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This is a show that is a part of the 9-day Summer Celebration, and the fine art is located in Hackley Park.  The surrounding streets are designated for low end crafts, BS, and everything else.  More about that shortly.

Thunderstorms dogged setup and the first half of Friday for this 3 day show.  While we arrived early, at 12 pm on Thursday and set up as soon as we arrived, the late arrivals that night and the next morning had to contend with rain and lightning all around.  I have to say this was by far one of the easiest load-ins we’ve done, since we tow a 40-foot RV and it can get pretty hairy in a city.  The show director was actually glad to have us in so early so we could get out quick, and that we did, and managed to escape setting up in a downpour and instead gorge ourselves on some damn good wings and potato skins.  Yep, pre-show fuel up! 

This year, parking was not free, as it has been in the past, and there is no parking allowed on the park streets.  Or so we were informed in the show packet.  Framer Dude managed to wangle a spot for the Artship Enterprise for $50 for the weekend, and I suppose that comes from experience of working on a submarine in the Navy.  However, other artists/vendors with RV’s were parked along the streets outside the park with no apparent repercussions.  It really irks me when I try to adhere to the parking instructions and others just go ahead and do their own thing-I would have loved to have saved myself fifty bucks and been closer to the show too.  Friday the storms continued, and I was a bit nervous, being in a park with lots of tall trees all around, especially when one bolt audibly crackled directly overhead with a deafening crash.  The storm seemed to just circulate and keep redeveloping over Muskegon all morning, though surprisingly, there were a few people out and about, which is one thing I’ve forgotten about Northerners, we’re a bit more blasé to inclement weather.  Still, I was very glad I decided to pack my Gore-Tex raincoat for this trip North!

The show itself is set up in Hackley Park, a beautiful setting with huge tall (lightning magnet) trees, and it’s a full 3 day show, which I like, since Saturday becomes a mellow day to relax and interact with patrons without the pressure of setting up and tearing down within 48 hours.My booth was perfectly placed in the shade of a maple, so I stayed cool once the skies cleared and temps crawled into the mid 80’s.  Framer Dude walked the show, and was very surprised at both the scarcity of 2D work and the enormous amount of jewelry.  I think I saw two other oil painters in my excursions around.  There was not a lot of high-end art, and I suspect I could have won an award for the highest priced artist there.  A Michigan artist said that this part of Michigan has seen a steep drop in painters at the shows.  Who did well? The henna tattoo artist across from me did. (Tattoo artist at an art show? you’re saying. Yup.) The yard art people did.  The beaders did.  The suspect BS vendors did.  I hit my target, and was happy with my sales and the 3^rd place prize money.  The infernally annoying salsa vendor behind me in the street was hawking obnoxiously to all the women passing by and to the credit of the show promoters, he was told to tone down his act or leave.

Saturday and Sunday the weather was great.  The crowds were large and steady on Saturday, and the oh-that’s-gorgeous-but-my-hands-ain’t-leavin-my-pockets folks were in full force.  The artist next to me said this is more a B, B-minus show.  Overall, Framer Dude and I were not impressed with the buying power of this crowd, as the fine art buyers were pretty few and far between, and there is a lot of other entertainment vying for tight dollars between the flea market/craft section, the food section, and the evening music venues. From our five-star parking lot, we got to hear loud and clear Night Ranger on Friday Night, and a Journey tribute band, I think.  I should have busted out my acid-washed jeans and Stiff Stuff to tease my hair out.  Don’t stop belie-e-eving...

Teardown went off without a hitch: we decided to wait for the vendors on the street to clear out before we towed our RV right up to the booth and loaded out, so we went back for more greasy pub food.  (MAC’s has the best potato skins I’ve ever had, as well as a really good seared tuna if you’re not into clogging your arteries.)

Overall, I was pleased by the general crowd reception to my work, as I’ve never been to Michigan before and I’m testing new geographical markets, and I was Okay with my sales, considering the crowd.  Krasl in St. Joseph next weekend has the reputation as the high-end art show in southwest Michigan, and I am still on their waitlist at this moment, ready to hold a small animal sacrifice to the gods of the art shows that I’ll be able to participate in that one.  

