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I call it "Nightmare on Montgomery Street"

This is billed as an art and fine craft show, boasts a tough jury, apps are through Zapp, cost is 260 for 3 days. There are money awards in categories and one "Award of Distinction" The show is set up around Columbus circle and the streets that come off it like spokes on a wheel. One of the streets, Montgomery, has had its own show for years... a "gypsy" show that has lots of good work but also some bad stuff and some B/S and some groups selling tshirts and posters .

A few years ago they started playing around with the date (never a good thing) and decided to schedule the art show alongside other festivals on the same day, also a bad idea. Why wouldn't a mid-sized city spread the fun around so you have something every weekend to look forward to and to spend unfettered time at? Why make people choose?But I digress.

I was ready to drop the show even though it was once a favorite, but an artist friend recently moved there and lives in a great house in the Strathmore district and always convinces me to keep doing the show because we have fun. Oh, OK. (she won the award of distinction this year after being juried out last year. Ah, sweet irony)

When we got there, we learned that we would be on Montgomery Street, that the Montgomery street show had been moved to a parking lot a block down and across a street that was open to traffic. We would be in front of the entrance to the soup kitchen and we had no less than 4 cops come tell us to never leave the booth and hide our money. I was perplexed and a tad irritated, but nothing compared to what I would feel when I actually left set up to walk to the bathroom.

The first half of our block was commercial. The half that led onto the circle, the half that the customers saw. It was anchored by BathFitters, featuring a lovely chicklet in teeny shorts and a tight shirt posing under the shower head, stepping in and out of the tub. Oh cheeses.

There were home improvement booths, a cutlery guy who looked so mean I was worried about the sharp objects in front of him. 5 booth spaces were left empty so as not to block the cheap clothing sale in a parking lot. Another 4 or 5 spaces stood empty so that a store could set up tables with used books and CD's. There was a wine slushy set up, 2 food booths, there were 2 booths with Native American "Art and Craft" that was neither, face painting, Syracuse University had the corner across from the bathtub gyrations and their book sale took up about 5-6 spaces. The art show resumed after all that crap and then was anchored at the end of the block by a big display from "Boom Baby" another cheap clothing emporium and a soul food cart.There were probably 20 art booths between the crap at the beginning of the and the end of the street.

I could barely see, I was so ticked off. Are you kidding me???

Everyone was upset, including the Montgomery show folks who were shooed off their traditional shady street to do time in the sun on asphalt.

Meanwhile, behind our spot, there were 2 arrests, one loud profane shouting match and an impromptu performance by a young man with an old boom box whose main talent was singing louder than the box and who considered himself part of the show.

  Someone a few booths down from us apparently was offended by the aroma of the storm drain in their spot and covered it. As a result, my booth had ankle deep water in it for several hours on Friday, I could only walk in it barefoot, that's how deep it was. The maintenance crew came by to check it out and said they couldn't do anything about it because the display was set up over it. Oh really? Let me give it a try. Several booths were affected, but mine won the depth award.

Yay me.

Anyway, I would work really hard on adjusting my attitude and start having fun with my customers again and then I would trek to the bathroom or food area and my gut would get knotted up all over again, It was about respect. How do you treat hard working artists and craftsmen this way? I talked to a lot of people in both shows and the verdict was unanimous and ugly.

So, we had little meetings along the street and it was decided that we would not address the issue with the committee in the heat of the moment when we were pissy and they were overwhelmed. We would write individual emails to Laurie, detailing the many problems. Lots of folks just said they weren't going to bother, they were done with the show. I wanted to try to save it. I like Syracuse.

And then the unheard of happened. Sunday afternoon a woman walked into my booth and said "Pat? I'm Laurie, I run this show and I agree with you 100 percent"

OK, how did she know what I was saying and how did she know it was me saying it? I was too stunned to ask.

She proceeded to run down a list of what was wrong, even adding in things I had never mentioned. She promised they would fix it. She explained why some of the problems existed, many of them having to do with the businesses on Montgomery Street.  So just put the show back the way it was, I thought.

One of the volunteers told me the show took over Montgomery because they added 40 artists. Really? Where? Most of the people in my block were veterans. Plus, this show extended their deadline which always makes me wonder. More is not always better, I told her. The word on the street was that the show was not making money so they had to take on sponsors and add booths. They also said the Montgomery Street crew had been a thorn in the side of the "real" show and they were looking for a way to hurt it.

I don't know about any of that stuff. I do know a few things. They had a really lovely show for a long time and over the past few years they have made stupid changes that mortally wounded it. I know that, for me, whether or not I can make decent money with my particular stuff is the major reason I choose a show, but you need to show me a little respect or I am outta there. I know that putting BathFitters in with art booths is a death blow.

On the plus side, I have been branching out with framed collage and I sold a bunch. I am inspired and gratified. And my friend's husband taught me how to make that art show standby food for us vegetarians. Artichoke French! That made the trip worth it.