Posted by Michael Skeen on September 7, 2011 at 9:55am
Powers Festival is held every Labor Day week-end in a nice wooded area near Newnan, Ga. It is a 3 day event with a Friday set-up and Sat through Monday open gate. There is a fee to enter. There are 3 stages for entertainment (which was amazingly good this year) as well as numerous food vendors. There are physical building on the ground and many of the food vendors are in these structures and make a surprising array (not just the typical foodstuffs). This festival had declined a few years back and was full of buy sell, but there has been a deliberate effort to sort them out and bring in higher quality art. They are doing a good job of turning this one around and make it a really nice event. It is close to Atlanta and could turn into a really good money maker. This is our second year at this event and we had more sales/revenue this year than last even though we were rained out/tornado warninged out of half of Monday. I really enjoyed this festival. Load in and out was easy. You can drive right up to your space and unload. There are some sites that are on slopes, but they've tried to eliminate the worst ones from set-up. Electricity is available. We had Verizon cell-phone service, but some had some trouble with connecting.
I did Powers years ago. There was hardly any traffic, and, a lot of buy/sell, and of course, under priced-hobby jewelry. I am so glad that they are turning this show around. Even back then, I thought that it had potential-but no one was tapping into it. Two very good things happened to us at that show-the Ronays had stopped by (and Bill Ronay gave me so many good suggestions on how to improve my booth & grow my art), and my neighbor (who gave me 'a cold one' when I needed it most--which lead me to meet his neighbor-a fantastic fabrication jeweler--who gave me lots of encouragement and good ideas to set-up my game).
You know, even if any show is a bad show, take those lemons, make that lemonade and, then, go conquer the world--or at least the next show ;-)
Hey Camille-miss you and your wonderful smile terribly :-(
Thanks for commenting. I have to agree with you about the folks running this festival now. They are really dedicated and you can feel the energy they are putting into it. I would encourage any artist to consider this one for next year. It's going to be good!
Great to hear, Michael! And I'm so glad you have the two years of experience in which the show committee has been FULLY ENGAGED in restructuring.
Karen Jones, Barbara Wetherington, Holly Hammonds, Pam Mayer, and others have dedicated (mostly volunteered) tens of thousands of hours understanding what their resources and assets are, looking at where they want to go, and consulting with artists, experts and their inner voices to make a vision and an action plan.
When Tom Powers started the Powers Crossroads Country Fair and Art Festival 41 years ago, he started it with a bang no other Georgia Festival matched. Festivals were funky & fun. And Tom Powers KNEW how make funky & fun. Tens of thousands traveled to the rural plantation grounds each year to see stellar art and craft.
Coweta Festivals, a non-profit umbrella organization consisting of several local non-profit groups, assumed responsibility for the show. Harriet Alexander was an iconic festival director. She had dozens of local volunteers supporting Powers Crossroads. And everyone knew they were working with something very, very special.
The art and craft was exceptional. Jim Hardin, the marketing guru, liked to say that "Powers artists come from across the United States, border to border and coast to coast!" And the artists actually DID come from border to border and coast to coast because they could make serious money there.
Powers did well through the '70s and '80s. It was the best of times every Labor Day weekend, even though storms made their appearances fairly regularly.
In the '90s, the aura began to fade. Powers became only a shadow of its former glory during most of the 2000s. Then several local ardent Powers advocates decided to do something about it. And, by God, they did...
For two festival seasons now, people who honest-to-goodness LOVE Powers - its history and its future - have been working to build it back into one of Georgia's top events. And they are doing it!
It's a complex job. And it will take a few more years to get the very best artists engaged and their collectors and new buyers out; but the Powers advocates are working hard. And they are dedicated. And the community is supporting them strongly.
I've been in the Festival Industry for 35 years. I'm excited. I hope that Powers Festival will be among Georgia's Best Festivals again.
Comments
I did Powers years ago. There was hardly any traffic, and, a lot of buy/sell, and of course, under priced-hobby jewelry. I am so glad that they are turning this show around. Even back then, I thought that it had potential-but no one was tapping into it. Two very good things happened to us at that show-the Ronays had stopped by (and Bill Ronay gave me so many good suggestions on how to improve my booth & grow my art), and my neighbor (who gave me 'a cold one' when I needed it most--which lead me to meet his neighbor-a fantastic fabrication jeweler--who gave me lots of encouragement and good ideas to set-up my game).
You know, even if any show is a bad show, take those lemons, make that lemonade and, then, go conquer the world--or at least the next show ;-)
Hey Camille-miss you and your wonderful smile terribly :-(
Camille,
Thanks for commenting. I have to agree with you about the folks running this festival now. They are really dedicated and you can feel the energy they are putting into it. I would encourage any artist to consider this one for next year. It's going to be good!
Great to hear, Michael! And I'm so glad you have the two years of experience in which the show committee has been FULLY ENGAGED in restructuring.
Karen Jones, Barbara Wetherington, Holly Hammonds, Pam Mayer, and others have dedicated (mostly volunteered) tens of thousands of hours understanding what their resources and assets are, looking at where they want to go, and consulting with artists, experts and their inner voices to make a vision and an action plan.
When Tom Powers started the Powers Crossroads Country Fair and Art Festival 41 years ago, he started it with a bang no other Georgia Festival matched. Festivals were funky & fun. And Tom Powers KNEW how make funky & fun. Tens of thousands traveled to the rural plantation grounds each year to see stellar art and craft.
Coweta Festivals, a non-profit umbrella organization consisting of several local non-profit groups, assumed responsibility for the show. Harriet Alexander was an iconic festival director. She had dozens of local volunteers supporting Powers Crossroads. And everyone knew they were working with something very, very special.
The art and craft was exceptional. Jim Hardin, the marketing guru, liked to say that "Powers artists come from across the United States, border to border and coast to coast!" And the artists actually DID come from border to border and coast to coast because they could make serious money there.
Powers did well through the '70s and '80s. It was the best of times every Labor Day weekend, even though storms made their appearances fairly regularly.
In the '90s, the aura began to fade. Powers became only a shadow of its former glory during most of the 2000s. Then several local ardent Powers advocates decided to do something about it. And, by God, they did...
For two festival seasons now, people who honest-to-goodness LOVE Powers - its history and its future - have been working to build it back into one of Georgia's top events. And they are doing it!
It's a complex job. And it will take a few more years to get the very best artists engaged and their collectors and new buyers out; but the Powers advocates are working hard. And they are dedicated. And the community is supporting them strongly.
I've been in the Festival Industry for 35 years. I'm excited. I hope that Powers Festival will be among Georgia's Best Festivals again.