Bob and I are local yokels, so sometimes we are looked upon as the red- headed step children...not as important as the artist exhibiting from far away...we live twenty minutes away from the Boston Mills art show, and people think we are accessable all the time..This was our second time showing our art work there and we had an excellent show.Sleeping in your own bed AND making money- it doesn't get much better than that!

Cleveland Magazine has a very large supplement in the summer issue detailing all aspects of the two weekend show, including the attending artists and their spaces...for Clevelanders, this periodical is the Bible of all summer activities-priceless!

Last year our booth location was outside, this year, inside...we will take inside any day of the week...lights and no sun. This year was beastly hot and  the West tent worked for us...North tent has the reputation as the "best" tent, but I subscribe to the theory that if you are in the beginning or end of the show, either people say they "just got there" or at the end, they possibly have spent their budget already. In the middle is where we feel best...

Load in and load out is tougher for people in the middle, as they have to dolly to their vehicles...the North and East tents seem easiest to park nearer to.

Okay, as Nels always says, let's get to the meat of the show...hot is hot... it will keep some  people away no matter what...and it was very warm this past weekend.The 4th of July falling on Monday seemed to keep the crowds on Friday very sparse...people do travel on holidays, and having Monday off, may change schedules somewhat.I always ask the people who wander in our booth where they are from...being from the area, it helps us alot..Akron, Sagamore Hills, Bath etc. pulled in large crowds.We also saw many people from the east side of Cleveland, where we reside.

Some of our neighbors, a clay artist and encaustic painter had great shows...we enjoyed the comraderie we had with all of the surrounding artists and would not change a thing for next year.

We ended up selling a large piece on Friday and two smaller pieces on the other days, peppered with smaller "milk money " pieces.Monday night at 10:15 p.m. we received a call from another perspective customer from Columbus, wanting the most expensive piece in our booth. Bob and I just decided to drive the 90" piece to Columbus this morning- two hours and change...to deliver and pick up cash...this pushed us into a fantastic  show outcome...it is not over until the -----------.

I would be remiss if I did not mention our two great evenings spent with Nels, Ellen, Leo and Carolyn at the Blue Canyon Grill for yummy dinners and TOO many martinis...what a BLAST!!!!!

 We love staying home, doing a show, and making good money at Boston Mills....this  will become a definite addiction for us- give this show a try if you are lucky to get juried in- there are great rewards here....

September 30-October 2

Lee's Summit, Missouri
New Longview Shopping District 

Deadline: July 20

Friday: set-up 9am-4pm; Show 4-9pm

Saturday:   10am-9pm

Sunday:  11am-5pm

Expect: 

• 90 booth spaces available
• AGAIN THIS YEAR!- We will have electricity (included in the booth fee) available for each booth.  
• There will be monetary awards in excess of $3,000.

The Longview Art & World Music Festival is a high quality and innovative fine art event.  Our mission is to have a long and illustrious run as one of the nation's top destination fine art event experiences for both the artist and attendees.  Our Festival attracts art enthusiasts from a large geographical area.

It will be held in the New Longview neighborhood shopping district located on the Lee's Summit, MO, west side.  Lee's Summit is an affluent city in the Kansas City metro area, and is rated in the top 100 cities in America by Money Magazine.

The event parking is free to the artists and the public.  The event management and its sponsors, Summit Art, New Longview Foundation, and Gale Communities, plus regional media and businesses are providing an unprecedented level of support, including advertising, for this event.

Our three-day festival of fine arts introduces visitors to the diverse talents of world-class national and regional artists.  Beyond the wonderful art exhibits, this extraordinary event offers delicious food, outstanding music, and interactive art experiences.  There is something fresh for the whole family.

The New Longview area has become one of Kansas City's fastest growing neighborhood communities.  This area originally was the Longview Farm, built by R.A.Long, which opened in 1914 and was hailed as, "the world's most beautiful farm."

What past exhibitors are saying: 

I have exhibited at LAWMF since the very first show.  This show has continued to evolve into a must show for me.  The organization of the show has continued to grow and the needs of the participating artist are listened to by the staff.  Every year the show has gotten better and I look forward to showing again this year.-KED

I attended the art fair last October and had a great time.  My experience with the show last year was that it was my most enjoyable show that I had participated in last year.  Despite the fact that it was the first year, the organization was fantastic and the people even more so...Sales were better than I thought they would be, which is always good.  The combination of the world music and the fine weather made it all the more enjoyable and I look forward to participating again this year.-Bryan B.

