Posted by Bert Herrera on September 14, 2009 at 7:45pm
The show takes place in the downtown area of Clayton, which is a suburb of St Louis. It's on the street with artists back to back, down the middle of the street. The show spreads to a couple of streets, including side streets, with 160 lucky artists present. There is about 4-5 feet between the booths, so plenty of space to hang on outside walls if you need/want to. Electricity runs through the rear of all booths, so we can plug in for the evenings. Show hours are Friday 5PM - 10PM, Sat from 10AM - 10PM and Sunday from 11AM to 4PM.While this show has music, entertainment, and community booths, art is clearly the king here. I'm talking about art which is truly of remarkable quality!One word sums up this show for me - BEST. It's the best run show I've ever participated in. The committee doesn't overlook anything -- starting with a very thorough packet they mail to you sometime before the show. They even come by the booth the evening before and give everyone a printed weather forecast for the next day! The crowds were the best I have ever seen in terms of energy, interest, attitude and caring. Oh, yeah, and sales - you guessed it, the best I have ever done. For me, Saturday was a killer day, especially in the evening. I had folks waiting to buy stuff on Sunday 30 minutes after the show officially closed. Some artists, who had done the show in the past, said their sales were down some, but were happy nevertheless.From my perspective, I really cannot say enough good things about this show. I would say to any show co-ordinators out there reading this, if you want to learn how to do it right, come here to learn. These folks have it!I don't have a tequila report, but there are lots of restaurants in the area, and I'm sure some have great tequila! My wife did enjoy the house Merlot at the Sharaton, and their long island iced teas weren't bad either. But after getting back to the hotel (4 blocks away is the Sheraton which is the show hotel), at about 11PM on Friday and Saturday night, all I wanted to do was crash - and hope I can get back in sometime!
Comments
This is the first year for the new director at SLAF, Cindy Lerick. I'm sure your report will be music to her ears.
I totally understand about not having time for the tequila!