Last weekend was the Atlanta Fine Arts Festival in Piedmont Park in the middle of downtown Atlanta. There is no better place for a show- it's a beautiful, very welcoming park that is used daily by many in Atlanta. The show is laid out in a large circle on one side only so nobody has to compete with the artist's across for them.
There were about 200 artists this year. Load in is done very well with a specific time and a police escort. you have an hour to unload and park elsewhere and come back to set up. It was brutally hot on Friday at 1p.m. I think it was the hottest load in I have had all summer. I kept gulping down gatorade and sitting in my car to cool off...if anyone ever doubted that you can get real heat stroke/exhaustion from setting up at theses shows beware...it can happen.
I put everything in the tent and closed it up and went back to the hotel to get a shower and cool down. By the time I got there my face was bright red and my eyes were swollen shut from the sun. I thought I was being being careful, wore sunscreen...I even had one of those blue towels to bring your temp down....just goes to show you...it happens fast. But hey, I was fine.
The next morning I got up early to set up and it was overcast and misty. It rained a bit but it was just gloomy and humid....the crowds were not on our side. I really like doing this show...it's well run, they bring you lunch ( although a few more runs of cold water would be great) The crowds were light....last year their were a lot more people.. Chalk it up to rain forecasted by the news media...they laid it on thick andI think it really hurt the show.
Then on Sunday...same thing happened...overcast, chance of rain that never materialized but it stopped the crowds from coming out. It also was a Georgia Tech football weekend and various other colleges in the ares...who knows. I do know that I made double last year what I made this year and the crowds were double too. I was around wonderful artists that were a pleasure to hang with.
One, that was an acrylic painter sold one very large piece which was enough to make her show sweet. The jeweler next to her did dismally (unusual huh?) and the painter next to me did about as well as I did. I covered expenses and a bit more but the crowds trickled through and that was the reason.
Load out is as well organized as Load in and with the addition to section master's ( shout out to Donovan who was an incredible help!), I was back on the road in less than two hours. Will I do this show again? Yea, maybe it was an off year...this whole summer has been kind of off for me anyway (Spring on the other hand, was great) so, one rainy weekend won't keep me from returning.
It's a pleasure to do this show and it's one of the three shows I will do anymore in Atlanta( +Dogwood & ACC)....which has been overrun by a bunch of shows by one promoter in the last few years. Anyway...up and onward.....pray for no rain.
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good luck Joel...
I'm showing at the AutumnFest show in Atlanta this weekend. Hopefully it will be more "show" than just music.
I applied, but was also wait listed for it. Sorry your show was slow!
This past year I think I have finally decided that for me, and truly, I'm sure not speaking for everyone, that I need to pick my shows better and that means not attending any show that are run by a promotor than puts on multiple shows. It's just a personal preference... When you can attend a well run show by a director and organization with a history, it just feels better to me and consequently, I do better. Example: Patrick Flattery (Broad Ripple) Teri Aliea (Tennessee Crafts). Those are not big shows but they are run extremely well and a pleasure to do....and even if you don't do that well, you never feel like you have been screwed....ahem.
I personally don't have an issue with the promoter you're speaking of. I just pick and choose which festivals to do that they promote. Atlanta has traditionally been a great market for me but becomes a fickle crowd regardless of the festival when it comes to inclement weather.
same here....I learned my lesson the hard way with him too. Don't give up on the AAF though....it can be up and down but is basically a good and well run show.
I know the exact promoter you're speaking of who's over saturating Atlanta and I will absolutely not do any more of their shows. Fool me once, fool me twice, and all that. I found ATL Art Fest to be a bit of a downer for my first year- I made my expenses back (plus a tiny bit more), but was disappointed in the crowd. The work in the show was top notch, though.
And thanks Margaret for the report. I always wonder what the Atlanta shows are like. I can't imagine the intense heat. Seems we don't get much heat here in Michigan anymore.
Bill - good question. My kid goes to school in Atlanta and I always wonder the same thing.
Sorry...there were so many high rises around I thought we were Downtown-my bad. It also doesn't help that the promoter in question has a show at Piedmont Park two weeks earlier. The AAF used to be the only show in the park in the Fall, (Dogwood is the only one in the park in the Spring) but I imagine nobody knows what is what anymore in Atlanta.
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