Excellent location and the volunteers were the absolute best! -Marc M.

Applications available: http://www.zapplication.org 
 

If you have any questions please email:

 summitart@sbcglobal.net  

I left the Boston Mills Art Show Monday, outside of Cleveland,and headed back to Saugatuck.  It is a six-hour drive, which leaves me plenty of time to think.

This is not a blog about the art show, I will leave that to Patti Stern or Leo Charette.  This was more about me, and the rest of us in this biz.

I have been driving this stretch of I-80 thru Ohio and Indiana for more than 24 summers (15 times coming back from Boston Mills).

It is reassuring to see the corn growing in familiar fields.  I have passed that same Ohio barn with its automotive signs on it for years.  seen the same campground outside of the big city slowly grow.  Stopped art Smith's restaurant in Wauseon,Ohio  for a sturdy farmers breakfeast.

I have seen a lot of familiar artists at that show over the years, also noted a number who have passed and are no longer with us.  So there, I have set the scene.

Between listening to Brit singers David Gray, and Adele, wail away to their heart's content (on Sirius/XM) it got me thinking for the first time about my mortality.  That is a very sobering subject.

How many more times is God going to let me run down this road. Or maybe we could phrase it, how many more shows will I be able to do before: cancer gets me, a stroke gets me, a bad back gets me, or hell, I just get to be an old fart who can no longer put up the booth and haul 40-pound boxes.

I turn 66 in October, been doing this for 36 years.  How much longer am I good for?Six years (that makes me 72), maybe 10 more years (that makes me 76) or could  make it to the big Enchilada and do it for 14 or more (making me a lucky, spry 80-something).

Many of my peers are dropping out now, in their mid-sixties.  You see very few doing it in their mid-seventies.  Hell, 80-year-olds should be in the Sunshine Artist hall of Fame.

Ellen was just telling me at Boston Mills, "You know Nels, you can't be climbing up on a six-foot ladder to put your roof on much longer, what if you fall?"

Boy I can see the headlines for that one.

                        TEQUILA-TIPPLING ARTIST TOPPLES AT (Insert a show, any show)

When she said that, she made me think I was almost ancient.  Trouble is, I feel just fine.  In fact I feel like I got a purring motor and can keep on going for a long time.

Sure.  I may get wiser, and by age 70 (yikes, only four years from now) and buy a booth with fabric walls.  Then I won't have to go up on a ladder beside my van to put my booth panels on the roof racks.  Maybe get one of those booths where you put the roof on at ground level and then raise it.  Maybe I would go to all canvas for my photos and get rid of all that troublesome glass that weighs so.  Hell, maybe I should just chuck photography and become a jeweler.  Then I could go to shows in a minivan, a light booth, and fully loaded revolver.

Heck I hear Luciano is thinking of getting out of the biz and moving back to Italy, will Galbo follow to France?  A fantastic black and white photographer, Rick Preston, who I have known for 30-plus years, told me at the Mills this was his last year in the biz.

A lot of good people have come and gone over the decades.  People who gave me great pride to say I knew them and really loved their work.  Some of my contemporaries who used to kill them in the 80's and 90's are having a tough time getting juried into good shows.

My clan of artists is slowly shrinking each year.  I try to reach out and meet some of the talented newcomers.  But you don't establish close ties overnight.  it takes show upon show to sometimes build up a relationship.

As long as I have my health, I will do shows.  Heck, I wouldn't know what to do with all my time if I had every weekend off.  I want to still drive down familiar byways, plus see new ones.  i like getting in the van for an art show and looking back in my rear mirror.  There's the cutest blonde, with blue eyes, following me again.  What will it be like if Ellen quits before me, which is likely.

