The Odditorium Carnival

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Pensive Odditorium Circus clown by Federico Caputo

LAWSUIT FILED – JULY 9, 2026

On July 9, 2026, I filed a lawsuit in Saratoga County Supreme Court against the Saratoga County Agricultural Society. The case involves claims of negligent misrepresentation regarding the permitting process for the Odditorium Carnival event.

Update – July 8, 2026

UPDATE, MONDAY, JULY 26th: As of July 6, 2026, the attorney for the Saratoga County Agricultural Society has stated that the Fairgrounds refunded all amounts to me and that vendors should request refunds directly from the person or entity they originally paid. I am currently working on a process to handle vendor refunds as fairly as possible. Please continue to email shg@gglawny.com (Steven H. Gottmann, Esq.) and CC me if you have not already done so. Note: We were not previously aware that Mr. Gottmann was directing vendors to request refunds from us. Until vendors began sharing his replies, we had not received this information directly until today.

A Public Statement by Jeff Mach on the Odditorium Carnival Cancellation: What Actually Happened

“Everything will be okay in the end.”
— John Lennon

Most of what people are hearing is that I either failed to handle the permits or was careless with due diligence. That’s not accurate.

Here’s what actually happened:

In mid-January 2026, I submitted a Request for Proposal to the Saratoga County Fairgrounds for a three-day vendor market and oddities festival scheduled for June 5–7, 2026. On January 13, 2026, the Fairgrounds’ General Manager, Jennifer Flinton, responded in writing. She stated that she had reviewed the proposal and that “nothing stood out as anything that would be a big problem.” She also explicitly confirmed that cannabis vendors would be permitted.

I made it clear to the Fairgrounds that I planned to begin advertising and booking vendors immediately after signing the contract. I did exactly that once the contract was signed and the deposit was paid in late January 2026.

What the Fairgrounds did not disclose was the full scope of the permitting requirements. Their own 2026 Grounds Rental Handbook stated that all events required Village of Ballston Spa approval at least 120 days in advance. More importantly, they did not inform me that the event could trigger the much more complex and expensive Mass Gathering Permit process under New York State regulations.

Under New York law, when one party has significantly superior knowledge of material facts that affect the transaction, they generally have a duty to disclose that information — especially when the other party is relying on their guidance and representations. The Fairgrounds had far greater familiarity with their own handbook, their past events, and the permitting realities at the property than I did. They accepted my deposit and contract while knowing I would immediately begin spending money on advertising and promotion.

I submitted a draft of the basic one-page permit form to Jennifer Flinton for her review and feedback before finalizing it. She did not indicate at that time that a full Mass Gathering Permit would likely be required. Under New York State regulations (10 NYCRR Subpart 7-4), a Mass Gathering Permit generally applies to events expected to have 5,000 or more people at any one time. However, the Village of Ballston Spa has referred to events “exceeding 5,000 attendees” in public discussions, without the “at any one time” qualifier used in the State standard. This appears to be a stricter or broader application than is typical under New York State rules in general.

By the time the true extent of these requirements became clear, I had already spent considerable time and money on advertising, promotion, and vendor recruitment. The Mass Gathering Permit process (when it applies) generally requires detailed engineering reports, traffic and safety plans, medical services coordination, and significantly higher insurance — work that typically begins 4–6 months in advance and often requires hiring specialists at costs higher than the likely total revenue of the event. When it became apparent that the event could not proceed as presented, the Fairgrounds effectively canceled it.

I did not ignore permitting requirements. I operated based on the information and assurances the Fairgrounds provided before I signed the contract and began spending money. They had the superior knowledge of what would actually be required.

This situation has caused real harm to over 120 vendors who had committed to the event, as well as to me, the potential attendees, and many others.

On July 3, 2026, I sent a formal demand letter to Steven H. Gottmann, Esq., the attorney for the Saratoga County Agricultural Society (the organization that operates the Fairgrounds), seeking resolution of the financial issues caused by the cancellation, including vendor compensation and reimbursement of my out-of-pocket costs. As of today, I have not received a substantive response from the Fairgrounds or their counsel on any of these matters.

I understand why many vendors are upset. I am too. But the narrative that I simply “didn’t do the permits” or was negligent is not correct. The Fairgrounds gave me incomplete information and failed to disclose material requirements before I signed the contract and started investing in the event.

I remain willing to work toward a fair resolution with the Fairgrounds. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about what actually occurred.

If you have questions, feel free to email me at jeffreypetermach@gmail.com. If you are seeking a refund or want to discuss vendor compensation, please contact Steven H. Gottmann, Esq. at sgh@sghlaw.com, as he is handling these matters for the Fairgrounds.

