Please excuse the one lowly photo…I had every intention of fully documenting the day, but from 5:45am until 5:30pm we were off and flying by the seat of our pants! Although a learning curve – especially setting up and getting our bearings, (we were totally newbies) my first festival was SO MUCH FUN! I only wish I had had more time to take a few better photos. 🙁
We were assigned the perfect little spot right beside an alleyway that gave us a little extra room to breathe. Several organizers and security folks stopped to check on us as we were setting up and that was really nice. Our vendor neighbors were so friendly and made us feel very welcomed.
My parents, along with my husband and sons helped me set up the tent and get things ready to go. I realized how time really is of the essence during set up, and that I need to be better organized!! I’m glad that my first festival was in my hometown and that I was already familiar with the area – it was a good space to learn the ropes and see where I could do things better. I had to experiment more with my setup than I had hoped, but my sweet aunt and uncle, who are festival pros, happened to be one of my first visitors. They gave me some helpful tips on my display that ended up making a huge difference!
The weather was amazing…up until about 330p when it got a good bit warmer than had been originally forecast. I’m not a fan of hot weather (at all!) but I was grateful for sunshine and not downpouring rain.
Being that we walled our tent to better hang the artwork, it was a little hard to gauge how busy things were, but we had a steady stream of folks stopping by all day. It was wonderful meeting so many new people! Some brand-new faces, friends of friends and even some of my sister’s students from Wingate University! We also had lots of friends and church family pop in and that was such a sweet blessing.
My youngest hung out all day and handled all the math! (He’s a whiz, and thank goodness, because I am not!) He was a trooper putting up with his ol’ mama and her poor subtraction and change-giving skills. (EEK!)
Several canvases found the most perfect of homes, as did some of the giclee prints and greeting cards. By the end of the day, we were all exhausted, but my heart was SO full. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to every single person who stopped by and said hello. Your presence and kind words have meant the world to me!