Monday, September 21, 2009

NO PARKS! NO PARADES! NO FRIDAYS??

Returned last night from Wisconsin Dells, WI. We did a 3-day show. Set up from 7:00 - Noon on Friday with the show running from noon until 5:00 p.m. Full day on Saturday. 9:00 - 3:30 on Sunday. All of this sounds good on paper . . . . which is how we find out about shows . . . . usually in an Arts and Craft Show guide of some kind.

This show was advertised as "in a park" with 100,000 in attendance. We need to learn to read between the lines and make a proper assessment.

On a Friday afternoon, in mid-September, with school in session, who are the likely candidates for shoppers? Retired people, empty nesters, moms with just a few hours of time to spend looking, serious browsers? We met them. The few that were there. So . . . . Friday afternoon, while a great time for people to walk and gawk, was not very productive for vendors.

Saturday was beautiful weather and the crowds were huge and we were busy, busy, busy all day long. Sold lots of stuff and had a good day!

Sunday didn't really start to roll until the after church crowd showed up and we were busy until about 1:00 p.m. when nearly everyone left to join the assembled crowds (chairs set up along the parade route at 8:00 a.m.) to watch the big parade. The parade was to last an hour, and neighboring vendors who'd been there before, assured us we'd have a huge surge of customers for the last hour. The parade did not end until after 3:00 p.m.

So, from our perspective as vendors, we had 2 days of pretty much wasted time for what is essentially a one day show.

And, did I mention dust??

If we were asked if we'd like to do a show on or alongside a gravel road, we'd likely decline, since we'd factor in the high probability of overwhelming dust. Our booth sat atop a rock hard patch of barren earth where grass hadn't grown for maybe years! And we were surrounded on all sides by more of the same. We didn't expect that in a park. We spent most of our time dusting, cleaning, and starting over with dusting and cleaning again. Here's a great hint: Microfiber cloths are terrific for removing dust from fabric items. They absorb the dust like magic! We buy them in the automotive section of Walmart or Target.

We've taken a vow: No Parks! No Parades! and we're reconsidering Fridays.

We'll post some photos later today.

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