The aftermath.....

This past weekend, I was a vendor at the Arts In The Park craft fair in Belfast, ME. I had been watching the weather forecast all week and it wasn't good. This is always a bit stressful because any time you're using a tent to show off your wares, you need to worry about the wind blowing your tent away like a sail, rain leaking through the roof and ruining your merchandise, and, worst of all, weather keeping the customers away. I had waterproofed my EZ Up last year because of a few leaks and had improved my staking abilities with spiral dog leash stakes and tie down straps. I thought I was ready for Mother Nature. I set up the hardware Friday evening and my husband and I rewarded ourselves with a locally brewed beer at neighboring 3 Tides. The next morning I arrived on site very early to start setting up my display.

A complicating factor on Saturday morning was that I needed to be in two places at once. Since I haven't perfected cloning, I asked my DH to watch my booth while I raced back to the store to welcome a knitting guild from Bangor called the Pine Kneedlers. They were already in the parking lot awaiting my arrival when I pulled into the driveway. I gave them the grand tour of the shop and the weaving/spinning/dyeing studio upstairs and then high-tailed it back to the fair and let my husband off the hook.

Later that afternoon a very ominous black cloud starting approaching. I first noticed vendors across the way pointing over the water. I brought down the sidewalls of the tent and knew we were in for it. We had torrential rain for about 2 hours. My waterproofed roof leaked from multiple spots like a sieve and I had to move my woven goods, hand painted yarns, and original patterns strategically to keep them from getting soaked. Just as the fair was closing for the day, the sun broke out, and we all congratulated ourselves on surviving the day.

Sunday brought more bad weather and this time is was persistent. I arrived early again and a neighboring vendor couple helped me rig a tarp covering over the roof of the tent with one of the sidewalls. At least the back end would be dry. There were some die-hard shoppers but the attendance was definitely down throughout the day. The trading amongst vendors began....

I traded 2 skeins of my alpaca/superwash merino/nylon hand painted yarn for this beautiful knotted and beaded bracelet from my next-door vendor Rosemarie Dilernia. Her work is exquisite. She's also an avid sock knitter so our trade was mutually satisfying. Of course the purple beads drew me to this piece but I've been especially enamored with the color turquoise for several months now. It was the perfect bracelet.

One of the greatest joys in doing these fairs is getting to know other vendors and meeting the customers. In just a few moments of chatting you learn so much about people and it's always fascinating. My next fair is the 5th Annual Fair on the Green in Southwest Harbor, Maine, hosted by the Island Arts Association on Saturday, August 14th. There are usually about 20 to 25 very talented and diversified artists that attend this fair. I hope to see you there....