INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 35)

 Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

Working the Show... (Part Three)

8.    Huff and Puff!

Anyone that thinks setting up a bog booth is easy has either never done it or has “staff” to help them. Setting up a booth with a lot of products is even more “interesting”! For most of the shows we exhibited, it was just Judi and me. Fortunately, we loved what we were doing, so the hard work was worth it. We always took a great deal of pride in having a great looking booth!

 

9.    OMG!

When you are packing and planning for a show, sometimes you don’t anticipate the consequences! Unfortunately, this happened all too often! What I am talking about is too much product and too many boxes. It is nice to have extra products (lots) and it’s nice to really pack things well, but most shows don’t provide storage space! And, when you pay a lot for booth space, you want to use as much of it as possible for the display! I can remember many times thinking “what are we going to do! Where will all this stuff go!” It always seemed to work out eventually, but that didn’t stop the initial panic!

INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 35)

 Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

Working the Show... (Part Two)

8.    Hello Dolly...

It’s amazing how every exhibitor wants and needs a “dolly”! However, it seems that shows never have enough! And, of course, the big exhibitors always seem to get preferential treatment. I can remember a number of shows where we had to “steal” a dolly for a few moments! Unfortunately, we normally got caught and had to give it back. There were some nice exhibitors who shared their dollies, but more times than not, we had to make many trips from our vehicle to the booth carrying cumbersome, oversized packages. It was an exhausting experience!

9.    Taking a Pole!

No, I didn’t make a spelling mistake! We didn’t take a poll, we had to deal with a pole! Confused? Judi used to exhibit at a show that housed their booths in a “big top” tent. These poles were needed to hold up the tent. Some of the booths had these tent poles (and I’m talking big tent poles) right in the middle of their set-up area. Remember I told you that we used to plan our booth set-up! This included where we would hang pictures and how many we would hang. You can imagine how a "BIG POLE” would effect your layout!

10. Taking a Break...

We once did a show in Calgary. We had all of our framed prints shipped by air there. The prints were packed carefully and professionally. Two, however, arrived broken! We only discovered the problem a day or two before this major show. Fortunately, we found a fellow art gallery who agreed to repair the prints quickly (and inexpensively). Needless to say they became good friends after that!

INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 35)

 Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

Working the Show... (Part One)

Over the years Judi and I have worked and managed many show booths! The two hardest, but most “interesting” aspects of “Working the Show”, are the “Set-Ups” and the “Take Downs”! To me, the “set-ups” are the hardest. You want to make your booth look “perfect”. The process, actually, starts prior to the show; gathering up materials and products. In our case, fragile framed art. And then, once everything is gathered, it needs to be packed in the car, van or truck neatly and methodically. Also, part of the preliminary process is planning how the booth will look, and where everything will be placed. Arriving early at the festival or show is always a good idea! With everything “perfectly” in place, it’s time for the “set-up”. Nothing can go wrong! Or can it? Here is a list of some of our more “interesting” experiences!

8.    Hurry Up and Wait...

At one show we were required to take our van to an off-site location and then wait to be called to come to the show site. In our show package we were given an exact time to be at the off-site location, plus an approximate time that we would be allowed to drive into the show. It was like being at a doctor’s office. I got there right on time, but there we had to wait two hours before they would allow me to leave for the show site. In the meantime, Judi was at our booth wondering where I was!

INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 34)

 Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

Crossing the Border... (Part Two)

The customs officer asked what we had in the back, and I told them that they were donations to the Ruffed Grouse Society’s banquet. We showed him our paperwork, which was in order, but he told us to drive to the inspections station. Here we anticipated another lengthy wait. These three officers were very uptight, understandably so, and very intense! We drove to the inspection area, where three more officers awaited us! We rolled down our window and one of the officers asked us why we had been sent to him. I told him that we had donations for the Ruffed Grouse Society and that we were on our way to the banquet to volunteer. He raised his eyebrows and asked us why would a “Canadian” do that! I told him why and he lifted his shoulders and laughed! This was in complete contrast to the three officers we had just left! These officers were loose and good natured. Without looking at the prints, he told us that we could go on our way. Before we left, I asked if they knew the telephone area code of Warren, Michigan. We had wanted to call directory assistance to find a telephone number. He looked puzzled and shook his head. He then turned to his colleges. The one man said no, but the woman officer said she knew and told us the number. The other two started to laugh and jokingly asked how she knew that. She just shrugged her shoulder, laughed and told them that it was none of their business! Talk about difference in attitudes! The dinner that we attended was successful, although the attendance numbers were smaller due to 9/11. Crossing back into Canada was a breeze and only took us a few minutes. The whole experience was very interesting, to say the least!

INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 34)

 Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

Crossing the Border... (Part One)

It was just two weeks after the horrific terrorist attack on the United States. The US borders, of course, were on “high alert”! Judi and I had traveled into the USA many times, but we knew that it would be different this time! We were scheduled to attend the annual Ruffed Grouse Society banquet in Warren, Michigan. This was one of the Society’s largest and most important fund-raising events of the year, so our participation as a major supplier to the event and to the Society was very important! Besides, we loved attending this fantastic event, plus we had several framed prize donations to deliver! Our drive from Cobourg to the outskirts of Windsor was uneventful. However, once we got a view from the “Peace Bridge” crossing, we had to stop due to crossing traffic. The wait, to say the least, was painful! We crept, and I mean crept, the distance to the US Border stations. We knew what we were in store for, because we could see what was happening to our fellow border crossers. As we reached the booth, 3 US officials surrounded our van. One was the customs officer and two were soldiers with their rifles at the ready! We were told to open the back of our van, which we did, but NOT to get out of the vehicle!

(To be continued)

INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 33)

 Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition … (Part Seven)

The Big Finish!!

This was going to be a lazy day for me. I wanted to be fresh for tonight’s soiree and then the long drive home. I arrived back in Charleston a little before noon. Before finding a place to park, I decided to drive around the downtown streets to get a better look at this beautiful city. If you have never been to Charleston, this is a city that should go on your "to go to" list. The quaint streets, the amazing architecture and the historic ambiance all combine in harmony. After a great lunch at one of the many downtown restaurants, I was off for another and final tour of the original’s art show. I took my time, just wandering through the rows of art, talking to the artists and enjoying the leisurely pace I had set for myself. Eventually the evening arrived and with some friends I had met in Charleston, we were off to the soiree. We followed the long line of people going to the event. Even though people had told me about the soiree, I relay had no idea what to expect. Finally, we reached the venue… it was located in the “Charleston Visitor Bus Shed”! The “Shed” was enormous. Of course, it should be. When not hosting a fabulous party, it was acting as a busy bus depot for incoming and outgoing buses. As we walked into the Shed, we were hit with a wall of music. There was a live band was playing on stage at one end of the Shed. As we entered the main hall, we could look down on the crowds of people milling around on the floor below. The outside walls of the Shed were lined food stations. BBQs with whole pigs being roasted; chickens and alligators on the grill; rolls, salads, drinks and deserts were there in abundance. The sights, sounds and smells all added to the excitement of the evening. The most amazing sight was when the roasted pigs were being delivered to the serving tables. People crowded around the servers waiting to rip off pieces of meat. It was a feeding frenzy. It reminded me of the trading floor scene in the movie “Trading Places” when they were buying and selling orange futures. On that high note, I took leave of my friends and headed for my car for the long ride home. I had decided to leave that evening as the weather reports were predicting freezing ran in the mountains. Fortunately, I saw very little bad weather on my trip home. It was a great experience; one I would certainly like to do again. The next time, however, I will take Judi… I know she would love it as much as I did.

INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 32)

 Over the years I have attended, worked with and organized hundreds of festivals and events. With this new series, "INSIDE with the Festival Nomad", I want to give you an "inside" look at some of the festivals and events that I have been involved with or that I have visited. Along the way, I have had a lot of fun and sometimes frustration, but I have never been bored!

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition … (Part Six)

The Real Show Starts…

The Preview days and nights are all about art. The final days are all about the celebration of nature and its wildlife. During the day, downtown Charleston hosts many events such celebrations. After exploring the original and limited-edition art all morning and after a pleasant lunch with friends, I decided to attend Jack Hanna’s wildlife presentation. It was not only very enjoyable (Jack is a great entertainer) but it was truly informative. After the show I wanted to explore the other activities. The festival provides a transportation system that can take you to any event you want to see. After investigating a number of activities, I took the bus back to the main venue to meet Sam. As there were no formal dinners or presentations that night, we went back to our motel for an early meal. I had heard from a number of people that the Saturday night soiree was an evening not to be missed. Due to business commitments, Sam needed to go home early the next morning and would unfortunately miss the soiree. I wanted to stay and attend.

… and that’s what happened!