After failing to pay employees, KC holiday popup Jingle! hires bankruptcy lawyer
After failing to pay employees, contractors and vendors for part or all of December 2024, the team behind Christmas pop-up village Jingle! Kansas City has retained a bankruptcy lawyer.
Owned by former Kansas City Monarchs CEO Mark McKee, Jingle took place at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas — the Monarchs’ home turf — between Nov. 29, 2024 and Jan. 1, 2025. Though a similar event operated successfully on the field during the 2023 holiday season, Jingle opened to poor reviews weeks before defaulting on most employees’ final paychecks.
On January 3, McKee sent some employees a widely circulated email explaining that Jingle was “unable to meet its payroll obligations” due to “unforeseen circumstances beyond our control.”
Former employees and contractors, many of whom are owed hundreds or thousands of dollars, reported seeing their hours cut suddenly in the final weeks of Jingle, as well as closed communication from Jingle administrators while trying to track down unfulfilled invoices. The Monarchs also allege they have not been paid for use of Legends Field.
McKee sent an email to some workers on January 3, promising an update by January 8. On January 9, some now-former Jingle employees were issued a statement saying they would be paid in full by January 31.
The statement, issued by Kansas City firm Will Gregory Public Relations on behalf of Jingle, reiterated an earlier claim that the company tasked with managing ticket sales at Jingle “redirected funds originally intended for payroll to cover other expenses.”
“While this has been an incredibly challenging situation, please know that Jingle has done everything in its power to make this right,” the statement reads.
Through a corporation called Epic Holiday LLC, the team behind Jingle contracted Kansas City bankruptcy firm WM Law to “manage the wrap-up of its business operations,” according to a Friday letter from WM Law president Jeffrey Wagoner.
Friday’s letter reiterates an earlier claim made by Jingle through Will Gregory PR, attributing Jingle’s evident bankruptcy to a shipping delay in the arrival of a portable ice skating rink.
“Jingle’s flagship attraction, the ice-skating rink and trail, was delivered three weeks late due to a shipping port strike, resulting in insurmountable financial losses,” the letter reads.
Jingle! Kansas City also featured live performers, a light maze, light sculptures, five bars, a snow tubing arena and several food trucks and vendors. McKee and the Jingle team plan to seek damages payments from the ice rink vendor to put toward paying employees, according to both Friday’s letter and previous statements from Will Gregory PR.
Meanwhile, some former employees are considering legal action against Jingle, citing missing paychecks and unsafe working conditions.
One contractor at the St. Louis location of Jingle!, where employees have also allegedly not received payment, created an online form to “collect data on who is owed what” for a possible future legal case.
“This information will potentially be shared with attorneys should any type of action need to take place,” the form reads.
Jingle has reported the ongoing payroll deficiency to the Department of Labor, according to Will Gregory PR. Friday’s letter from WM Law was also shared with the department.
This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 8:26 PM.
