AUSTIN, Texas — Organizers of the inaugural KUT Festival will relocate and cancel portions of the event after the University of Texas at Austin ordered changes to the schedule, citing safety concerns and planning deficiencies.
University officials said Tuesday that all Saturday events — including panels, live music performances and a street fair — will move off campus. Organizers will relocate those events to Central Machine Works and East End Ballroom in East Austin.
The university said Friday programming, including a keynote appearance by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, will continue at the LBJ Presidential Library.
In an email to staff and attendees, KUT Public Media general manager Debbie Hiott said the university raised safety concerns last week and later ordered cancellation of outdoor portions of the festival. She said organizers had followed requested safety and security guidelines during months of planning.
An interim dean at the university’s Moody College of Communication, Anita L. Vangelisti, said university review identified gaps in planning related to security, health, fire and emergency services. She said the changes aim to reduce disruption to campus operations and ensure safety support.
A university spokesperson did not provide the analysis referenced in the statement.
Hiott said the station has not received detailed documentation of the alleged deficiencies or recommendations and said the decision followed limited prior communication. She also said the production company hired for the event, Panacea Collective, has experience producing large-scale events.
Organizers said some programming, including KUT for Kids and a Sunday jazz brunch, has been canceled due to space limitations. Other panels scheduled for Friday will move to Saturday.
The festival will remain free to attend after the changes, and organizers said they will publish a revised schedule online. Refunds will be issued for paid badges, with attendees given the option to convert ticket costs into donations.
