A Quebec grill festival accidentally gave free admission — now it's asking patrons to step up

A grilling festival on Quebec's North Shore is asking attendees to be honest and pay up after a bug with its payment system led to hundreds of people accidentally getting free admission. 

The festival, the Festi-grîles de la Côte-Nord, a celebration of barbecued meats, music and craft beer, took place in Sept-Îles last week, from Thursday to Sunday. 

It cost $25 to get in, or $65 for a three-day pass — and attendees could pay online or at the gate. 

At first, the festival, in its fourth iteration, was going great, said Hugo Rossignol, its president, in an interview. Meat was flying off the grill, there was music, a DJ and ambiance to bring people together, which, Rossignol said, was exactly what the festival was intended to do.

Then, on Saturday night, someone spotted a problem. No money was entering the festival's account. Rossignol learned there had been a problem with the payment terminals at the entrance to the festival — the machines weren't connected to the internet, so no payments were going through.

"We found out that there was $22,000 that didn't get into our account," Rossignol said. "It floored us. I won't lie, we were very upset." 

Rossignol took to Facebook to ask anyone who attended the festival who paid at the gate to come back on Sunday and pay again or, if they weren't able to do that, to send an e-transfer, even a cheque, anything to help the festival recoup some of its losses.

Next year's iteration of the festival, he said, depended on it, especially since this year, Rossignol said some major sponsors had turned down the festival's request for funding.

Ultimately, he and his colleagues pulled the festival off, he said, but not without sleepless nights spent worrying about inclement weather that would keep the crowds away. 

Some Sept-Îles residents who came to Festi-grîles have so far responded to his call. 

As of Tuesday, attendees had reimbursed the festival between a quarter and a third of its lost funds. 

'It's important to pay and be honest': attendee

After he heard the festival's payment machine wasn't working, Pierre-Luc Vigneault, a Sept-Îles resident who attended the festival on Thursday evening, checked his bank account and saw that, indeed, his payment hadn't been processed. 

He didn't hesitate to send the missing money.

"I think it's important to pay and be honest because it's important for next year," he said. "So if everybody is honest and they paid by credit or debit, they have a duty to do it."

Steeve Beaupré, the mayor of Sept-Îles, said he donated $500 to the festival when he heard it was in trouble. 

He's friends with the people who run the festival, he said, and his wife had worked there over the weekend. 

"I believe in that festival and I want that festival to be back next year," he said.

So far, Beaupré said, he is proud of the attendees who reimbursed some of the money the festival lost. 

"It shows a lot of people here are honest," he said. "I hope the majority will come back and pay what they were supposed to pay for the entrance."

On Wednesday, Rossignol posted an updated message on social media urging people to share the festival's call for help to reach those who may not have seen it. 

"Our objective of more than $20,000 is far from being reached," he said.