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This is my fifth or sixth Hyde Park show, run by Howard Alan Events.  It's a twice-yearly event: The fall show, held (if memory serves) the second week in October, is my unofficial kickoff to the fall season; the spring show is timed to follow the seasonal migration of artists northward out of SW Florida.

Hyde Park is a lovely urban setting on a street lined by majestic live oaks, upscale shops, and quaint frame houses turned into cafes, botiques, and the like.  (For more background on the area and the demographics, see my earlier post.) To this former Denver, CO resident, it reminds me of Cherry Creek. 

Alas, if only the sales did, too.  Although Hyde Park produced dependable sales for me in my first four visits, last fall's sales dropped about 50%.  And this past weekend dropped right off the edge of the table.  I left with barely enough to cover expenses...and that only because I opted to save one night's hotel stay by driving up early, early on Saturday morning from Fort Myers, 2.5 hours to the south. 

Arriving a bit late at 7:20 AM (note to self: fill up the #%*@ van on Friday night when leaving at 4 AM Saturday), I was cheerily greeted by Pia and quickly found my booth space.  This show has a notoriously tight layout, so you have to work efficiently and cooperatively with your neighbors.  And that's when the bad surprises began:  One, the new owners of a yoga studio behind me requested that the sidewalks be kept clear.  Bye-bye, storage space...or so it seemed, but I saw the owner sitting out on the lawn.  So I fluffed up my aura, introduced myself, and asked if I could stow supplies on the side of her property, out of sight.  Sure, she said.  Problem solved.

More problematic was the parking situation: Alan has always arranged artists to park on a grassy lot about six blocks from the show entrance.  And according to the show literature, it would be available again.  But as I set up, I learned that the city had withdrawn permission for the space, and a school, considerably farther away, was the only alternative.  Then I was told that if you just had a minivan, the rooftop level of a  parking garage just across from my space was available.  Then, after I parked there,  we were told the owner withdrew permission and we would have to move.  I solved that problem by returning to my van and removing the artist parking pass from the dashboard. I'm not sure how other artists managed. 

But then, there was the weather to contend with: Unseasonably hot and humid, with a largely cloudless blue sky and temperatures that broke 90 both days.  And that, my friends,  I had no solution for.  Crowds were sparse on Saturday, and only somewhat better on Sunday.  And whether due to the heat, the looming tax deadline, or the departure of snowbirds, buyers were few and far between.  Although I rarely left my booth all weekend--thank God I was under an oak tree, or I'd have been parboiled alive--I did have time to speak to about a dozen artists:  Most did no better than I, although one of my neighbors sold two large paintings at the close of the show to rescue a nice profit on the weekend. 

As I always do, I asked visitors where they were from, and nearly all were year-round residents from the Hyde Park area.  Only one snowbird...and they were flying out Sunday night.  So, despite the late Easter weekend, it seems like all the snowbirds have flown the coop.

There ARE some kudos to hand out, despite the poor sales.  Dan, one of Alan's new hires, did an especially nice job controlling access to the area during breakdown and directing artists to pull-in spots that kept the streets clear for the next guy.  Authoritative, but pleasant. Much appreciated!  And the local police were very helpful in directing me around the winding streets surrounding the show venue so that I could pull up close to my spot without driving through the entire show venue. And the yoga studio owner was a real sweetheart.  I gave her a print for her new studio as I left the show.

Overall, this is an event I'm going to be scratching my head about for some time.  It's always been a favorite, but I might have overstayed my welcome in Hyde Park.  We'll see.