Three Rivers Art Festival in Covington Louisiana was this past weekend. What a fun show to do. This was my first year showing here. I have family in Louisiana, so last year when I was asked to be a roadie I figured I would go check out why so many talented artists do this show which is in a small historic area outside of New Orleans. What I saw gave me enough incentive to try it for myself this year.
The show is set up along the main shopping street that has restaurants, bars, art galleries, charming historic hardware stores and boutiques. The booths are set up along the curb in the street across from each other. Most of us have storage behind us but it is a sidewalk and stores behind us so depending on where you are you need to be considerate of the businesses and leave space for people to use the sidewalk. There are a lot of corner booths because the show leaves business entrances visible, my point we aren't all packed in.
Set up is Friday late afternoon. You can register, yes you need a picture id, starting at 3pm. You receive a ton of helpful info and other lagniappes and set up on the street starts at 4:30pm. Getting to your space is not to bad and there are a lot of alleys if you can do a short dolly. Parking is easy, lots of options. There are only two possible problems, first cars are allowed to park on this street until 4:30pm and every space is taken. Many of the people either forget or didn't realize they needed to move their cars so we could set up.
The show director gave all of us her direct cell number and picked up and responded asap. She was on it and anyone who had a car in their booth spot would have a police officer come talk to them and find the owner of the car and get that owner to move it. I had the car out of my space in 5 minutes. The jeweler next to me had to wait an hour but the police officer and the show gave her updates on the owner of the car and let her know what was going on. The other possible problem is it gets dark early, by 6pm you are in the dark dark. Bring lights if you need them for set up.
There is a wonderful, fun, Louisiana style dinner for the artists. It starts at 6:30 and goes until 8pm. I went last year and it was good, had a fun band and the beer was cold. This year it was really really really cold. They set up outdoor heaters but most artists opted to eat at a restaurant in doors. I did run by after dinner on the walk back to my place to grab a free beer and the staff was still there and music was playing and they kept the party going even though only a few artists stuck it out. Wish it would have been a bit warmer because the Louisiana folks do know how to throw a party:)
Saturday morning they ask that you are all set up and ready to roll by 9am. Judging starts at 9am. They give out quite a few awards with cash money. It was difficult to get out of bed and into the cold but I did it. Surprisingly patrons were starting to show up around 9am too. The judges came by and it was great to see that the judges actually went into the booths and actually talked to the artists. What a concept.
Over the course of the day many members of the board came by and introduced themselves. The block captains introduced themselves and checked on us over and over again. They walked around with hot coffee and water like a flight attendant. The group that runs this show really cares about the show and the artists and they show it.
By 10am there was a decent crowd an it stayed that way until closing, 5pm. The LSU game was an evening game so I believe that helped. The jewelers around me had packed booths all day. Those that had price points and smaller pieces at $500 and under reported a good to great day on Saturday. For me, pp start at $1k and I am very contemporary, I was not as well received but had a decent amount of people that seemed serious and went home to measure. This usually is a good indicator for me, BUT I knew the Saints had an early game on Sunday and Sunday called for rain all day long. That night at dinner my other artists friends with higher pp reported a similar day.
Sunday morning there was a great artist breakfast and awards were given. These people really spoil us. Sunday open at 10 am again. Not many patrons there but a few. Forecast was rain and it felt like rain was coming. The best part was it had warmed up. No long underwear or gloves needed:) The rain held off all day!!!! Crowds were never very big on Sunday and the jewelers had time to use the bathrooms. The be backs did not come back.
Most of the people who had great Saturdays were not doing so great on Sunday but were happy because Saturday was enough to make their show. Those of us that had higher price points seemed to pull it out, barely with the exception of an artist who had a new restaurant come and buy all her bigs and some smalls and made a great show for her. I covered expenses and like the big guy says, made a paycheck. It was enough to make me want to go back next year.
Break down started at 4:30 with the show officially over at 5pm. Most of us could get our vehicles close enough to dolly the light things out then drive up to our booths the load up the heavier items. I had a double booth and was out of there and on my bnb porch by 5:20 sipping a mint julep:)
This show is a treat to do. If you are a foodie you will be in heaven. If you can swing a bit more for lodging then the show becomes an event for you not just another grueling show. You can stay right in historic Covington, walk to the show and park your car once and not move it until it is time to go home. I stay at a small BnB two blocks from the show and have the most wonderful experience while showing.
The show staff treats you like royalty. The patrons are the best around, Louisiana folks are the best. If you are more traditional and have price points under $1k you could do very well. There are many qualified buyers for high pp items but the contemporary work is a bit harder sell.
This was the last show for me this year. Laissez les bon temps rouler ...
