Glitches are to be expected with any inaugural event, however the not-so-great GoogaMooga — that seemed to be ruled by Murphy’s Law on Saturday when I attended — experienced heightened backlash from attendees via social media. The fact that the event started a half-hour late, the two-hour-long beverage lines, the mandatory (and confusing) drink tickets called “GoogaMoola,” the spotty cellphone reception, the high prices, the lack of shade, and that fact that some vendors ran out of food by 3 p.m. (even in the V.I.P. section), all combined to make that Saturday a less-than-perfect affair — and prompted a lot of attendees to take their frustration to the net. None of these mishaps would go unnoticed, or un-tweeted — with many references to The Hunger Games.
One burn that might not fade as quickly, however, is the one left by all the vehement attendees online (once they got cellphone service). GoogaMooga and Superfly (the company behind the event) may have redeemed themselves somewhat on Sunday with properly stocked vendors, less attendees in shorter lines (likely a result of Saturday’s fiasco), and by doing away with “GoogaMoola.” But it remains to be seen whether the foodie festival will break New York’s Festival Curse.