Maryville Foothills Fall Festival

Well, my shows just keep getting better and better.  The Foothills Fall Festival was absolutely the best show I have ever been to.  The weather was horrible on Friday because of rain and cool temperatures, but the customers came out with umbrellas and spent money.  Saturday was dry, but cold and windy, and they still came to spend money.  Sunday was sunny, windy, and cold, but once again, customers were there to buy.  I can’t help but wonder what it would have been if all three days were sunny and warm.   I sold out of many products, and was pleased that my new items were big sellers.  Overall, my wood bookmarks were the biggest hit.  They were flying out the booth by the handfuls.

One of the things that made this show work well was all the volunteers dedicated to supporting the artists.  The Chilhowee Baptist Association provided free hot coffee, hot chocolate, and snacks all day long throughout the weekend.  I have never been catered to at a show like this.  These volunteers did a wonderful job and made a cold and long show much more enjoyable.

It was great being back in Maryville for a few days.  I made a lot of new friends and socialized with many people about how things have changed since the 60s in downtown Maryville.

This was the center of the show where Broadway and Cusick Street intersect.  They had artists set up here at Artway West, and a block down Broadway at Artway East.  Up and down the street were antique cars and tractors.

This is Artway East where I was located along with some wonderful artists and craftsmen.

I could not resist taking a picture of the old Capitol theater.  Saturday afternoon matinees were very popular with my friends and I during the early 60s.  It only cost 25 cents, and  I watched many cowboy and old Abbott and Costello movies at the Capitol.  There are a lot of good memories in this building.

What a Miserable Day!

Today I braved the trip from the West side of Atlanta to Conyers on the East side of Atlanta. It’s 58 miles from my house to the Conyers Cherry Blossom festival and normally I can get there in about an hour. However, this morning the rain was coming down in buckets and I was pulling my trailer. I think the highest speed I reach during the trip across the Interstate was about 45 MPH. It was a miserable 2 hour drive.

The festival has a mix of grass and pavement booth spots. I was supposed to go on a grass spot right at the entrance of the show, but it was like a quagmire, so the show promoter moved me to a pavement spot where she had a cancellation. We are supposed to get slammed on Saturday morning with very strong thunderstorms and high winds. So after a long discussion with the promoter and a few other artists, we decided to not set up until after the storm rolls through on Saturday. This essentially is going to give us a one day show. I hope to be able to setup late Saturday afternoon providing that the storm gets through the area. Otherwise, it could be a Sunday morning setup.

I just parked my trailer behind my spot, unhooked it and went home. The trailer has about 900 pounds of cutting boards sitting in it, as well as my tent and shelves. We’ll just have to see what happens tomorrow. This is a picture of where I hope to set my booth up sometime this weekend.