INSIDE with the Festival Nomad (No. 4)

 The Ottawa Boat Show and the Hamilton Sportsmen’s Show, plus a couple of other smaller shows, were the prelude to the really “Big” Show! If we thought that these smaller shows were a challenge, they were “nothing” compared to the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show. Back when we first exhibited at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show, it was being held in the old Coliseum Building at the Exhibition ground in downtown Toronto. The new Direct Energy Centre wasn’t, I don’t think, a gleam in some politician's eye! In order to set up in the Coliseum, you had to be given a time and day. If you wanted anything special (electricity, carpet, lights, etc.), you had to book days in advance. There was a lot more at stake, because all of the costs were a lot higher! 

The first year we started off with a small booth 10" X 10'. We had jammed the booth so full of framed art, that we could hardly move. This was a good thing, because people who visited the show, were really interested in our products. We were specializing in wildlife art by some of the best known Canadian Wildlife Artists. Because of the type of show, our booth was quite popular, especially with other exhibitors. This was our first really financially successful show and it “sucked” us in to doing more. In all, we participated in about four Toronto Sportsmen’s Shows. Each time we expanded a little until the final year we took four 10’ x 10’ booths. This turned out to be a mistake because interest in wildlife art had slowed down. Surprisingly, in all the Consumer Shows we did over the years, we never had any products stolen! 

Unfortunately, this record was broken in our last Sportsmen’s Show, when one of Michael Dumas’ originals was stolen. Although we had tried to take every precaution to protect the paintings, someone snipped the wire that attached the painting to the booth wall. The painting was never recovered. Once we started doing the bigger shows, our set-up and take down techniques seemed to improve. Each time seemed to become easier. There were still challenges, but all were small in comparison to our first shows. These shows were a wonderful experience. However, time eventually began to wear us out and it was time to find a permanent location. That’s when we discovered Cobourg!