I was accepted to Boston Mills this year and I'm very excited to be able to join the elite artists who have done it in the past! I've got a couple questions about setup logistics for those who have done it previously.
I was accepted into the July show and I'm wondering what day/time setup usually is? I'm assuming sometime Friday before the artist dinner/preview night. Is it staggered or does everyone come in at once? Can you pull up close or is there a lot of dollying?
I'm in the South tent, so I know I'm covered above from the elements. I was thinking about not using my canopy at all, that way I can get as much light as possible, but then of course I can't close my booth up at night. What do most people in the tents do? Set up their full booths, or just the frame/propanels like I see at most indoor shows?
Thanks for your information!
Replies
I'm in the June show out in the middle in my own tent. I've heard some complaints in prior years about having to dolly in from the parking lot across gravel. If that's the case, I'll have to get a different dolly as mine is a Sears convertible that has smaller hard tires in the rear which don't do well in sand (Piccolo Spoleto last year) and gravel may be worse. I've got back issues and knees are on a downhill slide, so the load-in is a critical component. Probably the easiest way is to just use Google Earth and see what the place looks like.
Hey, I appreciate that information. I've seen some modification to those dollies where the larger pneumatic tires are added to them for the rear, and that may be cheaper than a new dolly. Hello, Harbor Freight ;-)
I've done the show three or four years, and mostly in the center area with my own tent. I can't remember if the load-in time is staggered or not, but I don't recall there being a problem with too many people all at once. Definitely be prepared to dolly, however. I think it's possible to get closer to your booth with your van in the south tent, but space there is limited I think, so again, be prepared to dolly. Some people in the tents used their canopies and others didn't, but security isn't an issue, so you wouldn't need it for that reason. My other advice is to bring a fan, since it was one of the hottest shows that I did several years ago. Good luck.