PINKY PROMISE FESTIVAL: POSTPONED

We’re writing this with heavy hearts and a sense of disbelief that still hasn’t quite settled but unfortunately we are no longer able to go ahead with Pinky Promise Festival 2025. This is not a message we ever imagined having to send and we’re still trying to process it ourselves.

On Thursday night, we were pulled into an emergency meeting with local authorities, the mayor and members of the village. It was there, that for the first time, we found out the venue had failed to secure us the permits legally required for the festival to take place. We had been given repeated assurances that everything was in place, however we were now told that they had deceived not only the local authorities about the nature of our event but also lied to us about it all.

Even more devastating was learning that the local community who we were told had been informed a while ago about our festival had only been told about the festival ten days earlier. We were advised not to reach out to the village directly, trusting that those conversations were being handled. They weren’t. And when the village did hear about us and went through our website they were incredibly hostile towards anything we were doing.

Before we even entered that meeting, a vote had apparently already been made to oppose our festival. We weren’t given the opportunity to introduce ourselves, explain the care and intention behind Pinky Promise or answer questions about safety and planning. There was no dialogue. The door was already closed.

Following that meeting, we lost access to the surrounding land needed for essential infrastructure: crew camping, campervans, parking, glamping. That land is owned by a mix of private owners, the village and the state. As a way to ensure we wouldn't take place, they united to deny it to us despite all of the land being granted to another festival on the same site the week after.

We tried everything in the days that followed. We spoke to lawyers, the Club Commission, landowners, and advisors. We looked at backup venue options, emergency permits & workarounds. But without the right permits, we can’t get insured. Without the land, we can’t safely host you or our guests. Without the trust and cooperation of the local authorities, we can’t deliver what we promised.

We’re devastated. Not just because the festival has been cancelled but because of everything that’s been lost. The time, energy, planning, creativity and commitment that each of you gave. We were literally 3 days away from heading onto site to start the building work and it hurts so much that we don’t get to see that happen.

We know this affects your schedules, your income, your projects & your summer. We know what many of you have already put in and we’re so sorry that this is the outcome. It also needs to be said that what Pinky Promise represents — queerness, sexual expression, openness & wasn’t something we felt that the local community was ready to welcome at all. And while we didn’t come to provoke, lecture or impose anything, it’s clear those themes were met with discomfort. That reality makes this even harder to sit with.

Financially, this cancellation puts us in a critical danger so we are just working out what happens next as we seek out legal options. We are committed however to refund all tickets. We’re still in disbelief and still sitting in the shock of it. But we wanted you to be the first to know because you are the people who helped bring this to life in your own way and contribution. Even if we never got to see it come to life this year, the work, care and energy you gave and would have given mattered deeply and so we will definitely plan to bring this back just in a new location at another point in time.

With love and sadness,

Pinky Promise Festival team