Well, I thought about all this on the ride home.  It was the first time I ever thought about my having limitations in my biz.  I have always gone out with this unlimited passion for doing shows.  And then assuming there was no end of them.  I always thought Marchetti, a very talented painter, got out the right way.  When we used to do the nine-day Piedmont Art Fest in Atlanta, it was always a friendly contest to see who would be first in line with their van at teardown.  Usually it was Rene.  He passed away at the art show in his chair.  Just went out quietly and peacefully. Or Andre, the jeweler, died peacefully in his sleep, in his van at the Miami Beach Art Show, years ago.  They just did what they loved til their time came.

Somebody up there knows my number.  I keep hoping they misplace it and can't find it for a long time.

I got too many blogs about shows that I want to write.  I got dreams and aspirations about getting in Cherry Creek some day.  I got hopes about getting into Winter Park somne day.  Heck they have only juried me out for 26 years straight, after I was in three years in a row back in the 80's.

As Otis Redding sang,"I got dreams..."

I tell you one thing, i am still going up that ladder for a few more years.

Aloha, Nels.

And here now, if I knew how to do it, we would include Otis on YouTube, or better still, Jackson Browne singing the "Load Out" song.

Today is Independence Day. On AFI we celebrate our individualitiy every waking moment. I have been with vocal groups before but YOU ALL define the concept of a "think tank."

So I wondered about all I have read over the past months. Could we get it down to:

ONE THING WE EACH WOULD CHANGE ABOUT THE ART WORLD OR BEING ARTISTS?

(no repeats, except to add an inportant concept to the original)

How high could we go? Each person number your change.

I'll start.

1) I love creating. But I hate having to make enough money to keep the accountant happy. If I could change ONE THING I would improve the economy faster.

November 5 & 6

Winnsboro, Texas  

Saturday: 11 to 5
Sunday: 11 to 4  
Downtown in the Cultural Arts District
Sponsored by the Winnsboro Main Street Partnership
75 Juried Artists
Deadline:  August 1

In November, when it's cold in most of the country and the festival season is winding down, the Winnsboro Fine Art Market offers a great opportunity for Christmas art sales--a perfect way to conclude your art fair season.   

The second Winnsboro Fine Art Market will take place November 5^th and 6^th in historic downtown Winnsboro, Texas. Streets will be closed to traffic and transformed into an art buyer's Mecca. The first Art Market was so successful that every exhibiting artist expressed an interest in returning. 

The area surrounding the town's restored train depot will feature continuous musical entertainment, a wine garden and a wide variety of fine food.  Children's activities and demonstrations by participating artists will provide a great experience for everyone.

For those unfamiliar with Texas, the "Upper East Side" is heavily wooded with numerous lakes, making it a relaxing retreat for harried urbanites wanting a little slower pace and a lot friendlier atmosphere. Daytime temperatures in early November are in the 60's and 70's and the leaves are at their autumn best.  Winnsboro's small town charm and friendly people complete the atmosphere.  

A short drive from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, second homes dot the seven lakes within a 12 mile radius of Winnsboro and the City draws tourists to a variety of restaurants and live music venues. Winnsboro is a MainStreetCity and a Certified Retirement Community. While the country is experiencing a downturn in the economy, Texas is holding its own and people are still buying art.

The Winnsboro Fine Art Market will be strongly promoted in Dallas, Fort Worth, Tyler, Longview and surrounding cities and is expected to garner a substantial turnout of patrons wanting an enjoyable weekend in the country.

The weekend kicks off with a Patrons' Reception held on Friday evening featuring fine dining, wine and entertainment.

To make the weekend relaxing for exhibiting artists as well, event promoters have made arrangements with a nearby retreat for the use of their newest addition-a lodge overlooking the woods with private rooms and baths for $49 a night-the perfect chance to relax and mingle with other artists in the common area of the lodge. 

We hope you'll join us this fall for a profitable and enjoyable weekend in East Texas.  For more information please visit our website at www.winnsboroart.com or call 903-342-3438.

Hey Peeps!  Connie asked me to share a bit about a project she saw on my personal blog.  I got to do an artist-in-residence project this May.  So freaking cool.  I swear it was a blast every day.  You know you hear the sappy stuff people say about these things - stuff like how they get more out of it than the kids?  Well......true that!  It was really a rewarding thing.  This project had about a billion examples of why it is so important to support the arts in schools.  A LOT of these kids were special needs kids.  The vast majority of them were around 12 or 13.  They worked their tails off to get this accomplished and it was fabulous.  I highly recommend it if you ever get the opportunity to share your gifts with kids......or whoever.