— Jeff Mach
Imagination Nation, Inc.

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Public Statement – July 2nd, 2026
Regarding the Cancellation of the Odditorium Carnival

Update on the Cancellation of the Odditorium Carnival at Saratoga County Fairgrounds

After reviewing all available records, I am providing the following factual account.

We were actively deciding between two venues for the Odditorium Carnival. The Saratoga County Fairgrounds was aware that the deciding factor for us was the ability to include cannabis vendors. In her January 13, 2026 written response to our Request for Proposal, Ms. Jennifer Flinton, General Manager, stated (screenshot attached/embedded below for clarity):

“Yes I did read the RFP, nothing stood out as anything that would be a big problem. Yes we can allow cannabis vendors, we do not allow them during our fair week, but we do have another rental the Goat Brothers Swap Meet that has cannabis vendors.”

She represented knowledge of these matters and indicated that cannabis vendors would not be a problem. We relied on these representations in selecting the Fairgrounds. Had we been informed that the town (not the Fairgrounds) controls permitting and that the Village of Ballston Spa would not accept any cannabis vendor applications, we would have chosen the other venue.

Ms. Flinton also quoted an initial $5,000 grounds rental fee after describing the available space as fully ours for the event. In response to my inquiry confirming whether this price was for one day or the entire weekend, she provided the quote without indicating additional fees. The final invoice totaled $7,325, with additional charges attributed to the amount of space used.

Despite our stated intention to begin advertising immediately upon contract confirmation, we were not adequately informed of the full permitting requirements — including those detailed in the Fairgrounds’ own 2026 Grounds Rental Handbook, which requires Village of Ballston Spa approval at least 120 days in advance. Permits for such events go through the town, and the Fairgrounds could not control or guarantee the outcome.

The resulting cancellation was not due to any permitting failure on our part. It stemmed from material information regarding cannabis vendors and permitting that was not accurately disclosed prior to contract execution.

On June 26, 2026, I sent Steve Gottmann the full text of an initial public statement along with a request for a substantive reply. On June 27, 2026, I sent a stronger version of the statement. The initial statement was published on June 29, 2026. Mr. Gottmann has not provided a substantive response to date.

All vendor refund requests, complaints, and related inquiries should continue to be directed to:

Steven H. Gottmann, Esq.
Gottmann Law, P.C.
30 Remsen Street
Ballston Spa, NY 12020
Phone: 518-583-1515
Email: shg@gglawny.com

I will provide further updates as developments warrant. All statements in this post are based on my review of the contemporaneous written records and communications.

Jeff Mach
Imagination Nation, Inc.

Public Statement – June 30, 2026
Regarding the Cancellation of the Odditorium Carnival

After review of all communications and documents, I am providing the following statement.

On January 13, 2026, General Manager Jennifer Flinton wrote in response to our RFP:

> “Yes I did read the RFP, nothing stood out as anything that would be a big problem. Yes we can allow cannabis vendors, we do not allow them during our fair week, but we do have another rental the Goat Brothers Swap Meet that has cannabis vendors.”

We proceeded with the venue based in significant part on these direct written representations, which presented the cannabis vendor issue — a core requirement we had communicated — as presenting no significant problem.

Ms. Flinton also initially quoted a grounds rental cost of $5,000 for the weekend. The final invoice came to $7,325.

We informed the Fairgrounds that we intended to begin advertising immediately upon confirmation of our deposit and contract. We put up our website and began promoting the event within days of being told the contract and deposit had been accepted in late January 2026.

On January 27, 2026, after we submitted the application from the back of the Fairgrounds’ handbook, Ms. Flinton confirmed that another staff member would handle contract, insurance, and Department of Health questions. We received almost no meaningful guidance or answers from that point forward.

We were later informed that a significantly more complex and expensive permitting process was actually required — one that had not been properly disclosed prior to our decision to proceed with the venue. The Fairgrounds’ own “2026 Grounds Rental Handbook” requires Village of Ballston Spa approval at least 120 days in advance for events of this nature.

The cancellation, and the subsequent rumor that it resulted solely from our failure to handle permitting, have caused significant harm. We have already experienced substantial chargebacks on the Odditorium event as well as chargebacks and lost business on other events. Hundreds of businesses have been affected.

Steven H. Gottmann, Esq.
Gottmann Law, P.C.  
30 Remsen Street  
Ballston Spa, NY 12020  
Phone: 518-583-1515
Email: shg@gglawny.com

I will continue to provide updates as developments occur.

Jeff Mach  
Imagination Nation, Inc.