Remember when everyone was saying how great the weather was in Florida this past winter? The weather in the Chicago-Milwaukee area has been the worst this summer. If it isn't the heat and the humidity, it is rain (sometimes combined with heat and humidity which pretty much equals steam)
Morning Glory is a very nice art festival in downtown Milwaukee surrounding the Marcus Center. Don't know about any of the artist details like load-in and load out and food, parties or awards (I know they do have awards). The art festival is on two plazas across a 4 lane street from each other. Traffic is light enough that crossing is very easy so there isn't necessarily a good and bad side of the show.
What I do know is that of the ones I saw, the artists were very good. There were a lot of artists I had never seen before and some that I have seen but not that often. The layout is a little confusing on the side of the street where the Marcus Center is but it isn't such a large area that you can't walk over to a booth to see it. The booths in the back are a little hidden but you can find them.
I had to pick up a bracelet so we went across the street first to see the jeweler that had it. After we left her booth, we noticed the big black clouds to the north and west and we decided we would come back after the cloud passed. (we wanted to be near the center so we could go inside if it got really bad outside.) As we were walking around, the artists were all quickly getting their booths ready for what may come. There wasn't a sense of panic but there was a definite sense of urgency. MG has had its share of bad weather over the years so this was understandable. It started to really rain but I am happy to say that not a lot of wind accompanied the storms while we were there.
We left at one after only seeing one side of the show. It started to rain a second time and we had other places to be. I am sure attendance was held down by the weather but I have to say that a lot of people stuck around to wait out the storms. Being able to wait in an air-conditioned building with really nice bathrooms made it easier. The gift shop, which is actually an art gallery, was another way to pass the time and several people were buying pieces there.
Based on what we did see, the quality was impressive, there wasn't any buy/sell and we will definitely return next year, hoping for much better weather.
Comments
As an artist at Morning Glory, I'm happy to report that the general concensus was that sales were very, very good despite the repeated rains and high winds on Sunday! The show is REALLY well run and one of the few left where the emphasis is on the craftsmen and the craft. Volunteers are a joy and this year, customers were happy to be there, rain or shine. Barbara Chapell runs the gift shop (isn't it nice, Geri?!) and Kudos go out to YOU, for attending (it was really nice to see you!)! Thanks for the review!
Geri, we get our weather from the Chicago - Wisconson area and we have had some very good storms this summer. They have also seemed to whip up very quickly, too. Glad the storms weren't too bad there. That sounds like a great show. Wish I was close enough to check it out myself.
Jacki B
We set up for Morning Glory in the rain a couple of years ago, and then broke down early on Sunday afternoon in the rain. My booth was on the skating rink in Red Arrow Park, and it was an easy dolly to move stuff in from the street. Parking for trailers was a block away at a private surface lot. All in all an easy show to do, but buying was slow.
I lived in Milwaukee in the early '70's when I was going to school. It was/is a real nice town, fairly small compared to Chicago and Detroit. The downtown area and the arts center have grown a lot since those days. Worth it to note that the Lakefront Art Center and the Marcus are two different venues that sponsor two different shows, for those who don't know.
But it didn't generate enough moola for me to go back. Hope you all have a GREAT Sunday.