30/08/2026
This one will ruffle some feathers. Strap in for the ride š¤
This weekend will be the last event I ever attend at Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.
FRIDAY
During set up for Perth Gin Festival I was approached by one of the head of staff of PCEC and told that I was unable to sell my marshmallows, peanut brittle and honey lollipops as they were deemed āconsumable on siteā and apparently in direct competition with the venueās catering agreements.
You can imagine my surprise seeing as these are staple products of our business. But hereās the kickerā¦
Prior to me even agreeing to booking a place at this yearās festival, I spent MONTHS trying to get a straight answer from the venue in regard to these ārules.ā I have a number of emails and proof of phone calls where messages were left asking for them to return my call. All of these went unanswered between June and this weekend. You may remember that I pulled out of another event at the same venue earlier in the year because they wanted to charge me an extra $1600 to trade, simply because weāre a food business.
When pushing back with these questions, the same staff member then told me that if my attitude continued, Iād simply be asked to leave. They had even said the venue doesnāt sell the same products, but theyāre still ānot allowedā.
I came home Friday evening and sent an email expressing my concerns. I barely slept with the anxiety of the dayās events. I had over $2000 worth of product on site that was unable to be sold. Thatās huge for a small business.
SATURDAY
There were a number of emails from the eventās CEO to said staff member, none of which were responded to. I was told to go ahead and sell my products by the CEO of Gin Events herself.
I want to reiterate here that ALL the Gin Events staff were nothing but supportive and understanding throughout the whole situation. It was because of them that I didnāt pack my stall up and leave on principle. I cannot thank them enough.
SUNDAY
An hour before the event was due to end, a PCEC staff member and another colleague came to stand beside my stall. They continued to stand there whilst I was conversing with customers.
A quick break between customers and I was again reprimanded for selling my products and told to stop. Not only was this situation extremely intimidating, it was an absolute embarrassment in front of customers. Incredibly unprofessional. To the point where my neighbouring stallholders came to ask if I was okay, which I was very grateful for.
This whole situation has been nothing but distressing and an absolute joke. Itās another case of the big guys trying to squash the little ones. This business is my livelihood, our products draw in customers, I had every right to be there and treated with respect just like everybody else. Sadly, that was not the case.
I couldāve sucked it up, ignored it, and moved on. But no. These situations need to be spoken about more because itās never okay to belittle someone, regardless of the situation.
So f**k you PCEC, we wonāt be back šš¼
P.S thank you to everyone that chose to support our business over the weekend, fellow stallholders that checked in with me and those that just said hello. You are the reason I continue to stand my ground, and do what I do š Now I just need a few days to recover from the emotional roller coaster.