We have a thunderstorm moving in tomorrow, and I am trying to assess what this really means. I have been working hard on packing and getting ready all day. The stuff is about ready to load in the car, but I've been looking at the report too.
I know shows never cancel the whole event, or, I suppose only in a dire emergency. I also know I wouldn't get my money back, but looking ahead, it seems I may be setting up in the rain and taking down in the rain, and pretty much having rain all the time in between. I know forecasts can be wrong - sometimes very wrong, but I'm taking a moment to try to consider this realistically.
It's hard to imagine selling much, or really anything if conditions are as they say. Still it's a pretty big event and I did okay there last year. It's local so I don't have to drive too far. I have some PVC pipe weights, but the weight bags I ordered from Home Depot are due to arrive on Monday, a day too late for this time around :(
Your thoughts (or at least your sympathy) are appreciated.
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On the "up" side, the King Canopy tent weights I ordered just arrived, I have another show coming up next week, and in my fidgety frustration on Sunday I made some cool new jewelry. By the way, the venue is allowing me to use the application fees and apply them toward the Fall Art Market. I was there last fall, so got a feel of the fair.
I'm happy to give these guys a great big plug, since they really do take good care of vendors, and I always like to pass along good karma. I never did expect that I could use the same money for a future show - never even heard of this. In addition, they have those nice little features, like actual people who arrive at your booth and deliver bottled water, or say "would you like to take a break now?" This year they even sent an order form to order lunch ahead of time, so no worries about how to deal with food in the booth. Here's the venue:Historic Valley Junction Spring Art Market. They have a show every spring and fall, about 20 years running, all handmade artists and it's a juried show.
Have a great next show, wherever it is.
I did the show in Dubuque this weekend. Saturday was great weather and Sunday morning it was raining, but by the time we opened it was sunny. There was a bit of wind, but not too bad. Several artists left sunday., the weather looked bad but it passed over. We stayed the whole day and ended up having a great day. You just have to be prepared. Plus, the people that do come out in bad weather are die-hard and ready to buy.
Well, rain is one thing, tornadoes another. Annoyance vs. true danger. I'd definitely pull out with tornadoes forecasted. Or a hurricane. I did pull out of a show scheduled to take place during Hurricane Sandy, and I'm so glad I did.
Thunderstorms - regular thunderstorms - no.
I am sure you did the right thing for you!
Thanks guys, for all your ideas. I did sound a little down & out yesterday, didn't I? Well I do apologize if I've offended people with a go-in-any-weather philosophy. I understand why events don't just close down on account of rain or virtually for any reason, and I agree with that. As an individual though, I have to decide what's safe for me (and others) and what my level of risk tolerance is.
When they say hail and tornadoes in the forecast, I pay attention. Rain can come and go, but that's something different. The storm they were talking about didn't come technically during fair hours, but it did come about an hour an a half later. Up to that time it was pretty windy all day, but it didn't amount to much. About an hour and a half later, though, city storm sirens were going off, tornadoes were in the vicinity, and so was the hail that was predicted. Storms don't arrive on our clock very often, and I felt it was close enough. I'm also glad they were able to have the event, and hopefully everybody got out on time.
My tent, currently, just has 25 lb pvc pipe weights - I've ordered some heavier ones, but unfortunately they are set to arrive sometime today, not in time for yesterday's show. I am getting more ready for rain & wind conditions with each show, but I'm just not there yet. I thought maybe a vendor out there would appreciate my tent not landing on their head. I don't mind getting a little rain experience, but in the end I just had to make a decision, then live with the decision, just like anybody.
Rain, rain... I did Stockley Gardens this weekend and had a fantastic show! It threatened a lot during the day, poured Friday and Saturday night - but people came out, and they bought.
One year in Mystic, CT, it rained on and off on Saturday and absolutely poured cats and dogs on Sunday. All along the street, artists packed up and left. I stayed, offered a rain-day discount, got wet, laughed with the people who came into the tent, who were all wet, and had an excellent day.
Those artists who left mid-show, well, they helped me. Still, I think it's just wrong to do that. In places like Mystic, people build whole vacations around going to the art festival. Pack up a little early, maybe, but leave at 10 a.m.? I just don't think that's right. You signed up to be in the show, be in the show.
Well, I hope you are not ashamed of me, but I decided early this morning when the whether reports still showed rain pretty much all afternoon, to withdraw from the show. When they start saying large hail and strong winds are in the forecast, I start to try to get details. Unfortunately, it was somewhat windy and cloudy for most of the day, but really nothing dramatic has happened yet. I feel so yucky. Nothing I decided today was right.
I hope it went OK for you. The show I was supposed to do Saturday cancelled because of rain. First email at 5 AM said the show was going on. I headed out only to find out they cancelled about an hour after first email. The rain stopped and held off all day!
This was a small show, but I was hoping it went well. Good location and lot's of possibility for the future.
I have had good luck and bad in the rain. If the rain is light or intermittent, people duck into the tents and seem to stay longer. Then they feel like they have to buy something because I provided them shelter:-) I've also had shows where no one came out because it was raining in the AM. Saturday may have been that way, so I think the cancellation was good.
I did stop by the Stockley Gardens Show on Saturday after my show was cancelled. They had an issue with standing water from overnight rains. Lots of straw and pine bark put down to cover the mud. Some artists had to dig a trench to drain water out of their tents.
Guess I made the right decision about Stockley this year. I figure it rains more in the spring than in the fall and that show is a major mess when it rains.
The show is one day, is close to home, and you're ready. Go do the show. It's part of our job as exhibitors.
Well, so far that has not happened here. I guess if it did then it would be decided. Still, it would be awful for it all to be cancelled if it Didn't rain like crazy. Also, thanks for the awning info, Elle. I'll be sure to use it.
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