Poor ticket sales resulted in the cancelation of next month’s TEDxYoungstown event

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Poor sales forced the cancellation of the TEDx- Youngstown event scheduled for Jan. 22.

In a Wednesday email, Lorilyn Shandor, the event’s curator, wrote: “It really boiled down to a financial decision. Without enough ticket sales, we cannot afford to put the event on as planned. We need to evaluate the event, possibly make some changes, and bring it back to the community at a later date.”

Tickets sold well in 2014 and 2015 for the event.

But that wasn’t the case for this year’s event, which was to be at the Ford Theater in Bliss Hall at Youngstown State University.

“It was a very difficult decision for our committee” to cancel, Shandor wrote in the email. “The 2016 speakers have worked so hard over the last six months developing their TEDxTalks. It is a big disappointment to them, and to us that they will not be sharing their talks with the community as planned.”

TED – Technology, Entertainment and Design – features speakers who give talks of 18 minutes or less on various topics. Speakers at the canceled event were to speak on heroin addiction, photojournalism, bodybuilding and brewing beer.

Anyone who purchased tickets to the canceled event will be given a full refund.