For the record, there will NOT be a Tunes, Tails & Ales festival on Monday, May 20, despite what a bogus website says.
The Murphy City Council reluctantly cancelled this year’s craft beer and crawfish event because of a nearly two-thirds increase in price and did not renew the dot-com domain.
But somebody in Cyprus took over the event website on April 1 and has posted a clone of last year’s Murphy site with a new date and a link to a casino that appears to be in Russia.
“Vavada casino is our valued partner, amplifying the enjoyment of our beer festival,” the phony site says. “Their commitment to excellence and innovation align perfectly with our mission to deliver top-notch entertainment to our audience.”
Otherwise, the bogus site is essentially last year’s city promotion including photos, videos and parking information.
The one thing it doesn’t have is a link to purchase tickets. But that could change, and the city is warning Murphy residents, “We urge you to share this information with your friends and family so the threat of any monetary loss is limited.”
In the meantime, the Murphy IT Department has reported the site and is monitoring developments.
First held in 2016, Tunes, Tales & Ales was officially cancelled at the Tuesday, Feb. 6, council meeting.
Kayla McFarland, manager of recreation services, told councilmembers that SBG Hospitality had raised its bid for the Central Park event from the $55,000 quoted in September to $90,000.
Brewvolution was the original organizer, but they requested last year to cancel or renegotiate their contract.
Council then accepted the staff proposal to hire SBG Hospitality for a turnkey event. But no contract was signed and SBG subsequently raised its price.
The loss of Tunes, Tails & Ales left the Murphy Chamber of Commerce’s Spring Fever as the sole big spring event in the city other than the Easter egg hunt.
So, Parks & Recreation is now shopping for new events or improvements to existing ones like Maize Days or the June concert series.
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