Salem, day 2
Jul. 18th, 2015 09:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offcntrSaw a hot air balloon this morning, rising over Corvallis as we drove up I-5 to the Salem Art Fair & Festival. It was just before 8 am, sun up but air still cool and calm, a lovely sight as the orange and red envelope caught the morning light.
Salem's only an hour's drive, so we're commuting to the fair, sleeping at home every night. We spend an extra tank of gas and a couple hours driving each day, but save hotel bills and getting a cat sitter. Not saving any money on food. With the show going 'til 7 pm, by the time we got home 8:30ish, we'd be too cranky and tired to figure out what to eat for supper. For the sake of our sanity, we pack a lunch and buy an early supper from a food booth at the fair. (So far, BBQ brisket sammies and gyros, both excellent.) This also makes me a much safer driver on the road home.
This morning, another reason why this show is so popular with artists. They're cooking omelets made to order, and pancakes with marionberry sauce, free for the vendors. Denise and I both order ham, cheese and mushroom, and share a big berry-laden pancake. They'll do likewise tomorrow morning, and have snacks, fruit, trail mix and beverages available in the hospitality space all day.
It's a very organized show--the hospitality is a case in point; also the level of supervision in the parking area, even the little red dot.
This red dot mysteriously appeared on my booth sign yesterday afternoon. At first we speculated that it indicated new vendors, but it seemed everyone in our row had one. I finally talked to a board member who was circulating through the show, who reminded me that I'd seen a volunteer with a clipboard coming through earlier. I noticed her consult what looked like my ZAPPlication form, complete with jury photos. Turns out she was checking to see that the work on display was representative of the images sent to jury. I've never been in a show that organized.
All the organization in the world can't do anything about the weather. It's hot today, in the high 90s, and though we're shaded by our oak tree, and even have a little breeze in our booth, out in the sunshine, it's brutal. The stone mosaic artist across the way spends some time this morning laying out a silvered mylar space blanket over the roof and one side of his booth canopy, hoping to create less radiated heat inside.
Oddly enough, traffic is slow in the morning; you'd think people would want to come out before the hot part of the day. We finally make our first sale about 11:30, a mom with two kids picking out a set of soup bowls for themselves and dad. Grandma is with them, and picks out an extra bowl for herself to use when she's visiting, so that's $120 in the till to start the day.
Sales. Glacial, but eventually they add up. Denise makes one last sale just after closing to bring us within $50 of yesterday's total.
Weather. Not glacial. I offered someone to fill her tall mug with ice water if she bought it, but she passed on the offer and the mug. That actually worked in Roseburg…
Owl attacks. Too hot to tell. Some may be mistaken for heatstroke.
Salem's only an hour's drive, so we're commuting to the fair, sleeping at home every night. We spend an extra tank of gas and a couple hours driving each day, but save hotel bills and getting a cat sitter. Not saving any money on food. With the show going 'til 7 pm, by the time we got home 8:30ish, we'd be too cranky and tired to figure out what to eat for supper. For the sake of our sanity, we pack a lunch and buy an early supper from a food booth at the fair. (So far, BBQ brisket sammies and gyros, both excellent.) This also makes me a much safer driver on the road home.
This morning, another reason why this show is so popular with artists. They're cooking omelets made to order, and pancakes with marionberry sauce, free for the vendors. Denise and I both order ham, cheese and mushroom, and share a big berry-laden pancake. They'll do likewise tomorrow morning, and have snacks, fruit, trail mix and beverages available in the hospitality space all day.
It's a very organized show--the hospitality is a case in point; also the level of supervision in the parking area, even the little red dot.
This red dot mysteriously appeared on my booth sign yesterday afternoon. At first we speculated that it indicated new vendors, but it seemed everyone in our row had one. I finally talked to a board member who was circulating through the show, who reminded me that I'd seen a volunteer with a clipboard coming through earlier. I noticed her consult what looked like my ZAPPlication form, complete with jury photos. Turns out she was checking to see that the work on display was representative of the images sent to jury. I've never been in a show that organized.
All the organization in the world can't do anything about the weather. It's hot today, in the high 90s, and though we're shaded by our oak tree, and even have a little breeze in our booth, out in the sunshine, it's brutal. The stone mosaic artist across the way spends some time this morning laying out a silvered mylar space blanket over the roof and one side of his booth canopy, hoping to create less radiated heat inside.
Oddly enough, traffic is slow in the morning; you'd think people would want to come out before the hot part of the day. We finally make our first sale about 11:30, a mom with two kids picking out a set of soup bowls for themselves and dad. Grandma is with them, and picks out an extra bowl for herself to use when she's visiting, so that's $120 in the till to start the day.
Sales. Glacial, but eventually they add up. Denise makes one last sale just after closing to bring us within $50 of yesterday's total.
Weather. Not glacial. I offered someone to fill her tall mug with ice water if she bought it, but she passed on the offer and the mug. That actually worked in Roseburg…
Owl attacks. Too hot to tell. Some may be mistaken for heatstroke.