Last weekend began with setting up the for the Redbud Festival on Friday, taking photographs of how everything fit together, then packing all the merchandise into boxes and moving it inside the Memorial Building for the night.
On Saturday morning, I went to a memorial service for the father of a dear friend. It was a bit of a reunion, but instead of hanging around with old pals, I jetted off to Arts Visalia to teach a drawing workshop.
I was sort of hoping that no one would sign up so that I could just hang around with my old buddies, but a few days before, 4 people signed up. When I arrived at the gallery, I learned there were 6 participants. Then I learned that the drawing pencils were no longer in the closet in the workshop room. Well, oops.
So, the gallery director got a short list together, disappeared for about 45 minutes, and reappeared with some drawing pencils. We made do with the other supplies I had brought along, and the class of 6 was a compatible, enjoyable, personable group who did very well!
Meanwhile, some friends were working our shared booth at the Redbud Festival. The show organizer called me at the end of the drawing workshop to ask if I was okay with leaving all my merchandise outside overnight underneath the patio overhang where we were situated. I thought that the overnight security sounded secure, so I agreed. That way my friends wouldn’t have to take it down, pack it up and schlep it all inside, nor would I need to reverse the process on Sunday morning.
This is how it looked before the beautiful slab furniture, felted purses, knitted hats, and tie-dyed baby clothes were added. The tables looked great sitting beneath the paintings, and the colorful fabric items were on a table to the left.
Redbud Festival hasn’t happened for 2 years, and this year it was organized at the last minute. We no longer have a newspaper in town, and there are so many methods of communication that it is a wonder anyone can learn anything at all. As a result, there weren’t many vendors, and not many visitors, but this allows for longer conversations with the visitors and opportunities to get to know the other vendors a bit more than usual.
I walked to the Memorial Building on Sunday morning and learned that sales were steady on Saturday. Sales were slower on Sunday, but also steady. The number of packages of cards that sold was astonishing, particularly since they are now $10 a package. I joked that next year I will just rent one square foot and bring my card spinner. Yes, paintings sold, but they require the screens, which makes the set-up and break-down quite time-consuming, and I get a little bit older every year. (Thank you, Captain Obvious.)
Breaking down the show was the easiest it has ever been. Because we were on the patio, I simply lifted everything up to the driveway, with the Botmobile very close at hand and Trail Guy there to use his master packing skills.
The screens almost blew over on Saturday. Someone had some rope and tied the whole apparatus to the vertical pole.
Now, I need to get some new paintings done to sell at Silver City Resort. Chopchop!
3 Comments
It’s too bad more people didn’t show up, perhaps because of lack of publicity. Is there a group that organizes this festival? Were they not proactive enough to get the word out? Posters and flyers around town in high traffic areas? Posts in various Tulare County social media sites? Announcements made at other events? Radio spots on KMJ or others?
Just a few brainstorming ideas.
Sharon, a difficulty with an art event is that the actual artists don’t have time to be organizers The group that used to organize it has vaporized, leaving one single very busy woman who took it on about 3 weeks ahead of time. She did all she could using the places in her own networks. On top of that, she hired help for her own business so she could be available for set-up, during the show hours, even staying until 9 at night and returning at 7 a.m. to supplement the security that she hired. Three Rivers is a very transient community, and that means continual recruitment for every group. A complication is that the majority of homes that have sold for the past several years are going to out-of-towners, so the stable base in town is shrinking.
That’s very unfortunate. A major event like this should not fall on the time/financial shoulders of just one person! Maybe with more advanced planning she can get some help for 2023. If there is a 2023 Redbud Festival. *sigh*
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