Melbourne is a friendly Atlantic coast town near the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral. This festival is part of a weekend celebration where Main St. is cordoned off so folks can grab a streetside cup of Budweiser and stroll the local shops, restaurants, and music venues, It's a nice idea, and there are lots of fun restaurants in the area, but the expanse of bank-owned empty properties is a telltale sign that the economy is tough here and getting worse: The space shuttle program has only months to live, and it can't be a good sign that the space agency laid off the legendary "voice of NASA" and cut ties with a major contractor only three days ago. The volunteers and show director are friendly, and the weather was sunny and dry, but there's no getting around the nervousness about the local economy. Crowds started very slowly both days but built steadily in the mid and late afternoon (a sign that the patrons are there as much for the other festivities as for the art).
But the sales weren't there, for the most part. Although the show's quality and mix was quite good and the show offered decent-sized category awards, most of us worked very hard for the few sales we got. I was selling notecards and 11x14 mat sizes to scrape by, until finally selling a large canvas late in the day on Sunday to keep the show from being a loser. I spoke with about a half-dozen artists and all said the same thing: better sales on Saturday than Sunday, but disappointing overall.
Finally, logistics: Load in/out was a snap; you could pull up very close to your booth location. Artist parking lots were noted on a detailed map provided in the artists' mail packet, that was only only for setup. After a futile search for an "artist parking pass" I realized that we, like the browsing/buying visitors, were on our own from then on. It wasn't hard to find free parking on a nearby street early on Saturday and Sunday morning (or to pay $5 in one of the designated lots), but the organizers should have called out this detail. It was also disconcerting (and potentially dangerous) to have folks walking through the streets (enjoying Friday-evening festival activities) while we artists were driving vans and trailers around and setting up our booths.
In sum, not the best kickoff to the Florida show season, despite the best of intentions. It's always nice to visit the area; my mom and dad lived here during World War II. and there are great wildlife photography venues nearby. But until the economy rights itself, I'll come with my cameras and leave my Trimline at home.
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