Popped’s plans punctured by heavy rains

This weekend in Philadelphia promises two competing music festivals, and a whole lot of rain.

While the Philly F/M Festival features bands in many venues around the city, the Popped Music Festival was supposed to be centrally located in South Philadelphia’s FDR Park.

The rain forced the relocation of Popped, which has lost some of its fizz as a result.

FDR Park is known to flood easily in wet weather, so when forecasts early in the week predicted rain Friday and Saturday, organizers quickly decided to move the festival into the Liacouras Center on the Temple University campus.

That forced the festival into a smaller space; and it abandoned its plan for a cornucopia of food trucks available to fans, who are not allowed to return to the venue if they leave.

Reaction was swift on Facebook, where many fans object to the move and started selling their tickets.

Trey Tiametti of Conshohocken turned his ticket in for a refund.

“I didn’t want to be stuck in Liacouras Center for hours upon hours,” said Tiametti of Conshohocken. He was able to return his Groupon ticket for a refund. “FDR has a lot more room than Liacouras Center, where you’re stuck in your seats for the entire time.”

“Was so looking forward to this festival and now, not so much,” wrote Judee Leighthardt-Czyzewski on Popped’s Facebook page. “Very poor planning on the promoters’ part. You can’t take three stages and jam everything under one roof.”

Many other fans, undaunted by the relocation, wrote counter-posts saying the prospect of seeing their favorite bands—such as the Shins, Pretty Lights, and Girl Talk–up close and personal makes the indoor venue worthwhile.