Anyway, I did a short little video of the month that I was at this school https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf4DZJDAq6g  about 30 seconds in the music will start.  Ovuca -Awesome music and YES, I got permission from the artist to use his work legally.  All my videos have legal music.

The school set up a site to explain our intentions with the project.http://www.wrsd.org/district.cfm?subpage=1279031

I have a little wrap up about it in my blog too.  http://lindabillet.blogspot.com/2011/05/warrior-run.html

.....and if you're really into it, we made their local paper. http://dailyitem.com/danvillenews/x1759378153/Warrior-Run-students-create-mosaics

Hello everyone. 

I just wanted to encourage everyone to check out our Classified section here at AFI.  There is no limit to what you can sell here.  There are pro panels, and credit card machines, but there are some other very interesting things, too.  Did you know there is a cottage for sale right now?  That's right, a cottage on Indiana's Brown Lake about half way between Chicago and Detroit.  This cottage could make a great stopping off point for artists traveling back and forth to Art Shows. It could also be a great summer vacation get-a-way for your family.  We all need time to recuperate.

Did you know there is also a house and studio for sale in Minnesota?  Where can you sell a house or a cottage for only $25.  That is quite a bargin, too.  Both the price of the house and the cottage are negotiable.  Check it out, you may want to make an offer.

Once you post your ad, the ads stay on the site until they are sold.  There is no time limit!  How great is that?  All ads cost $25.  Plus, the beauty of listing things at AFI is that everybody here basically is in the same business as you are.  Everyone here needs almost the same things to conduct Art Fair business as you do.  You have the best chance of making a sale with your items than any where else.  Over 5,000 people may need what you have.

You can also post cars, vans, boats, and trucks for sale here, too.  You can include photos to help you sell your items, as well.  Photos can be a very valuable selling tool.  If you included a photo with an ad to sell a car in your locale newspaper it could very well end up costing more than $25.  Plus, with an ad in your local paper, the buying audience interested in your item may only be a handful of people.  Here at AFI, you are selling your items to an audience of over 5,000 people!  How great is that?

Do you need to swap houses for a month?  Do you need to find a nanny?  Do you have a boat or travel trailer to sell or trade?  Do you have tickets to a concert that you need to sell?  Do you have a cottage that you rent out by the week all summer long?  It is time to clean house and unload those unwanted items.

You can sell or find almost anything here.   All the information you will need to list your items is in the following link:

http://www.artfairinsiders.com/forum/categories/classifieds-1/listForCategory?categoryId=2160589%3ACategory%3A37834&page=2

Check the Classifieds out today.

Our plans were to head for Michigan on July 4th to see family and to do some summer shows in northern Mich.  About a week ago we stopped at a rescue shelter to take a look at 2 boxers that were listed on the Carolina Boxer Rescue as URGENT, meaning death was eminent.  We met the boxers, one male and one female and found them to be beautiful, friendly dogs, not deserving the fate that awaited them.  They were found as strays and had been in the shelter for 3 weeks, sharing the same cage and getting vertually no exercise.  Both were extremely under weight.  Well, we left the shelter with both dogs wagging their tails.

We planned on fostering the dogs through the Carolina Boxer Rescue and they were so happy that we took both dogs, they waived the house visit and other particulars.  They did want us to make an appointment with the vet to schedule vaccines, neutering, and spaying.  They would pay the vet bills since we were fostering.

The vet saw the male first and took care of his shots etc.  When she examined the female, she wanted to take x-rays of her stomach area,  as she seems bloated.  While the x-rays were being developed, she checked her out and guessed her to be between 1 & 2 years old.  The male was about 3 years old.  When the tech came in with the x-rays, we were congratulated on being new parents.  X-rays showed 7 puppies with skeletal formation of puppies around 50 days or more, gestation being around 60 days, she was due at any time from one or two day, to two weeks.  We were in shock.  We spent the last week making a whelping box and getting all the information we could get on having puppies.  We have had the boxers now for 9 days.  We named the male, Joe & the female, Jazzi.  They are great dogs.  We've had some housetraining issues, but they're getting better.   Unfortunately, they are both heartworm positive & they will start those treatments as spoo0n as we can.

