Festival-goers complain about safety, lack of water at Imagine Festival

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Dozens of festival-goers are complaining about problems at a weekend electronic dance festival in Henry County.

The three-day Imagine Music Festival took place at the Atlanta Motor Speedway this past weekend.

Many people who attended took to social media, complaining about safety and the dangerous lack of free water at the event.

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“That was a joke. Security was a joke,” said Natasha Taylor, who attended the festival from Mississippi. “We feel like it was dangerous. We said that several times, that they were playing with people’s lives.”

Taylor says what she got was much different than what she was promised for hundreds of dollars.

"(They said), 'There's going to be all these water filling stations. There's going to be all these misters everywhere. Oh, there's going to be shade.' There was none of that," Taylor told Channel 2's Sophia Choi.

Because of that, she left early, fearing for her own safety.

“It was 100 degrees outside. We weren't going to sit there with no water and not be able to take showers and everything,” she said.

Another woman voiced similar concerns. %

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“There’s no amenities, there's no security, there are no signs telling you, you know, go here for help. I didn't see a single medical tent,”

Festival organizers told Choi they had numerous water stations, misting areas and drinking fountains at the festival grounds, including the campsites.

Organizers say they also had hundreds of security team members, 32 EMS personnel and even four onsite ambulance and fire patrols, among other safety measures for the 20,000 festival-goers each day.

In a statement, a spokesperson said, “While certain claims have already been identified as not holding any validity, we take this very seriously and will be looking into to every claim individually."

Taylor, who got engaged at the festival, says she's still waiting to hear from them.

“He spent a lot of money to make this a really special time and instead we got really ripped off,” she said.

Dozens of people posted their complaints on the festival’s Facebook page, but say they have since been deleted.

“Whenever people post anything that's negative, they delete it and that's so shady to me,” one woman said.

Several people say they want a refund and an apology.

Cox Media Group