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Just finished our Winter 2016 Florida tour.  Did 4 shows.  Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale, Beaux Arts in Coral Gables Miami, Coconut Grove Miami and Gasparilla in Tampa.   I will post in 4 parts.

 One of the great things about doing Florida shows in the winter is to get the heck out of the bad weather at home.  We also make sure to enjoy our time while there and make the best out of what Florida has to offer.  Staying in Florida between shows can be expensive and we have found other alternatives to help save money and enjoy traveling.  We have cruised in between shows and traveled to many countries over the years.  It is a great life.   

First show was at Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale early January.  Have done this show many times.  Took last year off but was eager to return this year.  Usually stay right at the show at The Riverside but the going rate was close to $300 a night.  Found a great air bnb owned by one of our own, artist, just a mile from the show.  2 bedroom with a pool and extremely artist friendly.  We shared with another aritist and that is a great way to go to save money. 

This show has been reviewed many times.  If you are interested in more info just search it here on AFI.  Set up is early morning.  There is a somewhat new system for load in at HA shows.  You can drive up to your booth spot till 5am or 5:30 am.  You can drop off your stuff than go park.  After 5:30 am you can start setting up.  If you arrive after that time you have to dolly in.  We arrived around 5 am unloaded and parked.  Set up is quick for us and we were done by 6:30 am.  Back to the house to have breakfast, take a shower and relax before returning. 

Booths.  Las Olas is a four lane road with a median.  Booths are back to back but the median is between the booths.  There is not a lot of space in the back or on either side but enough that the booths are not touching.  If you agree with your neighbor you can probably get 3 feet between each booth on one side.  Many spots can plug into electricity.  The space between your booth and the sidewalk is one lane.  There are stores and restaurants all along the street. 

The show starts on Saturday at 10 am but people are out shopping well before that.  Actually while I was in the shower at 8 am I received a call from my booth neighbor telling me I had a potential client.  The weather held Saturday and the crowds, as usual for this show, came.  Sunday the weather didnt look as good.  We lucked out and only got about 15 minutes of bad rain.  The great thing about Las Olas is there are a bunch of restaurants.  At our booth we had The Oyster Bar and could sit right on their covered terrace and watch our booth, even in the rain.  The crowds were big on Sunday.

Sales.  This was not our best Las Olas.  The artist on one side of me, 2D, had her best Las Olas show ever.  As did 2 of my sculpture friends, 3 painters and 2 jewelry artists.  All around most people I talked to had an excellent show. 

Load out.  Show ends at 5pm.  You need to break down then get your vehicle.  The streets are narrow so we opted to dolly out.  We were gone by 6 pm. 

This is a great show to start 2016 and Fort Lauderdale is a lot of fun.  It is a well run show and the quality of work is top notch.  I love that it is all about the art.  There are no kids areas, music stages or funnel cake.  Also for those who want to rent a tent and propanels the new company HA uses has brand new light domes and new propanesl at an excellent price.  Very impressed.

Next up Beaux Arts