“Red, White & Blue in the Loo” was a July 4 holiday celebration at the Monroe County Fairgrounds met with mixed feelings among attendees, with a number of them bemoaning the entry fee and other aspects of the event.

Over a month later, far more serious issues have come to light concerning bounced checks and incomplete payments, with a number of performers and vendors at the event coming forward to allege they weren’t compensated for their work.

The controversy centers around that event’s primary organizer, Summer Jackson, and an apparent mismanagement of funds that followed.

Notably, these financial related questions have arisen in advance of the Waterloo Family Fest taking place this Saturday – an event organized by the Waterloo Lions Club. Though Jackson was involved with this event (formerly titled Loo Family Fest) in previous years, she is no longer involved in this festival also held at the Monroe County Fairgrounds. In a letter that appears in this week’s paper, the Waterloo Lions stress that Saturday’s festival has nothing to do with the failed July event.

The ongoing controversy regarding Jackson and her July 3-4 “Red White & Blue in the Loo” event seems to have been sparked in large part by musical artist Miranda Bury, who was one of several performers at the event.

Bury posted July 31 on her Facebook page, disclosing that after performing, she was given a check that didn’t clear. Upon reaching out about the matter, she was told “there was an issue with a sponsor and they are working on it.”

Following Bury’s post about not being compensated for her performance, several others involved in the event have since come forward to speak about their own experiences with “Red, White & Blue in the Loo.”

This has recently culminated in the creation of  a stand-alone Facebook page titled “We were ‘Screwed-In-the-Loo,’” serving as a forum for these individuals to speak more on their experiences and voice complaints about the event – though additional posts have also expressed further grievances with Jackson and other events or business opportunities she’s previously been involved in.

Pertaining to the July 3-4 event, several recent posts on this page feature apparent cease and desist letters seemingly sent from Jackson alleging “false, damaging statements.” These letters seem to have been sent to Bury, Greg Woolley with Short Fuze Fireworks and Short Fuze Pyrotechnics – the business which handled the fireworks display for the event – and a third anonymous individual.

On Tuesday, Bury offered a response to the cease and desist letter in the form of an original song she performed and posted to her Facebook page.

The Republic-Times reached out to Woolley to speak about his experience with the event and any financial damages he and Short Fuze allegedly sustained.

Woolley said Jackson had reached out to him about conducting a fireworks show following a similar show he performed for an event last winter.

He added Jackson had expressed a desire to have a “pyromusical” display. Woolley noted at the time that such a show would require specialized equipment which would be in high demand for the Fourth of July, necessitating that Short Fuze purchase the required equipment.

Woolley noted he was willing to make this purchase with the expectation he would be able to make use of it at the event annually.

Regarding his payment, Woolley said he and Jackson had come to an agreement of $12,000. He and Short Fuze have only received $4,000 to date.

He also noted the aforementioned required equipment cost roughly $28,000.

“It’s always been my dream to shoot for my city,” Woolley said. “I even told my wife and my business partner, ‘I don’t know if we’re gonna get paid back.’ Luckily we own a fireworks tent, and the fireworks tent has covered it, or at least covered some of it.”

Also speaking about her involvement and experience was Rachel Abel, who ultimately found herself serving as a volunteer for the event.

Abel described how she, a recent newcomer to this area with a business in another state, came to know Jackson starting in March and became friends in the months that followed.

Speaking on her financial involvement in this event, Abel told the Republic-Times she offered financial support on several occasions leading up to July 3 – including two $5,000 loans to help cover costs.

Abel further alleged that as the event drew closer, she became more and more invested in it.

She recalled how, shortly before the event, Jackson came to her talking about the possibility of canceling the event altogether should certain performers back out without receiving deposits for their performance.

As Abel said, she – already invested – offered to help as she was told she would ultimately be compensated. This led to her writing checks to the band Well Hungarians as well as to the Monroe County Fairgrounds.

Abel said she wound up taking on further costs, including paying for the stage, on top of serving as a volunteer for the event.

Regarding the vendors at “Red, White & Blue in the Loo,” Abel said she was told vendors would be giving back 15 percent of their revenue, though, as she went around to hear about sales reports at the end of the first night, she found the vendors seemingly didn’t know about such an arrangement.

As she became aware of the event becoming more and more contentious through the two days, Abel recalled she felt responsible to continue keeping things running.

Abel said she ultimately found herself investing nearly $30,000 into the event, feeling obligated to pay back several artists and other hired individuals who approached her with complaints they had not been compensated.

“I had no idea the depth of people that hadn’t gotten paid or anything, but I was still trying to just kind of save face for the community, like, this was a total disaster, but it could get better,” Abel said. “This could be an event that we could have every year in Waterloo.”

The Republic-Times attempted to contact Jackson for comment on the situation. Garrett Graham, who introduced himself as her fiance and was also involved in the event, responded via text, saying he and Jackson had no response to the “false statements or harassment. That is what courtrooms and attorneys are for.”

“Much of the information being shared online is coming from individuals who had no involvement in the event,” Graham said. “People will always have opinions, and drama tends to spread quickly online, but nothing we say will change a group determined to misrepresent the truth.”

He further stated that comments relating to the situation are “being documented,” and he and Jackson intend to put together a case including claims for “defamation, harassment and other cyber-related offenses.”

The Waterloo Police Department made a Facebook post Tuesday evening on the matter, stating that anyone looking to file a report about this event should call 618-939-8651 in order to have it properly filed.

Additionally, Waterloo Police Chief Dane Luke expressed to the Republic-Times that his department has “received a couple of reports in reference to this, and our department is actively investigating it,” adding that more information will be available if or when charges are filed.