After getting reassurance that their 40th anniversary gala at Paisley Park would go on three weeks after Prince died there, Mixed Blood Theatre officials have called off their May 14 event.
Late Friday night, ticketholders to the Mixed Blood event were informed of the cancellation by email.
"We received news today at 5 p.m. that Bremer Trust, the court-appointed representative of Prince's estate, has decided to enforce a ban on all public events in Paisley Park for the time being, even those events already scheduled and under contract," wrote Mixed Blood managing director Amanda White Thietje. "That ban, then, includes Mixed Blood's 40th Anniversary gala, "Revelry: A Red-Tie Affair", and its subsequent after party."
Mixed Blood is a theater located on Minneapolis' West Bank that is known for its color-blind casting.
Thietje wrote that the news "shocked and dismayed Mixed Blood's staff and board." She knows that ticketholders are upset, as well.
"With eight days remaining before the event, there is so little time to cancel or change flights, return the outfit you bought or rented, and manage the disappointment of not experiencing that space on that evening, celebrating Mixed Blood's first 40 years and dancing to Prince's music," she wrote.
Thietje emphasized that "Prince's staff, the Paisley Park team, had nothing to do with this decision. They have been gracious, generous, and supportive through the entire planning process, insisting at every turn that we are welcome there."
About 1,000 people were expected to attend the sold-out Mixed Blood events, which included a dinner and an after-party.
One ticket holder, Troy Swanson of Tower, Minn., said he reached out to Prince's trust, which was appointed after the music icon was found dead on April 21.
"I wrote to Bremer bank (Trust) and gave them my opinion, which includes the fact that everything that happens in the next few years regarding Prince will be remembered forever," he said in an email. "Denying loving Prince fans and supporters of the Mixed Blood Theatre a last Prince tribute at Paisley Park will never be forgotten or forgiven."
Look for further reports on this situation.
