Blog

Last weekend we displayed our work at the Kentuck Festival of the Arts in Northport, Alabama. This show is difficult to get in to so we felt fortunate to be accepted on our first try. This show started as a Folk Art only event 45 years ago.  Folk art is still the main focus of the show, but other mediums are now included.  Our work is the antithesis of folk art so we were a little concerned about how it would be received.  Our worries were unfounded as we had a great show.

Northport is next door to Tuscaloosa, the home of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide.  Luckily, the team was away in Tennessee playing the Volunteers. That made hotel rates much more affordable. Tuscaloosa is a short drive from our home. We looked forward to a short uneventful drive, followed by lunch and a leisurely set up.  It was not to be.  As we traveled down a two lane state highway, the only direct route for us, we encountered stopped traffic near the little town of Oakman. An emergency perhaps or possibly a wreck?  No, a homecoming parade.  No parade in sight but out of an abundance of caution traffic was stopped for over an hour.  Traffic was backed up for miles which extended our drive time even longer once we finally got moving.  Blood pressure through the roof is not a good way to start the weekend.  We just hoped our traffic woes were not a sign of how the show was going to go.  

The event is held in Kentuck Park.  The booths are either adjacent to one of the asphalt walkways or in the grass in rows. If your booth is adjacent to a walkway there is a 50.00 surcharge.  We did not ask for a walkway booth but we were assigned one anyway which turned out to be a good thing.  Alabama is in a severe drought and the walkway helped keep the dust down a little. Load in was easy as you can drive up to your spot and stay there until you are done.  There are 250 artists so with all the vehicles it did get a little crowded.  But, everyone cooperated and things went smoothly. We finished at about 5:15 and when we put our hotel address in the GPS that little female voice said traffic jam on your route. We'd had enough of traffic delays for one day so we diverted to the very quaint Northport downtown and found a restaurant serving alcohol.  We sampled their martinis and burgers and then headed to the hotel in Tuscaloosa.

The show opened at 8am for "Very Important Patrons" so we were there by 7:15am.  There was a very nice artists amenities tent with coffee, juice, donuts, fruit and did I mention coffee.  We did not see any VIPs but the crowds flowed in a little later.  The people that came into our booth were interested in our work and asked engaging questions.  It was apparent that people come year after year as several said "this is your first year" or "you were not here last year". We were also impressed with the number of out of state people we met who came specifically for this show.  In some cases families had reunions centered on coming to the show.

We had a great sales day.  The closer it got to kickoff at 2:30 the crowd dwindled.  When the game started there were still some people checking out the show taking advantage of the newly opened space created when the Tide fans left.  These folks were fans of other teams that played night games.  Everyone is a football fan in this part of the country. We made several sales to those folks to close out the day.  

Saturday evening after the show closed there was an artist party at the Kentuck Art Center in downtown Northport.  By the time we found a place to park the food line was very long but the wine line was very short.  We had a couple of glasses while we waited for the line to work its way through.  By the time that happened there was not much left so we went to a nearby restaurant and took in some football and dinner. A great way to end the day.

We had high hopes for Sunday.  The Tide had won big, no college football to interfere with art shopping, and the weather like Saturday's was going to be perfect. It did not work out that way.  It was a different crowd...more looking, less buying.  We still did OK but not like Saturday.  We did about 1/3 of the sales we made on Saturday.  I will say that from our unscientific survey sales results were mixed this year.  From the veterans of this show the crowd was down from previous years.  Since we had no prior experience we cannot provide a first hand assessment. 

The load out was a little chaotic with everyone trying to move vehicles into the park at the same time.  It was dark when we finished up which always makes it a little more challenging. 

There were so many positives about this show it is hard to list them all.  First, the crowd was art aware and in a buying mood on Saturday more so than Sunday. It was like they wait all year for this event and do not want to miss it.  The volunteers and staff were great to work with and did everything they could to help us succeed.  Drive up load and pack up was great, no need to dolly unless you were in a hurry. There were two food courts.  One had the typical fried fare you find at other shows. But, the other one near the performance stage had two local food trucks with outstanding stuff at good prices.  One sold out on Sunday and had to close early. There were music acts of various genres all weekend and they were for the most part great. The bottom line is that we had a great time once we managed to get there and we were very happy with our sales so what more can you ask for? Maybe to be invited back next year?