I will miss not going to Michigan this summer, but after the puppies are adopted out, we'll see Michigan in all of its fall splendor !!

Waiting for the big day, will let you know how the puppy delivery went.

Shirley Baker

I'm getting ready to order Pro Panels for a new set-up and I'm stuck on the color. There are eight colors to choose from; oatmeal, buff, teak, pine needle, moonbeam, light gray, dark gray, and black. The most common color I see used is light gray. I've never seen the teak or pine needle used, but that may just be a local thing.

I've seen the black used with large abstract paintings and it looked great, but I think it would overpower my smaller frames. Is there a reason I see so much of the light gray? Do judges prefer it or does it wear better? I need some feedback from artists who love or hate the color Pro Panels they have. I don't want to make such a large investments and then find out later there is a reason the color I chose is uncommon.

Just had to pass on this article from my friend, Jack Stoddart's newsletter, Jammin' at Hippie Jack's.

We all know it takes many people to make a festival happen, not only the artists and the art fair organizers, but volunteers, electricians, carpenters, food vendors, cleaning crews, but have you ever stopped to thank the porta-pottie people? Here's Jack's story:

Message to the Hippie Jack Nation

It’s Friday on the farm, and the festival has been over for more than a week. I feel great about the music and all those who attended. We had the biggest crowd ever, and are certainly approaching being maxed out. We are a small town now, for those few days. More than one person said it, Barry Choate said it first to me. Sometimes things happen in small towns that make us sad. On Saturday, our friend Tommy Breeding drove his toilet pump truck away, slipped off the mountain and died. I hesitated to write this because the last thing I would want is for people to think that an effort was being made to capitalize on the emotions surrounding this tragedy. In the end, I had to write it...for myself and for all those who knew him or even watched him work. Tommy ran the best portable toilet business I have ever seen. I spent 35 years on the road doing street fairs and park shows, I have been in my share of angry, dirty temporary toilets. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure, I have been in enough for you as well. If Tommy was less of a man, he wouldn’t have been pumping every few hours, Tommy owned the business, if he was less of a man he would have always sent others to do the hard part. He could have stayed home or sat in the shade, he could have been bitter and resentful, he was none of those things. He was a philosopher king with an abiding interest in everything from lady bugs to roots music. He was our friend and protector, I always felt safe when he was around. He brought the lights for the parking area as a gesture....he didn’t want anyone hurt. There must have been a dozen people who claimed to be the last to talk to him. He was so important to the Hippie Nation that everyone wanted to claim a piece of him. He was the talk of the town...and then he died. There will never be a note of music, or a laugh or a good conversation that won’t take place in his honor. There will never be a festival where we don’t miss him. Goodbye Tommy, I loved you, we loved you, and the people that never had the good fortune to meet you are diminished that they never will...just ask me anytime people, I’ll be glad to tell you all about it. - Hippie

This summer art fair season, local media in all the art fair towns are likely looking to interview artists like you. In fact, people who host radio shows, podcasts, and TV talk shows are always searching for guests to interview on their programs. They have to fill all those minutes on the air!

As an artist you have interesting expertise and stories just waiting to be tapped. In addition, I know many of you are experts in other areas as well.

If you are an expert artist who would like to be interviewed by the media RadioGuestList.com may be a good place for you to get some free publicity for yourself and your art.

RadioGuestList.com is the #1 free radio guest, podcast, and talk radio interview booking service online.

Its "Guest Request" emails are free and they'll arrive in your mailbox daily with interview guest requests from Radio Guest List's thousands of talk show hosts and producers who are looking for guests.

Why not subscribe now? Learn more and subscribe here: http://www.radioguestlist.com/radio-talk-show-guests.html

For any of you out there looking for a place to hang between shows in Northern Michigan, the lodge next to me is a great spot.  It's inexpensive, is good for working or playing and has lots of vacancies this summer.  Brethren Bungalows is in the small town of Brethren.  It is right next to my cabins.  Brethren is on the Manistee River which is an awesome fishing, tubing, canoeing river.  It is about 15 minutes from Manistee and Lake Michigan.  The lodge consists of 6 small 1-2 bedroom, clean and cozy cabins and a big house which rent for the day, week or month.  You can look at their website:  www.brethrenbungalows.com or call Patty at (231) 477-5588.  Tell her I sent you...

