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After reading posts about people getting refunds, I decided to call Live Nation to get mine. The number I called was 877-598-8497 which is their ticketing line. Once I got to an operator I asked for a refund but she told me my tickets were non-refundable unless the event was canceled. She said there was nothing she could do and the only other option was to speak to customer service. I agreed to that and got transferred.

I waited for maybe 5 mins on the phone before an agent picked up. I said that I wanted a refund for the Great American Food and Music Fest. She asked for my order number and then put me on hold for another 5 mins. Then she came back and said my CC would be refunded the $70 for 2 tickets and I would receive an email confirmation. There was no haggling or anything. So I am pretty happy.

Ok, so I called Livenation and got my refund. I also emailed info@greatamericanfoodandmusicfest.com. This is the response I received:

Thank you so much for taking the time to write. I am so incredibly
sorry about what you went through.

We certainly had every intention of making everything perfect. The fact
is, the problems were not anyone's fault by ours. Not the building's,
not Live Nation. We wanted to keep lines down so we invested all this
money (upfront...not too smart) for the "cashless system" that would do
just that... according to the company that was running it. This company
had a resume that included NASCAR races (200,000 +) so when we heard
that every transaction could be made in 3-seconds or less, we were in.
We had them come in a week early and start testing...making sure
everything worked...then as we opened the doors, the system failed.

The Fest did have an emergency system in place and cash banks and credit
card machines were distributed prior to the show, but it took us nearly
45-minutes to switch over and by that point, we had very large lines.
Added to that, it was our first year and we had no way to really judge
attendance. We looked at "pre-sales" and doubled them thinking that was
safe...and we would be over. We were wrong...and very sorry.

It is important to us as producers for you to understand that we do care
and put years of hard work into this just to have one company take us
down.

If you would like a refund, it isn't the easiest process, but it does
work.

PLEASE SEND A PHOTOCOPY OF YOUR TICKETS BACK TO

Shoreline Amphitheatre
One Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
ATTN: BOX OFFICE REFUNDS

Again, we are all so sorry this happened...but at the same time are not
giving up. We will come back next year on our tour and will have
something special for those who were put out this year.

Thank you again for writing.

Jim

So I would try to call the ticket processor first. If that doesn't work then follow the instruction on sending the copies to Shoreline.

Checkout the comments here. Some people seem to be successful in getting refunds by contacting Live Nation or the Shoreline Amphitheatre. I've called, but either the lines were busy or the offices closed. I may not be able to get back the afternoon I wasted here, but hopefully I'll at least get a refund for the ticket.

I have multiple surfaces. I have some granite, I have butcher block and I have some formica. The formica if kept nice lasts a long time and is fairly cheap. There is no reason you need to cover regular non work suface space with granite or something expensive. Your vase or bread box does not need to have granite under it. Get a backsplash, it saves a lot of trouble.
Sinks are important and so are faucets and they are expensive.
I loved designing my kitchen. I am already designing another in my head.
No one tell the Husband!

Regarding the cakes at the Collin St. Bakery, they make one that only has apricots and pecans. I guess it still qualifies as a fruitcake. Check it out.
http://www.collinstreet.com/pages/apricot_pecan_cake

There are all sorts of things called fruitcakes, and it's a little like saying you don't like cheese because you tasted one kind of cheese and didn't like it. As a former deeply picky eater, I can sympathize. I don't like the red and green candied cherries, I don't like the soggy nuts, and I don't like the fake rum flavorings. However, I make a dark, spicy cake that utilizes raisins, currants, dried apricots, mangoes (if I can find them) and pineapple, that goes by the name of fruitcake but tastes very different than the stuff one thinks of under that name.

There are also some Irish fruitcakes that are blonde, so to speak, and they're also marvelous. Don't condemn all fruitcakes.

I was a fruitcake hater until the day I was given one of these-

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1919,154167-236194,00.html

This is the quintessential fruitcake of the south, and is similar to the one popularized by The Colin Street Bakery in Texas. It ain't cheap to make, but if one does not skimp on quality ingredients, it is an fruitcake epiphany!

Make it yourself. Use real, (unsweetened) dried fruit, toasted nuts, citrus zest, and freshly ground spices. Use a light touch with the sugar. Do not frost or glaze with anything. Marinate with brandy. I follow Alton Brown's recipe, with a few small alterations/additions depending on how I feel, but try to avoid anything that would significantly alter the texture.

The result is dense, moist, and intensely flavored. Cut into small slices to serve; a little goes a long way.

My mom used to make fruit cake that was pretty ok but I changed up the recipe years ago and to be honest I love the stuff and everyone thats ever tried it does too. Very simple spice cake, with fresh fruit and nuts rather than preserved, I tried the dried fruit and even that was too sweet for me. So I guess mine isnt a "real" fruitcake but it is festive and more important to my mind ppl like it.

My husband and I fight over the first, second, ..., last slice of fruitcake. We'd eat it daily but at $15/loaf, it's not something we can afford to buy every day (not that we can find it). I love spice cake, I love fresh and dried fruits, so I love fruitcake! I usually spit out the nuts when it's in there, since I'm not a fan of nuts.

I send them to people i don't like ;) ... LOL only kidding.
I don't like fruit cake

I loathe fruitcake. I've tried it several times and to me the flavor pretty much varies from merely bad to really awful. I do, however, LOVE a well made friendship cake, which if you've never had it, is fruit that's marinated in sugar and brandy for about 3 weeks (per my great aunt's recipe) and then mixed with a basic white cake that has a bit of the liquid from the marinade and some walnuts mixed in and baked in a bundt cake pan.

I agree with HomeSickTexan....Collin Street Bakery is the bomb, best ever, finest-kind.....Thanks to Collin Street Bakery for one fine product.