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To introduce myself, my name is Jeremy Floarke and I am located in the St. Louis area. I work in mixed media mostly collage, fibers and abstract painting.

I am getting ready for my second and third shows in the next couple of weeks. I pretty much have everything that I need thanks to the great posts on this site! I have purchased a white easy up tent with mesh and solid canvas sides and pro panels off craigslist and I have made some weights with concrete and white 5 gallon buckets that I am going to ratchet strap to the tent canopy.  They aren’t the most beautiful things in the world, but they were inexpensive and will get me through these couple of shows until I can figure out something more permanent.

My question is more about the tent sides.  Both of the shows I am getting ready for are small local one-day shows that do not have both set up restrictions. One show is in a park and the other will be on a paved street.  The question is what sides should I use - the solid white, mesh, or none at all?  I’m concerned about aesthetics, light and most importantly Wind!  My last show, I used the solid white sides, and some homemade display setups.  The wind ravaged my both the whole day, and I had damage to more than a few pieces of my work.  I have since purchased pro panels and upgraded my weights. 

I am expecting good weather, so for this show I was planning to leave off the sidewalls, hoping this will help with the wind issues.  I am now second-guessing myself, and I am wondering if the sides would actually help with the wind situation, now that I have better weights and more secure display panels.  I'm not sure how this would translate into larger multi day shows. 

What are your thoughts?

- Jeremy