Krystal ArtFest 2013

Krystal ArtFest 2013
Swartz Creek Kiwanis

July 27 & July 28, 2013

Change is generally a good thing .... but not always.

The Kiwanis decided to change the:
name of the show
location (Elm Park to Cage Fieldhouse)
outdoor to indoor show
date
number of days (one to two)
adding a $3.00 charge to get in the door!

The customers did not find out about all this as they were not there. I am sure there were notices, communication efforts, etc. that were implemented but they were not effective. For vendors it is always customers and sales. If there are customers there will be sales.

No self-respecting male person would actually pay to get into a local art fair unless their wife told them to pay. I like art fairs but I would not pay to get into one. I’ve been to dozens, and the ‘paid’ ones do not look any different than the ‘free’ ones. The same vendors are at both paid & free shows. I’d need there to be something waiting inside like free money or a free cold beer!

The only thing that really stayed the same was the great folks of the Swartz Creek Kiwanis with Richard Mattson as the chief good guy. I think this will probably all work out but it could take a few years. The tricks will be keeping vendors, and building customer awareness. Nobody likes to sit all day (Sunday) with almost no potential customers. Saturday was OK but not overwhelming.

The positives were:
I did sell some work as well as one canvas.
It was a great setup as I could back the van right up to the fieldhouse garage door and my spot was right inside. Load-out was equally easy.
The outside weather was cool & provided a supply of rain so being inside was nice.
It rained really hard just at close so all the vendors who normally rush to break down & quickly drive away --- got wet. By the time I was ready to load the rain had ceased.
The Swartz Creek Women’s Club had an ample supply of - free for the vendors - cookies, fruit and vegetables in the hospitality room. I was able to avoid the fruit & vegetables.
The Cage Fieldhouse air conditioning worked.

Short of a tornado slamming directly into the Cage Fieldhouse we were going to be dry inside. It is always great to have a dry show. However, Michigan folks seem to take a fair amount of rain in stride during the summer. Unless it is of the hail, thunder & lightening sort in which case they generally RUN for cover. I’ve been in shows where it would rain cats. All the people would disappear. The cats would let up, and like magic everyone is back out on the street again. It is a magic wand kind of experience. At any rate I think being inside is overrated except in the aforementioned tornado scenario & winter, of course.