A popular and fan-favourite lemonade stand in Windsor-Essex has been turned away from his second festival this year.
Speaking on AM800's The Shift, Andre Boulay, owner of Gilligan's fresh squeezed lemonade stand, explains that after being told he couldn't open his stand at the Tecumseh Corn and Music Festival, that he wasn't allowed to open shop at the Harrow Fair this weekend.
Boulay says he's been serving his lemonade at both events for well over 25 years.
The Corn Fest ran August 25 to August 27, and he says he got word on the evening of August 24 that he couldn't open.
The Harrow Fair runs August 31 to September 3, and Boulay says he was notified the weekend of August 25th that he couldn't open as well.
He explains that the reasoning that he wasn't allowed to open was because of contracts signed with the Midway at both events, who carry the rights to serve food and beverages.
He says in both events it was unfortunate, as he knows many people love his lemonade and enjoy it at many summer events.
Boulay says he's been doing different events for decades.
"And Harrow Fair is one of them. And I've been there for 25 plus years, I want to say closer to 30 years. It's like downtown Windsor, the Freedom Fest, and the Summer Fest that it's called now, I've been there since I first started. It's devastating when you get news that you're kicked out of a show."
He says he got word the night before the opening of the Corn Fest that he couldn't open.
"Thursday night, 9 o'clock at night, they go 'Andre', the organizers of the Optimist Club comes up to me and goes, 'Andre, we just got word that the Midway has exclusive rights to lemonade, you can't sell lemonade here'. I go, 'what?'. They say 'there was an oversight, we didn't see it in the contract'. And by that time the ground was too wet to pull my trailer out, so I just left it there."
He says he's heard that the Midway doesn't pay much more than the average vendor at the Harrow Fair.
"So apparently what happened with the Harrow Fair, I think the organizers got word of my shock of how little they contributed, and that angered the owner of the Midway. And I believe that's why I'm not in the Harrow Fair."
Boulay adds that he doesn't want anyone to blame the Harrow Fair for him not opening at the event.
"Now there's even talk of a boycott, which is not right at all. The Fair has really nothing to do with it other than the fact they signed a contract saying the Midway has full, exclusive rights on food. Or you'd think they would have some say in what vendors come in, but they don't."
The Harrow Fair Board President, Brad Anger, tells AM800 News he has no comment at this time.
-with files from AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides