Last weekend we were in Huntsville, Alabama for Panoply, which is a community festival of the arts. There are three music stages, food vendors, arts activities for the kids, and an Arts Marketplace. The venue is Big Spring International Park in downtown Huntsville. The Arts Marketplace is set up along a sidewalk the surrounds a small lake and on the street that runs between the park and a performing arts center. If your booth is on the street you can drive right up to your spot and unload. If you are somewhere in the park itself you have to dolly. We were the first booth inside one of two entrances on the street.
Since we are new at this, we had not done this show before but had heard good things about it from other artists. Huntsville's main industry is aerospace with a large military facility, Redstone Arsenal, located there. So we anticipated patrons with resources that might want to buy some great art. We were not disappointed.
The show has long hours: 5pm-9pm on Friday, 8:45am - 9pm Saturday, Noon-7pm Sunday. Some artists set up Thursday while the remainder set up on Friday based on an on line scheduling system which was very efficient. Pre-show communication was very thorough so there were no unanswered questions before we arrived. Our set up was on Friday morning which went very smoothly. Two music stages were active during our set up. One was an orchestra playing classical music. The other was a band playing classic rock. When one group finished a piece, the other group would play so as not to compete with each other. Throughout the weekend, the music was quite good and not too loud as to be annoying.
We finished in time to check in to the motel and grab a quick early dinner. We were back at our booth at 4:30 for the 5pm opening. It was at that point we noticed that thunder had replaced the strains of Beethoven and The Doors we had enjoyed earlier. Just before opening time the skies let loose with some beautiful cloud to cloud lightening. It occurred to me that sitting in a tent with metal poles might not be the best place to be at that moment. The show did not open and everyone went home at 6:30pm.
Saturday morning was warm and humid, but no rain. The forecast was for rain later in the day but that did not keep the crowds away. The first person in our booth was a gentleman that seemed very interested in our work. We had a long discussion about process and materials and we hoped he was a potential buyer once he made his rounds through the show. It turned out he was the judge and we won a Merit Award! We had a good sales day Saturday. Most of what sold was from our print bin and a lot of 5x7 cards. The day was made by one buyer who could not decide between two of our larger pieces and ultimately bought both of them. That was the only big sale we made all weekend. We had some great sales momentum going by late afternoon. I was on my way back from the truck on a restocking mission when the tornado sirens went off. If you want to see a place clear out in a hurry, set off a tornado siren two days after the fifth anniversary of the worst tornado outbreak in state history. A quick check of the radar showed the weather threat to be miles away to the North. Nevertheless, the park was evacuated. We were told the park would re-open 30 minutes after the warning expired. Several artists around us did not return expecting the crowd would not return either. They were wrong. As soon as the gates re-opened at 6pm we had folks back in our booth. We did steady business until 9pm.
Sunday was another warm, humid day with rain in the forecast. We were lucky in that the approaching storms broke up and went around us. We had a steady sales day with people in our booth right up to closing time. Break down was simple for us as we could drive right next to our booth to load.
Panoply is a beloved community event. We had the pleasure of meeting many of the vast cast of volunteers that work tirelessly to put this event on in support of Arts Huntsville. It was very well organized and staff was always available if you needed them. The quality of the art varied widely from birds made from soda cans to really wonderful paintings. We saw a lot of art walking by our booth to new homes both big and small. Many of the artists that do this show have done so for many years and keep coming back. Most of the artists were within 200 miles of Huntsville, but our neighbor was from Michigan and a couple of others had traveled long distances. There was an artist's hospitality booth with coffee and pastries each morning. The food vendors offered artists free food or discounts which were listed on the back of our name tags. The free ice cream cones each afternoon were much appreciated. The only negatives were the long hours and we had to pay for parking ($5.00 per day). I am sure our sales would have been better if the weather cooperated. As it was we were pleased with our sales volume. We were surprised by the interest in our work with Birmingham subject matter. At any rate we had a great time, met some new friends, saw some old friends, and made a little money. Not a bad weekend at all. Thanks Huntsville!
Comments
Thanks for the update about it becoming a two day show in 2016.
Barry,
The same people that run Panoply now run the Monte Sano show. They have made it a two day show.
Great review, Craig and Sara! Very accurate reporting. I was just up the road a few booths on the opposite side from you (decorative porcelain). For me, it was pretty good but not as stellar as some others around me had done. I was told by a few of the volunteers to "stick with it" and give it another try because my work might require additional exposure for the Huntsville audience. I would try the show again. As you've pointed out, the pre-show material was exceptional as were 99% of the volunteers. One "director of the gate" told me that I could not bring my own food in from outside and that I could only consume food purchased from the food vendors. I was outraged and told her that it wasn't in the contract/paperwork...the very thorough contract/paperwork. She told me that she would see to it next year, that it was! Nonsense. Other volunteers helped me out and apparently this one at the gate has a power trip thing going on. The Hospitality tent was fantastic. I left with a good impression of the show overall but I felt the traffic on Sunday was a bit light, though.
We were in Tifton, GA during that week of the big tornado in Alabama and certainly thought we were next on the list to get hit. But it didn't come to Tifton.
Very nice review. We never did Panoply, but we were featured artists in Monte Sano during 2010 and did very well there. Monte Sano is a one day show in September. The show director changed in 2012, but everything is still fine with it and artists I know still do it and do well. The previous director did a great job with this show and that's why it is such a gem.
Another I had wanted to do -- maybe next year I'll be accepted!
Wonderful critique, Sara and Craig, I enjoyed reading it and want to congratulate you on winning an award and on having a rather successful show despite the threat of ominous weather. Thanks for sharing your experience with us, I always delight in reading your reviews.
Margaret, sorry you took ill. The work there was very diverse. Some was traditional/conservative but other stuff was folk art, whimsical, and modern. One painter had very modern subject matter on wood. I saw several pieces go by in new owner's hands.
Thanks for the great review Craig and Sara. Sounds like the weather didn't keep the crowds away. That's great to hear. It seems like a very organized show. I was suppose to be there but came down with the flu on Wednesday....believe me I would have much rather been at Panoply in the rain than at home. Like the old saying...you plan...God laughs. I hope to do this show next year as it looked to have great potential and seemed like a hidden gem in a good, prosperous city. Did you feel that the work there was mostly conservative? Thanks again.