The KAHBANG Music & Art Festival is relocating its 2014 event from Bangor to Portland, Maine for the weekend of August 7th – 10th.

The sudden change of location stems from a series of logistical issues the non-profit organization met while prepping for its sixth year on the Bangor Waterfront. The festival organizers, a small group of dedicated volunteers, made every effort possible to continue the festival in its hometown. However, the challenges facing the organizers created a situation where the KAHBANG Festival would need to be moved to an alternate location that could support the event at short notice.

The decision was not an easy one to make because Bangor has been KAHBANG’s home for the past five years. The festival organizers appreciate the support that it has received over the years from fans and people who volunteered their time to help make KAHBANG possible. The organizers felt it was important to give the festival a chance to sustain itself and continue with its mission of bringing emerging music, art, and film to the state of Maine.

A relationship with the organizers of the State Theatre, Port City Music Hall (PCMH), One Longfellow Square, and other venues in Portland allowed KAHBANG to retain the majority of the festival as it was originally planned. Music performances, independent films, and artists will be appearing at the event as scheduled and in close proximity to each other.

The news about this change was made public Thursday, before the festival had communicated on its own reasons for this change. The organizers assure festivalgoers that they are on top of managing the situation despite the unscheduled release and recognize the inconvenience that the venue change may cause for some festivalgoers. KAHBANG is offering to find solutions to any questions and/or concerns that arise from the situation, including ticket refunds, camping, shuttles, and others. All questions can be emailed directly to help@kahbang.com.

To reconcile for the impact of the venue change, KAHBANG will try to create benefits for the loyal fans that bought tickets ahead of time. Tickets purchased for the Bangor location will still be honored in Portland, and refunds are available for those unable to attend the festival in its new location.

The KAHBANG organizers assure festivalgoers that the event will maintain the same fun, creative, and eclectic atmosphere as past years and hope that the change of location does not deter anyone from experiencing it.

The KAHBANG Music & Art festival is an extension of the non-profit organization, KAHBANG Arts. The organization hopes to continue supporting the arts and helping Maine grow as destination for music and art related events. For more information about how to help KAHBANG Arts and the KAHBANG Festival grow, please visit www.kahbangarts.org or www.kahbang.com