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Residents urge council to investigate Enchanted Cottage events after vendors report locked gates, unpaid goods
Summary
Two residents and a vendor said the organizer of several local vendor events, identified as Enchanted Cottage, left vendors unpaid, locked gates at the Pickle Fest and operated without clear contracts or tax identification; they asked the City Council to investigate potential sponsorship and the city’s relationship with the organizer.
Several residents used the May 20 public-comment period to ask the City Council to investigate the Enchanted Cottage event organizer and to reconsider any city investment or sponsorship of her events.
"There was an application. But other than that, there was no contract," Kenzie Gosh told council after describing being locked in at the Pickle Fest and police and fire officials’ involvement. She told council that Harris County Fire Marshal security would not open the gate without the organizer’s direction and that the Hitchcock Police Department had received multiple calls the previous day. Justin Gosh and vendor Bridal Mickler described inconsistent vendor placement, lack of a published map and vendor fees they said were higher than advertised.
Mickler, who said she paid to be placed in a premium row and was instead moved, told council: "When you block everyone from your page for even slightly disagreeing with you and have event after event where something like this happens, then maybe it's time to start listening to what everyone is saying." She said she will not attend any of the organizer’s future events and urged the council to look into the matter.
Speakers alleged uncollected or untaxed gate receipts and said the organizer had an ATM on-site; one commenter said social-media posts claimed roughly 6,000 attendees, a figure the speakers presented as a basis for their concern about unreported receipts. Those attendance and tax claims were made by commenters and were not verified at the meeting.
Mayor Brandon Noto and other council members said they could not deliberate about the item during public comment but that staff would follow up. The council’s staff contact on EDC matters, Devin (not present), was referenced as having additional responsibility for event coordination; the mayor said he would seek an agenda item for a later meeting to discuss the July 4 event and related contract concerns.
The public comments asked staff to review whether the city should sponsor or otherwise invest in future events organized by Enchanted Cottage and to check whether vendors and gate receipts were handled in compliance with tax and public-safety rules. Councilmembers requested that staff review social-media complaints and, if warranted, return with additional information for a future agenda item.
