Where do I start? This isn't going to be a friendly "hello", rather a major complaint to the people who run the Philfest, (especially this year 2025).
My wife and I have been coming to this event for 18 years, and every year things get just a little worst. The prices have sky rocketed for one. I can remember buying my entry ticket in advance for $5 dollars each! Now, we are up to $12 dollars each, for what? Nothing changes over the years except for the price of tickets, food, merchandise etc etc etc.
I have a very good friend who runs a booth there that said this years attendance had dropped considerably. Wonder why? Is it the entertainment, the costs, the parking situation?
So, let me continue with my complaint. Today, 04/06/2025 we made our way to our 19th visit to the Philfest from Hernando County (Spring Hill) Florida. Being that the parking is always filled up by the time we arrive, I made a left at the "usual" alternate parking at the school on the corner of Nine Eagles and Racetrack rd. I made my left turn and the gate for overflow was closed, no one taking parking money, not a soul in sight. So I told my wife that we will finally get a spot right at the entrance, and we wouldn't have to carry a box of mangos to far.
We get back to Nine eagles and there is a guy sitting in a beach chair with the sign next to him saying (PARKING LOT FULL). OK, so I stop and ask him what is going on? No one at the school and a full lot at the entrance? Where do we park? So he said parking is at the dentist office down the street on the right towards Racetrack Rd, and there is a shuttle bus running. So, we make a u-turn and look for a dentist office. Meantime, there isn't a person anywhere directing people to this "dentist" office. I don't know the area well because we don't live in Tampa, but on the right side heading toward Racetrack Rd I see a sign saying "Dentist" so we pull in. There are signs at the entrance of this strip mall saying "NO PARKING HERE FOR EVENT" So we drove around the other side of the building where there wasn't any signs saying "NO PARKING FOR EVENTS" in front of a dentist office between Subway and Winn Dixie. Again, not one Philfest parking representative to guide anyone anywhere for parking.
So, we got out and looked around for a shuttle bus, but there was none. So we starting our long walk to the entrance. When we get there I counted 18 open parking spots, so why wouldn't they let anyone in? So, after spending $24 dollars to enter the event, $50 dollars in tickets for food and desert, we left. We started our journey back to our vehicle and it was gone!!!!! We were towed, with a dozen other Filipinos by a company called "Action Towing" We had to call an Uber ride to go 5 miles down the road for another $19 dollars, and had to pay $260 dollars to retrieve my vehicle!!!! This was all your organizations fault! If you would have had personnel directing people to park "Which we found out later that there was a second dentist office across the street" that we were supposed to park at.
None of this would have never happened if someone with signs directing people to park at the correct dentist office You owe us $260 dollars for your incompetence on running a safe and organized event! I am sure you will be getting a lot of complaints from everyone who had their vehicles towed today.
We received a message from the volunteer parking chair person from the Philippine Cultural Foundation named Linda Sanchez who told us they will not be held responsible for the actions of their contracted parking companies attendants. Really? Since when is an paid event not held responsible for the actions of any person the hire to work for them?
This is far from over, and we won't stop until we are compensated for the $260 dollar tow. Attached, is a photo of the dentist office the person sitting in a beach chair sent us to park. As you will see, there are two dentists offices directly across the street from one another. One called, Great Expressions Dental Center 13022 Nine Eagles Rd. (this is the one we parked at). And the other dentist office called Nine Eagles Dental Center at 13805 Nine Eagles Rd. (Directly across the street) This was the one that no one directed us to park at.
And Ms. Sanchez says its, "not their responsibility"? We shall see. read more