Greetings all! I am back from another festival and pretty tired still. I did the Westminster Fall Festival this past weekend - don't have any photos of it as I left my camera at home this time. It was a pretty bad show and attribute most of it due to the rain. There was advertising and all that good stuff, but with the extra distractions (rides and commercial vendors having better visibility) it just wasn't anything to write home about. I knew all of this going into the event, and in the past the crowds have been big (anticipating a good buying crowd despite the distractions). Everyone seemed to suffer except some food vendors (and people who sold dips). But I chalk that all up to passing this event for another next year. The good news is it was close to home and with the rain pouring hard at the end of the day Saturday the management choose to close the event early - saved 1 1/2 hours of being miserable in the rain. What baffled me was a HUGE number of people who haven't done shows before exhibiting there and having no clue the responsibilities that go into owning a canopy. I don't need to get into it as I am sure many of you have mental pictures from your own experiences of what heavy rains and high winds can do to canopies, but it did occur at this festival and thankful none of those parties damaged my work. I am still so happy making the choice of going with my Trimline and even got a few other serious exhibitors interested in the design of it.My Food/Beverage Report... I didn't have anything of the alcoholic nature although was very much in the mood for it after being drenched from the rain while zipping up my sides . However, found a neat small authentic Mexican restaurant 1 block from where the event took place. There were about enough room for 10-12 tables and neat decor. I settled with a very good chimichanga - the service was really good. I was all set for a glass of Sangria but not on their menu. For the life of me, I can't recall the name of the restaurant. There aren't any sushi places in the area and only one pub, but since I didn't make any money at the event settling for Mexican one night and Sunday Panera Bread - which am now in love with their new chicken salad sandwich.I am really looking forward to my next show, The Darlington Apple Festival. Bring on the big crowds and good weather as I have consistently have growing sales each time I attend it. Will report on all my findings soon.
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