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I had a booth at Shadows on the Teche's Arts and Crafts Show this past Saturday, October 4. (BTW, in the word Teche, the "ch" is pronounced "sh". Think ... John Tesh, broadcaster and musician.)

This was our first time at Shadows. It is a plantation home of days gone by. We have never even visited the home as an outing. The property is beautiful but, even on this trip, we did not get to take a tour. We were just too busy at our booth.

The show had about 100 booths. I may occasionally refer to the artists/crafters as vendors. This is not meant to be derogatory. It is what they are commonly referred to around here. The show does not allow buy/sell unless it has been altered.

On the property there are several nooks and crannies--gardens that are sectioned off. They were almost like outdoor rooms at least to me. We could not drive on to the grounds, it is an official historic district. Vendors had a couple areas in which to park and were directed where to park to be closest to their booth.

We have a heavy wagon we use load in/out. There are pathways in the gardens, some of brick and some of pea gravel. There was an area where we had to go down a couple steps (bricked area) but during load in and out the property managers or grounds keepers had set up a wooden ramp which helped greatly. The staff was very helpful in finding our booth.

The booths were marked off with stakes on the corners and orange tape. Numbered markers also helped us determine the correct booth. Set up took a little longer than usual because we could not pull up to the booth but it was not significantly longer.

We were in a beautiful area. There was a brick path in front of our booth and across from us was a grove of bamboo, providing a wind & sound break and some shade. The weather was gorgeous, in the mid 70's for the highs and a clear sky.

The Shadows charges an admission fee which helps elminate the lookie-loo's. Of course this does not guarantee eveyone will but, to us, it increases the odds.

We had brisk sales that day. There were people willing to spend money. The most common sale was a set of coasters and a coaster holder, running $30.00 total. Next was just sets of coasters, running $24.00 total. We were busy enough that I could not even think about leaving my booth except for a restroom break. Due to our busyness I never got to "shop" other booths. I did get to give a glance to those on the way to the restroom and that was it.

The one goofy thing was one of our neighbors. To my dh I referred to her as a "nut case". She did not get there till about the time the show was to start. Her tent and tool box were totally busted and/or broken before any set up. She was smelling of alcohol when she got there. We know this because she asked dh to help her get her tent erected. She was so thankful she asked to give him a hug. He was not thrilled but did allow it.

She made out door "wind chimes", the only way I can explain it. But they were small to big and and I mean big and made of reclaimed junk. It seems she could be creative in putting stuff together but .... she was really odd. When she was alone in her booth she kept talking in some sort of gibberish. There was one phrase or sentence, not sure which, that she repeated often. It reminds me of some commercial I have seen recently where the people are talkig in gibberish. It only seemed to happen when she was alone.

Anyway, we were very glad to have some visual division in the form of some sides on our booth. At least it sheilded her visiual junk and disorder.

For the quality of the show, teh booth fee was unbelievable to me, only $60.00, yes just $60.00. The food was better than most, though I did not have a chance to see if there was a healthy selection since I stayed so busy. Dh and dd did the hunting and gathering for lunch. The food prices were reasonable as well.

There will be another show in the spring. Would I do this show again? Yes, in a heartbeat.

So what else do you want to know?