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This show was recommended to me by someone I met at another show.  I'm just starting to try bigger shows out of my area, so even though the show violated one of my personal rules (my jewelry doesn't sell well at shows where the primary focus is not arts/crafts) I applied and was accepted.  I had been led to believe by friends living in the area that this show was hugely attended and that people come from surrounding states (it is at Fernandina Beach...you can really see Georgia from there).  While I found there were a lot of people, it wasn't wall-to-wall like I had been told.

The area is charming and I found setup to be easy and parking was abundant on surrounding streets, as long as you got there before the show opened, since those same spots are where the visitors park.  Then the trouble started...

I traveled near 200 miles and so far I had found my planning & preparation was successful.  I pulled in and found my booth space, only to find the man three booths away had parallel parked across my space as well as the two booth spaces between us.  He apologized, but proceeded to unload and set up, as opposed to unloading, moving his vehicle and trailer, then coming back to set up.  I sat on the curb and waited for nearly 1 1/2 hours.  We supposedly had "block captains" but I saw no evidence of that.  Someone did come back (maybe the block captain?) who asked me about the situation.  She nodded, then wandered off, never to be seen again.

The rest of the setup went fine and I ended up all done and enjoyed a nice dinner at a local thai restaurant.  Can't remember the name, but it was very good.

I had high hopes since the only other big out-of-my-area show I had done was Mt Dora, where all of my expectations were dramatically exceeded!  The two days were filled with lots of lookers, lots of cards given out, and lots of be-backs.  The good news is that some of the be-backs really did.  Two women who came in separately who said they had local shops each tried on a particular necklace.  Then they actually came back and bought those very necklaces!  Another one did come back, but in the meantime she bought some other non-jewelry item so she had to buy a lesser-priced item from me.  But it was still a sale. 

Overall, given the fact that I had the entry fee, gas for the almost 400 mile round trip, hotel, and meals (plus an auto rental since my car developed a problem at the last minute), I was disappointed.  I barely made my entry fee over the two days.  Everyone who came into my booth loved my jewelry, whether they bought or not, but most of the people just walked on by.  Other exhibitors had the same experience.  My neighbors on either side were disappointed with their sales, although one of them made a last-minute sale of a significant piece.  The man across from me (photography) actualy commented, "Have you ever seen so many people walk by without looking left or right?"  All of these people were there for the food and the fun & games.  I think he managed to do okay by the end of the show, though.

The economy?  Maybe.  But I believe it is the type of show.  I now have confirmed that I will not do another show that is centered around a particular food and/or has activities for adults and children.  Pure arts/crafts for me next time.

One final word...I think the show was generally well organized and well run.  On Sunday the clouds and thunder rolled in and we were told to secure our displays for a brief thunderstorm.  This was at 3pm.  We all did that and sat inside our tents while it thundered and poured.  Then it reduced to a drizzle, so I peered out, only to find that many of my fellow artists/crafters were packing up.  Being a responsible exhibitors, I didn't, since the rule is "stay until the end of the show".  Finally, it got to be too much and around 4pm I, too, packed up.  My neighbor pulled their vehicle in, which resulted in a fracas with the show management, who even called the police, since they said the show wasn't over.  While I understand it wasn't over and there were a few people still milling around (and buying some low priced impulse type items), we were all miserable and wet.  It was still raining when I finally got packed up and on the road about 5:45.