Dream dashed - gospel show promoter counts losses after cancellation

Samantha Gardner-Whyte's dream to build a home and fill it with adopted children to call her own has been thwarted.

Drowning in bills to the tune of approximately $5 million, the first-time event planner and promoter still has more invoices coming her way.

Gospel Explosion's original intent was to raise enough money for Gardner-Whyte to build a children's home in her current home-state of New York.

UNABLE TO CONCEIVE

The dream stemmed from being told by a doctor in the past that she would be unable to have children.

Despite seeking assistance through sponsorships and donations, Gardner-Whyte worked to put on the concert entirely out of pocket.

She told THE STAR that she had invested approximately $5 million in the concert before pulling the plug just three days before the advertised date of Sunday, April 23.

She also estimated that her combined bill balance for Gospel Explosion would have run her an additional $2.5 million.

"I was doing everything on my own, even though I sought the assistance of several sponsors. But as I go along, I have to be paying this, and I have to be paying that," she said.

Compounding Gardner-Whyte's mounting issues, she also had to seek medical counsel.

In those few days before the cancellation, she submitted a copy of a doctor's note to THE STAR, revealing a second-trimester, high-risk pregnancy, and a prescription of strict bed rest for the remainder of gestation.

Gardner-Whyte said that she will be heading back to New York this week, on orders from the doctor.

"It's not easy for one person to put on a show. I never know it was so technical and it would be so much," she said.

To prevent against any potential backlash from unceremoniously cancelling the concert, she has retained legal counsel, adding another invoice to her ever-growing pile.