Greetings all! I have been on a hiatus (of doing fairs) since May - mostly due to the scorching heat we get here in MD... and since this has been a record breaking year in the heat department, I think I made a right choice. However, was the choice right in doing The Maryland Seafood Festival?
The nuts and bolts...
Dates: Sept. 10/11 from 10-9 p.m.
Location: Sandy Point Beach Park, right on the Chesapeake Bay (the Bay Bridge is what is in the background of the photo) Annapolis, MD.
Set-up: I will get back to that one - long answer...
Space fee I paid was $425 for an under the tent 10x20 space. This included electric and 8 ft. tables. There were different fees if you wanted to set up a canopy say for a 10x10 space and so on.
Weather: Questionable, but mostly nice DURING the event.
Sales: FOR ME, not bad at all considering... details to follow too.
My thoughts... The stage was set for the event a few days prior to the event. Before Friday we had 5 long days and nights of endless rain with LOTS of flooding in many areas of Maryland. Got an email at 10:50 Thursday night that set-up won't begin on Friday at 10:00, but 2:00. I arrived at 2:15 to a muddy mess and the big tens up... the bad news is it is on top of 2 inches of standing water (and muddy grass). We were then told no one could go on the grounds until at least 4:00. Meanwhile food vendors with their big trucks could making it REALLY bad for everyone else. There is only one way in and out of the grounds (via a one road path) that too was muddy. Finally getting my space - as it wasn't and couldn't be marked due to the standing water, I decided to try and get as much as I can on tables and pray some of the water will recede if it doesn't rain over night. I did get cedar chips and some alpha grass from a pet shop nearby - 5 hardware stores in the area weren't carrying straw yet. And no the parks and recs as well as event management didn't and wouldn't provide straw. I did bring carpet (which was later sacrificed to appease any golems) which was put on top of the grass and cedar (at least it smelled somewhat decent in my area) outside of it smelled questionable. It wasn't until 8:00 p.m. I got out of the park and setting up. I can say ALL vendors who beyond pissed on how it was all handled - no parking attendances or security to direct who can and cannot get on the land, no volunteers, and we didn't get electric until 12 noon Saturday. During the whole weekend I was still under 1 inch of rain. If I didn't bring the grass and cedar and carpet, people would have never been able to see my products nor venture into my space - the farthest point in the tent was my booth, which was at the farthest part of the fair.
Sorry for harping on how miserable we were, but I spent all Saturday in bare feet standing in that water as my shoes were ruined not to mentioned badly sunburned (the back of my booth is where the sun shone in - which was MY FAULT for not bringing sunblock and the tent was open, no sides). Saturday wasn't a bust though - sales and people were good! I must add - for me. I have had fellow "artists" (I don't think many were true handmade by the artist present - mind you a few of the wood carvings, nautical art, etc. - was beautiful!) periodically come into my booth and ask... "so how are you doing?" On a good note I covered all of my expenses Saturday - including paying for some friends for helping me with sales while I did candle making demos and took bathroom breaks. Sunday didn't make too much, but must be one of the lucky ones as many didn't do well. And on that note, I think the ones who didn't do well were the ones who couldn't shake off the anger from walking their merchandise into their booth about 1/8 mile away from the parking lot in muddy conditions, not having a nice display - some didn't use table cloths for instance. There were those who should have done better - selling the right stuff at the right place, but had more lookers than buyers. So, all in all I call myself lucky. Very lucky. If the ground conditions were better or at least did something to make the situation better, it could have been a VERY successful day for all involved.
I felt bad for the food vendors - they were all in the mud and you had to be in mud to get your food. While I do feel some of the blame for the way things went down was partially the promoters fault, I lay most of the blame on the park. This event happens every year, during the middle of hurricane season and they would rather have big mud pits and patrons and exhibitors fall than put down straw, mulch, etc. to make for a better venue. I am just thankful there were plenty of people who came out for the music, the seafood, the seafood cooking demonstrations, the crab picking contests, etc. or we wouldn't have had many people come - the arts and crafts were something to do. I did get several people find me saying they saw my website and wanted to buy from me - those were heart warming moments!
I would say about 6,000 or so were there for the weekend - I couldn't really tell only because the art and crafts were soooo far away from all the action. There is potential for more, but with it also being on Sunday with to big football games and 9/11 - it didn't help. If the place had better grounds, it would have been a fabulous fair and I am saying that after having sunburns, mosquito bites, VERY sore muscles, etc. yet still walked away with a decent profit. Note: I am not mentioning numbers as numbers, to me doesn't mean the same thing from one medium to another, but I can say I did over $1000 and I am just a candle maker who also makes lavender products and my own incense sticks (which ended up being the biggest seller). I can say I did walk the show a few years ago and it was hopping, and was sunny when I was there, but they still had rain issues then. I also liked the variety of exhibitors then too, than this year - everyone said too much jewelry (not that it was bad), but you have that - a person selling plants, another selling African carved wood animals, etc. mixed with some true artisans - it wasn't the best in variety this year. - Michelle
P.S. I did take the photo with my IPhone - didn't want to risk my camera getting dirty and with the back light couldn't get a good shot of the booth... Sorry!
Comments
I appreciate your grit and attitude.
But gee, the booth fee seems awfully high for such a little return. Don't you think you could put your hard-earned money to better use?
I am surprised anyone would go back to that event given the promoter's attitude towards you. God bless, Michelle, hang in there, better days are coming. Nels.
Wow, lots of questions...
1. I haven't done the show before, but attended some years back. It was better then. There was a 2 year break when the stock market hit bottom, last year they had it, but couldn't attend.
2. The show has been around about 20 years.
3. It is all about attitude. While everyone (exhibitors) complained and waiting for the promoter to do something (because as we all know "it's always the promoters fault") there is always a plan B - which may not be the option you want to take. But we have a choice to make our situations better (if we can) or not do anything and be "un-lady" or "un-gentlemanly".
4. ABC events puts on the event. I also realized a few things that could have made things better. I never say the promoter much during the event - never got badges as promised, never got an apology for how things went, I am afraid to make suggestions for fear of being "black listed" nor being labeled as a "a person who could do the job better" - I kinda feel I could do things differently with a better outcome. There are times - like with this show, artists are just poorly treated - an afterthought when it comes to making money for a charity. It is purely frustrating. Just once I would like to be at a show where art/crafts are the focal point and no other distractions are around and no one is out to gouge anyone just for the sake of money. I guess what I am trying to say is I wish organizations would raise money not at the expense of artists - pay $100 for a space and a few people will show up, but you'll be lucky to make much because we're going to charge patrons for everything from parking to admission so by the time they reach the art and crafts they have spent all their hard earned, budgeted money. Bitter? Yes, I am. It is always super friendly before the show but the day of the event - different story. Consider me still searching for the right show.
6. Why doesn't the park dept. not help? Heck if I know. I think they are just out for themselves. It seems no one here actually wants to work together - it's all about my "organization" and nothing else. I hear it often in my part time job - we get so many calls for donations and sales and so on never realizing the organization is doing business with a for profit. If a business doesn't make any money, we don't have a business. Err...
Good review, Michelle. Have you done this show before? It surely sounds as though you were prepared to make the best of it and as a result took money home. Attitude is a great help when trying to sell. Has the show been around for some time? Who runs it? Why do you think the park department doesn't help out?