Waitlist questions - Zapp and Madison - Forum

Connie Mettler March 27, 2011 at 6:44pm

Pretty funny that this discussion was first posted a year ago! So please read it with that in mind, look at the dates of the postings.

Madison has a new show director this year, it may be that she is still learning the ropes and that has delayed the notifications.

MICHAEL ALAN STIPEK > Connie Mettler March 28, 2011 at 12:08pm

A warning note about "showing up, hoping to get a spot": several years ago a friend of mine was #1 on the waitlist. She drove the 900+ miles to Madison, stood around and then was told that there hadn't been any cancellations. She had to drive the 900+ miles back home. The year before she had done a five-figure $how there. If you are low on the list and are pretty close to Madison and don't have another show that weekend, I say go for it. Otherwise, with the price of gas....

If you haven't done Madison before, check out your location early on check-in day (Friday) and see what your location is like. Remember, you have to put the last two feet or so of your booth up on the curb, so you may have to go to Home Depot or such and get some leveling blocks or lengths of wood to compensate for the slope, the street crown and the high curb.
- Larry Berman > MICHAEL ALAN STIPEK March 28, 2011 at 12:24pm
  
  To add to what Michael said, if storms come, the wind usually blows up State Street coming off the lake. The first year I ever did Madison, there were tornado warnings and the show was evacuated. If we hadn't stayed and held down the booth, we wouldn't have had anything to sell on Sunday. My space was right on a corner at State Street.
  
  Larry Berman
  http://BermanGraphics.com
  412-401-8100
  - MICHAEL ALAN STIPEK > Larry Berman March 28, 2011 at 12:30pm
    
    Yowza! I was there and if I hadn't seen the severe weather coming in on the TV in the store behind me, I would have been blown away. I was able to get everything down and packed into that same store (bless that owner!). I warned booths around me. Those who packed it in, survived. Those that scoffed at the warnings - their booths were gone in minutes. The tornado sirens went off just as the wind blasted up State St. We were made to take shelter in the Capitol Dome. The show announced that artists who wanted to drive in and pack it up, could do so - but the announcement came as the sirens went off. A lot of artists panicked and there was quite a smash up at the Washington St. entrance. Some of those artists lost their booths, products - and had damaged vans, too.
    
    Weather!
    - Connie Mettler > MICHAEL ALAN STIPEK March 28, 2011 at 12:43pm
      
      Great story, Michael. See, they never told you this could happen in art school.
      - Stephen and Bonnie Harmston > Connie Mettler March 28, 2011 at 1:13pm
        
        This is our first time in Madison. Is there one part of the show that is better to be in than another? We have no idea what to ask for as far as booth numbers.
        
        MICHAEL ALAN STIPEK > Stephen and Bonnie Harmston March 28, 2011 at 1:28pm
        
        Since the Square is - well, a square - I don't think there are any BAD spots. The public walks the walk at least twice around the square, so you should definitely take your time to make anyone who walks into your booth appreciated for their visit, tell them something about your work and give them a piece of literature WITH YOUR BOOTH # ON IT! so they'll be able to find you again. They do come back.
        
        If the weather is particularly hot - and it can be - we've called it "The Death March," because by about 3 PM on either Sat. or Sun. the public is hammered by the heat and really doesn't want to think about art, so strike early and often with your presence.
        
        That being said, if your work is susceptible to sun damage or you can't take a lot of direct sunlight, look at the compass points on the booth map and try and pick a block that will have shade in the afternoon, either on the inside or outside track of the square.
        
        Stephen and Bonnie Harmston > MICHAEL ALAN STIPEK March 28, 2011 at 1:33pm
        
        We already figured the NE exposure areas since we are printmakers the sun is not our friend! We are pretty excited to be trying the Midwest shows finally having always done the West shows only. We figure since people from the Midwest by our work when we are in AZ we may do OK. So far we have this and Brookside to test things out. Thanks for the input.

john garland March 27, 2011 at 4:59pm

We got notification yesterday that we were accepted. The previous emails indicated they wouldn't be sending out any information until the 28th. Apparently they have resolved whatever the problem was. A little off topic, this will be our first time doing the show. I am curious as to how it was last year. I have heard some mixed reviews so more information would be helpful.

Connie Mettler March 27, 2010 at 4:08pm

Basically what it means is that the show organizers haven't solidified the show completely and haven't updated the status on the Zapp site. They are busy with their lists and don't realize that you and others may be following their progress online.

Each show makes their waiting list in its own manner, so it could mean 22nd overall -- probably that -- because they surely don't have 22 people waiting in your category!

Madison is probably the "show of choice" for most artists on that weekend, so I don't think that there will be too many drop outs. Yet, people have life situations that cause them to withdraw at the last minute, especially at a show this large they will have at least 5 to 10 dropouts near the end, I'd estimate. If the other show's fee isn't too high why don't you apply for it as a back up and then cancel it if Madison calls?

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