The Mayfaire show has a reputation for being a hot one. Every year the participants desperately hope that the weather will be a little milder for this notoriously hyperthermal happening. This year, however, the two days of the show set all time heat records for their respective dates. Sunday the reported temperature was 96 degrees at the airport. We were very fortunate to find ourselves close to an electrical outlet. Thanks to our two powerful fans the temperature in our tent never got above 98. Crowds were down 35% this year. In an innovative move, the porta potty company charged a little extra to report weights of their rental units at delivery vs their weights at pickup time. This provides data on which the above estimate was based. The judging was done by a recognized prestigious juror. I can't remember his name any more than he probably remembers my work. He did do a thorough job, however. It was reported by the Lakeland Ledger that he walked the whole show at least four times before breezing through the final lap with his dot sticking assistant running three booths behind trying to keep up. If your work sucks, it's best to find out from the finest. In a separate round of jurying photographer Nels Johnson took top honors for the best dressed category. Wasn't even close according to the jurist. The setup starts at eleven on Friday which gives one plenty of time to get organized. Nearby parking on the streets isn't difficult for early birds. Speaking of birds, Lake Morton probably has more birds per gallon than Cambell's chicken noodle soup. Thanks to their byproduct you don't see swimmers in this pond. Once every three years or so the City of Lakeland drains off and sells half the water volume to a nearby fertilizer plant. People with dogs weighing less than four pounds have to hand carry their pets to keep them from getting eaten by the swans and geese. Our neighbor, Rocky Bridges the mixed media legend, showed up and built a small gallery out of plywood and 2 X 4's. He then slapped on a fresh coat of white paint. He wasn't always at his booth, but friends and followers were able to track him down and drag him back to his booth to make an 8K sale on Saturday. On Sunday he came to the back of our booth to borrow a felt tip pen so he could sign a piece he was selling. Then this nice gentleman came in the front of our booth to borrow a pen for writing a check. He told us that he almost bought from us until he saw the work next to us and he wouldn't quite be able to buy from us this year. With neighbors like Rocky you'd better make sure to take notes. You don't often get that kind of opportunity. Our sales? Even if the show went for a couple of more days we would probably have covered expenses. But then again we live here. Three of our photographer friends pulled 1200, 1100, and about a thousand respectively. A popular functional potter did 1500, down from over twice that amount from last year. You can't blame the organizers for the heat and the economy. The Mayfaire show usually draws a nice crowd and if you have what they want, they have the money for it. Unfortunately, none of the artists were selling ice cold fifty cent beers. Miss Ruby was selling tomatoes, but she ran out by the time we earned enough money for a half peck of them. The organizers made sure that we got plenty of cold water and on Saturday we had bagels and goodies delivered right to the tent. Starbucks provided free coffee for the artists both days. I will do this show again. Heat and all. In all fairness to other artists, though, I must point out we live within walking distance. If you're a camel.
Nice signage, Bill. Also great coloring of the bermudas (Bert--you can buy mine cheap) and shoes. You obviously went to the Timothy Leary school of color journalism. Congrats, a good report. I think we have a new talented blogmeister in our midst folks.
I loved your review, Bill! Have you considered putting in an application to the Daily Show? I had a pair of Bermuda shorts like those Nels has on back in the 60's - I always wondered what happened to them. :)
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Thanks for the note!