Good Luck out there!

Just got back from Chicago last night after doing thge above listed show.  Show is in downtown Arlington Heights on the two main cross streets.  Easy  set up and tear down.  Can drive right to your booth.  Set up is two flights, one for each side of the street.  Allows first flight to get in, unpack and park before the second flight.  Parking very close by. 

Weather was great both days, sunny and in the mid 70's.  Cool breeze most of the time.  Town folk really ome out to support the festival.  My sales were up almost 40% over last year.  Although heat may have been a factor last year.  In the 90's.  Saturday had difficulty closing booth as customers kept coming in.  Sold over $250 after 5:00 pm. Show folks and city workers were great.  Was tearing down and had a low blood sugar event.  Show folks, city workers and even a couple of patrons in the restraunt came out to help Carole finish the teardown and load out.  Amy Amdur wouldn't let me get up to help with the finish.  Said let let the others do it and made me sit.  Nice when the show director cares about her artists like that.  After a big glass of orange juice, I was OK but really tired.  It's really nice when strangers pitch in to help without being asked.

Gotta go.  Leave for the Berkshires tomorrow for the weekend show.  Way things are going, Won't have any inventory left.  Got to complain about something.  Here's hoping the weather is good wherever tou may be traveling this weekend.  Be safe and good luck to you.

Ed Schmidt

Wooden Toys 

Who would ever have thought that with thirty years of promoting fine art and crafts shows, we would have a new weather experience: - nickel sized hail and over three inches of rain in less than two hours. Rain and wind, yes, many times, but a deluge that just didn’t move away - not when we were on site for set up. 



There we were at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield/Montclair, New Jersey. It was Friday afternoon with 90 out of 145 exhibitors checked in and set up.

By 3:30, as exhibitors arrived, we warned them of unstable weather in the area. The sun was still shining but there was constant thunder. Pretty spooky actually.

It was 4 pm when we ran for the truck when the lightening, thunder and wind kicked up; and saw on the radar that there was a large intense area of storms heading our way. We moved the truck behind the booth to help protect our Show Off canopy from the winds, but as we watched, one of the bars on the top moved and a dip in the roof occurred. A pool of water was created that kept growing and growing.



Howard braved the storm with an umbrella, hoping to push the pooling water over the side but it was too heavy. Ever the boy scout, he took out his knife and cringed as he cut a three inch slit in the roof, near a seam, to allow the water to drain. It was that or lose the legs of the canopy which were bowing inward.



Finally, some time after 6 pm, we were able to start inspecting the show site for damage. For the first time, I truly understood the term “flash flood” as we viewed one exhibitors booth isolated like an island in the middle of a lake with water rushing across the path creating another lake opposite the stranded booth. 

We spent the next two hours assessing the damage and were pleasantly surprised that by the time we got back to the first booths we checked, the water levels had receded remarkably and knew that by morning, all the booths would be fine.



We called the "island in the lake" exhibitor to tell her to be there early and that we would have employees on hand to help move her canopy and display. By morning though, all was fine except for a water line 12” up on the stranded exhibitor’s display cloths. Her new badge of survival from Friday’s deluge.



Mulch (thirty bags worth and three employees later) took care of tidying up the show site by the 10 am opening. We knew just how fortunate we were that Brookdale park drains amazingly quickly and well.



Two exhibitors lost their E-Z Up canopies due to the weight of the water on the roof. One important trick that many but not all E-Z up owners know about it using pool “noodles” or hula hoops in the corners of the canopy to create a more rounded roof thus fending off the water pooling that bends the frame. Fortunately, neither exhibitor had their work in the booth and the displays were unharmed. They were both appreciative of our 8 pm phone calls advising them of the damage so they could make arrangements to get alternate canopies for the morning.



The sun was out all weekend, with a warm and humid day on Saturday and a less humid day on Sunday. The crowds came in force and started to build by 10:30 on Saturday morning. 

Throughout the show, we kept reminding each other just how lucky we all were that the “deluge” came late Friday and not over the weekend.

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