Organizers of the 1,000-person New Year’s Eve party that would take place on the Yorktown aircraft carrier at Patriots Point are suing the state museum’s advice for not allowing it to happen due to concerns about COVID-19.
The event, called Yorktown Countdown, was canceled on the afternoon of December 30 – the day before it was held – through a unanimous vote by the Patriots Point Development Authority.
In its resolution, the council said that, “for security reasons”, it agreed to “postpone” the private party “to a future date”.
Robert Patterson, owner of the Mount Pleasant-based businesses that organize the event, Special Ops Events and Top Shelf Catering, said that since it was a specific holiday meeting, their decision was effectively a cancellation.
Patterson said he cannot refund ticket holders unless he can recover the money already spent on the event. In a Facebook post on December 30, he estimated that number at around $ 200,000.
The suit, which was opened on Friday at the Charleston County Court, said tents, portable toilets and other equipment from the event were starting to be loaded into Yorktown two days before the event.
The Patriots Point special events manager asked for the last installment of the rent on the morning of December 30, and payment was made, according to the complaint.
The media were notified of an emergency meeting of the museum council at around 12:30 pm that day. The agenda had an item: discussion about the private New Year’s Eve party. The council met remotely at 1 pm that afternoon.
Patterson said he was in Yorktown at the time of the meeting, working on preparing for the event, which was “almost done”. Cranes were hired to transport the equipment to the transporter and checks were sent to local suppliers, he said.
The lawsuit alleges that the postponement did not come in time to “significantly mitigate its damages”, since “irreversible actions” took place to prepare for the event the following night.
The last New Year would have been the ninth time that Patterson organized the annual party in Yorktown.
All events in the state with more than 250 participants must obtain permission from the SC Department of Commerce under current COVID restrictions. A request for the Yorktown countdown was approved by the state for up to 1,000 guests and, according to the process, Patterson’s company provided the museum with a “COVID-19 action plan” in mid-December.
Tickets were sold in advance, the suit says.
Patriots Point spokesman Chris Hauff declined to comment on Patterson’s complaint and allegations.
Earlier this month, during a regularly scheduled meeting of the Patriots Point board, members voted to ban events at the museum with more than 250 participants “for the safety of customers”. The new rule is valid until December 31 of this year.
The Yorktown countdown was not the only New Year function to be canceled at the last minute in South Carolina.
Some companies in Myrtle Beach chose to cancel the planned soirees at their locations days before the holiday, and Greenville’s Reedy River Grand Ball, which would have attracted about 700 guests, was canceled during New Year’s week as well.
Other celebrations were moved to a virtual format before the holiday, like Columbia’s “Hottest New Year” or “Flip-Flop Drop” in Folly Beach.