The Gathering of the Juggalos will not be held in Missouri this year, after all
Last week came the somewhat mind-blowing announcement that the Insane Clown Posse’s legendary annual summer party, the Gathering of the Juggalos, would be held at a park in Kaiser, Missouri, near the Lake of the Ozarks.
Then, just a minute ago, tragedy struck. Psychopathic Records, ICP’s label, issued a press release explaining that the Gathering of the Juggalos would not be held in Kaiser this year. The reason: Locals aren’t down with the clown.
From ICP:
After we signed the contract and announced the location of the Gathering, some of the people that lived in the surrounding community began to raise hell. Not all of them, mind you, but enough to bring a lot of heat to the owners of the campground. Not only that, they also experienced a media blitz and their phones would not stop ringing. This was no doubt amplified because of the recent lawsuit filed against the FBI by Psychopathic Records and the ACLU for wrongly accusing the Juggalos of being a gang, as well as the reports of last year’s Gathering losing money. Some people in the community where the Gathering was to be held must have believed the nonsense because they kept saying a “gang” was coming to their town and we heard reports that some people were starting to arm themselves. Unbelievable!
After a week of boycott threats, nonstop calls, and a petition against the Gathering, the owners of the campground (called Harlequin Park) opted to pull the plug, the release states.
The group says it has no resentment to the campground or its owners for canceling, given the pressure from the community. All tickets and passes will be refunded in full, and ICP/Psychopathic will announce a new location for the festival soon. Maybe it will still be in Missouri. But probably not.
