The Gasparilla folks want to hear from people who have suggestions for improving next year's show. There will be a focus group meeting the first week of June and any input will be welcome.

Ann and I have been asked to participate and we will be glad to bring your suggestions and concerns to their attention.
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  • I was inside the group close to the road. It was in the park but booths were to close for a good observation.
  • Thanks, Alison.

    We also have problems with GPS locations. Next time this is an issue I plan to try Google Earth and see if I can snag an actual address from a nearby location.. if that can be done.

    If you know of anyone else that might have some input please ask if they'd be willing to add their comments. Again, the Gasparilla folks seem serious about improving things for the artists and this is our chance. I don't know of another show that's gone quite this far in looking for feedback.
  • Oh Boy! I'll try to stay civil because after all the horror of setup I actually made good money and hope to return.

    Everybody who is going to have anything to do with setup needs to get together and get their stories straight, this includes the police and the fire dept. Everyone needs to be on the same page. The biggest horror of setup for me, actually for my husband, was getting sent from one place to another and back again at least four times. Each time he got to a place after waiting in line or calling someone, he was told he was in the wrong place. If there is a flow it needs to be clearly published and the people enforcing it need to know what it is.

    Do not have the artist dinner or any kind of function that starts when half of your show is just starting to set up. My perception of setup on the street is that everyone who knew what was going on was eating dinner and rubbing elbows with the VIPs leaving a few volunteers in place to deal with mass chaos.

    Completely rethink how you place all those non-art booths. At first I thought the traffic on the other side of the street was much better than where I was until I realized the beer truck was there. That side of the street was completely blocked by people standing around drinking or standing in line to get a drink. Don't sell me a corner if you are going to stick a food vendor right in front of my open side.

    I agree with Nels, put the kids art, food, and music in the park and the artists on the street. And maybe some port-a-potties in the park that are actually close to the street?

    This one was a big one for me - give directions in terms that non-local people understand. Since moving to Florida I have noticed that people seem to give directions in east and west. This is not a big problem for me when I am near home. But telling me to go west 10 blocks and then south 3 blocks and a map with no street names on it, I'm just glad I had a hotel near the show and didn't need to find the artist parking. A lot of shows now are starting to give GPS locations, you know, addresses, not names of parks or buildings but real street addresses.

    To sum it all up, communication and layout.
  • Bill here is my 2-cents: The show needs to be increased one block longer along the street. Booths in the park should be no more than 2-3 rows off the street. Loading and unloading in the park is too big of a hassle, given that vehicles are severely restricted where they can drive onto the park. The flow of the show works best with the booths in rows on the street and sidewalk. Ellen and I both walked the show this year and checked things out thoroughly. Also no booths should be stuck down on the river. Let them put kids art, food and music in the park. That's all--Nels and Ellen
  • the show needs to do a much better job of targeting advertising. St. Petersburg is just across the bridge and has many people who support the arts. For such a large city the crowd at the show has become to much of a tire kicker group. They need to draw more of the higher end and well educated people who live in the area. Orphan booths are a big problem also and have been for a few years.
  • Thanks, Phillip. You're not the only one to point this out. If you have more details or suggestions feel free to share them.
  • Well, for starters the set up and tear down this year could not have been much more irritating.
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