed in the dark, the monitor’s infrared lights create the illusion that the spider is glowing.

The arachnid scuttles by, moving past the lens before dropping off the ceiling from a strand of silk, slowly lowering itself closer and closer to the baby.

Thanks to the glow, it’s clearly visible all the way down as it appears to land on the unsuspecting baby’s head.

In a second video, the spider is seen crawling back up the silk strand to the ceiling.

Emily said that she didn’t see the video until the morning, but killed the bug soon after. She also assured viewers that the baby was not bitten.

Commenters are horrified and have joked that Emily must have ’never went to get her child again’

Yet commenters were not satisfied and expressed horror over the incident.

‘I’m so sorry for your loss….I’m assuming you never went to get your child again?’ wrote one.

‘Press charges you got it on camera,’ wrote another, while others called it ’terrifying.’

‘The spider had the ENTIRE ROOM…. and it chose right there to spin down, wrote a third, while a fourth suggested: ‘The way it went down to the baby gotta throw the room and the baby away now.’

‘Absolutely not,’ wrote one more. ‘I’m not even afraid of spiders but repelling onto a sleeping baby?? Immediately no.’

10-Year-Old Girl Close to Retiring as Millionaire

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It’s hard to fathom that a child in elementary school could be set to retire as a millionaire by the time she turns 15.

At just 10 years old, Pixie Curtis is the owner of Pixie’s Pix, as well as two sub-businesses called Pixie’s Bows, which specializes in hair bows, and Pixie’s Fidgets, which sells fidget toys.

After gaining a following on Instagram, Pixie’s mother, Roxy Jacenko, launched the hair bow business for her daughter when Curtis was still a baby.

She’s Got Celebrity Customers

Celebrity children such as Suri Cruise, North West and True Thompson have all been photographed in Pixie’s Bows.

Following the launch of Pixie’s Bows, Pixie and her mother branched off into the accessories and toy businesses, including Pixie’s Fidgets. In its first month of operation, Curtis’ fidget toy company made over $200,000 in sales and sold out of product in 48 hours, according to news.com.au.

She Can Retire as a Teen If She Wants To

“She can retire at 15 if she wants to,” Roxy told the Australian news site. “Our family joke has been I’ll be working till I’m 100 and Pixie will have retired at 15 – I certainly know who’s smarter.”

The outlet reports that back in 2018, a retail expert believed that Pixie could stand to make over $21 million before she turns 18 just from her bow company alone. That’s a lot of hair bows.

Although Pixie is involved in the company, Roxy wants her daughter to know that she doesn’t have to be involved in the business if she chooses not to.

“I have said it from day one, the moment Pixie doesn’t want to be front-facing or be involved with Pixie’s Pix and Pixie’s Bows then we will reassess. But for now, she is happy [and] learning so much,” Roxy said.

As for Pixie’s dreams for how she wants to spend her money? A beach house and a Lamborghini SUV in the garage would be a nice place to start, according to the 10-year-old.

“Now the important lesson is to teach her to invest well and not squander her money,” her mother added.

Money and Business Expertise Runs in the Family

As you may have guessed, Pixie’s success can very likely be attributed to her parents’ wealth, business expertise and resources.

Roxy is the owner of Sweaty Betty PR and several other successful businesses, as well as a social media influencer. She even appeared on the third season of Celebrity Apprentice Australia.

Pixie’s dad, Oliver Curtis, is a financial analyst. He was convicted and sentenced to a year in jail for conspiring to commit insider trading. He was released in 2017 and has now joined his father’s bitcoin farming startup company. However, Olivier is not allowed to serve as a director of any business until June 2022, per court mandate.

Following the success of Pixie’s Pix, Pixie’s Bows and Pixie’s Fidgets, Roxy also launched a business for her son, Hunter, called HPC Brand, which carries unisex streetwear for kids.

Though there’s nothing inherently wrong with a parent helping their child secure their future, many on social media have criticized other publications for positioning the success of Pixie’s Pix as a self-made story without mentioning her parents’ financial success and influence.

See social media reactions, below:

The con is on – get ready for TV’s latest obsession

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Early on in the pandemic, back when we were all baking sourdough and taking part in Zoom quizzes, another slightly less wholesome trend was on the rise. Last year, consumer rights group Which? reported that 60 per cent of Brits had been targeted by delivery scam texts.

And I was one of the 60 per cent. Texts claiming to be from Royal Mail were lighting up my phone screen every other day, asking me to pay an extra fee for a missed delivery.

On top of that, about once a week I was receiving a call supposedly from Carphone Warehouse (where I’ve never had an account). Other scams get really elaborate. Thousands of people in the UK last year were tricked into transferring money to a criminal after he had phoned them up, pretending to be from their bank’s fraud team and convinced them the security of their account had been compromised.

And then there are the romance scammers. Some might sneer at the gullibility of those scammed by Israeli conman Shimon Hayut, the subject of the new Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler. But Hayut, as the film reveals, is a little more than your average catfish. Posing as Simon Leviev, the son of billionaire Russian-Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev, Hayut treated the women he met on Tinder to flights on private jets and what appeared to be their yearly salt quota in caviar.

Add to this romantic gesture after romantic gesture, and promises of a future together, and, to quote BoJack Horseman – a very different Netflix show – “When you look at someone through rose-coloured glasses, all the red flags just look like flags”. The women were eventually conned out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now they have come together to expose his crimes.