Lake Mary-Heathrow Art Show--do not go near it

I have not done this show since 1993, it will be another 25 years before I would try it again.On this date in Florida what are you going to do if you do not get in Gasparilla?If you try Bonita, remember it is the last one of three, and usually the loser. Also remember Barry Witt sends out a mailing in January for all three shows. He does not send out anymore. I guess you hope they kept the postcard on a magnet on the refrigerator and will see it when they go for the frozen popcorn.There is Blooming Bartow, but it really only blooms for a select few.There are two HA shows, Venice and Los Olas. They are probably better than Bonita any day.Then there is Lake Mary, hereafter referred to as LM.Beautiful location, a treed park with healthy grass, no dust owls here.Surrounded by luxury everywhere you look.High end biz buildings an condos. Right on the I-4 corridor.What could go wrong for a show like this.First, and foremost, they are in the temporary property rental biz. They will rent out every 10x10 unit they can. It does not matter whether it is jars of honey or big acrylic paintings. Painted eggs bring them on. Alphabet letter-number photographers, bring them on. Buy sell hats, hell yes.They give out some great prize money which attracts the usual art-sharks who eat it up. I am not knocking them. If you cannot go for Gasparilla Gold, LM Gold looks pretty yummy.They give a great artist dinner. Beef Wellington, great dessert tarts, copious amounts of Italian wines. They do it right for the artists.They filled 166 spaces at this show (at least when I read their map that was the highest booth number listed). Too bad only about 50 of them had any real art or craft. The rest was Flea Market 101.I stayed with my photographer-bud Steve Vaughn. He lives nearby in Maitland.He warned me it would be a very low grossing show. He was so right.I thought,"Hell, I will at least make $1500, get to drink great wine with wife Renae, and play a little golf on Monday morn. It is always good to have a plan.We drank great wine, we played great golf and our art sales sucked, record time.Most attendees at this show did not bother to come in our booths and look.I saw maybe three large art parcels go by me the whole weekend.If I could sum it up it would go like this.If you are a newbie and live close by and think $1000 would be a great show then try it out.If you are an art-shark then go for the gold.To the rest of ya, stay away. It ain't happening here.Aloha, Nels.
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  • Good stuff. I was at the Bloomin Fest that weekend, and while the art was okay, the sales were meh all weekend.

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