Nearly three months after the 41st annual Choochokam Arts and Music Festival was cancelled, vendors are still complaining that booth fees have yet to be returned.

Over a dozen vendors have contacted The Record over the past three weeks, saying the event’s organizers failed to return booth fees from the 2014, 2015 events, and the 2016 event that was cancelled in July that was to be held at Community Park. Most of the vendors are owed between $300-380, and the combined total owed from nine vendors interviewed by The Record is approximately $6,485.

Gwen Jones, vice president of the Choochokam Arts Foundation board, said that all vendors will be paid back by the end of the month, and that she and Board President Celia Black have paid back around 80 vendors out of their own pockets. Jones said returning the money will be the first step in earning vendors’ trust back. She also apologized for upsetting those affected.

“We solemnly apologize if we caused any ill will,” Jones said. “Trust is earned and we really look forward to earning people’s trust back.”

Jones said the foundation has been operating in the red since the 2015 event, which was a primary factor in the delay of booth fees being returned. Jones said she lived out of her office in Langley for a short while to put money toward paying vendors back.

Repairing the relationship between vendors and Choochokam will be a difficult task, vendors say. Some said that unless the event is run with new leadership, they won’t be returning to Choochokam in 2017. Others were even hesitant to return to Langley.

“Langley was a respected place, but now people are going to be scared to do anything there,” said Jocelyne Doyon of Seattle-based Ca Brille, who is owed $300.

Blows to vendors’ businesses came in different shapes and sizes. For some who do events year round, such as 78-year-old Wanda Gunter of Maple Valley-based Embroidery by Wanda, it took a sizeable chunk out of their income. Others said the event was a gem, but likely won’t return without a change in leadership. Most of the vendors paid for the 2016 event in advance during the 2015 event so their booth fees would be cheaper.

Linda Neff of D & L Woodworking in Portland, Ore. said it was a criminal offense to not return the money. Neff said she is owed $380.

“If I was them, I couldn’t sleep at night,” Neff said. “People go to jail for stealing and that’s basically what they’re doing; it’s just on another level.”

“I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I’ve never ever had this happen to any show, let alone a cancellation.”

A few of the vendors looked into getting their money back in small claims court, but were discouraged when they learned of the potential cost and result.

“I was informed by them [court officials] that if the court issues a judgment in my favor through small claims, they have no role in enforcing it,” said Dick Libby, owner of Languid Decadence Artwork in Shoreline. “It’s not really feasible to pay an attorney when it’s only $335. When you look at it from the standpoint of all the vendors, including food vendors, the best action would be a class action suit,” he added.

All of the vendors interviewed by The Record said they were unable to find an event to replace Choochokam. Combined with the loss of the booth fee, as well as the revenue that could have been made from the event, some of the vendors’ pockets were hurt more than others.

Most were also displeased with the lack of communication or explanation by Choochokam Arts Foundation board members Jones, Celia Black and Michela Angelini. In some cases, attempts to reach the organizers and foundation were met with a response or two promising that efforts to return their money were underway, followed by nothing.

Jones said this was due to little new information to provide to the vendors.

“We’ll give them the same answer: It’s coming,” Jones said.

She added that the foundation has a 99 percent response rating on Facebook, meaning the administrator of the page would respond in about an hour after receiving a message.

Another vendor, Donald Miller of Whidbey-based Delicate Light Photography, said he first heard about the show’s cancellation from a Record story, and that organizers said there was an oversight in notifying him.

“I kept doing [Choochokam] because it’s local and I like seeing local people,” Miller said. “I can’t follow these managers anymore.”

Jones hopes the foundation’s actions over the next six months will provide fruitful in drawing back vendors and garnering interest in new vendors.

She said the foundation members have faced a myriad of issues, including accusations and poor public perception, but they remain resolute in their goal of putting on the 2017 event.