Most areas have a review page where vendors can post their experiences regarding shows they setup at. This is the review I completed for a show that I was supposed to appear at but thought better of.
Event: Stuckey Farm Cider Week
Date of Event: 9/30 & 10/1
Juried: by 12 apathetic men
Location: Sheridan, Indiana
WIFI Signal:. Can’t say, I didn’t actually go.
Communication: 10 in some ways, down right deceptive in other ways.
Foot Traffic: Don’t know
What Zone: Near Indy
What do you sell: Nothing at this one, I decided my time is too valuable and decided to eat the cost and stay home.
Notes: Interesting bit of trivia, at least half the members this page of signed up for this show. Unfortunately, by this, I mean two members, they only got four suckers, I mean vendors, to sign up for this shhhhhhhh-ow. I am certain that I, with zero credibility in hosting shows, if I advertised as much as they do, could host a show in my yard and attract more than four vendors. Admittedly, I’d really piss off my neighbors and probably attract around four police officers but that is a different discussion.
I asked the Monday prior for a vendor map, they responded immediately (hence the 10 above) that they were still working on it (really funny when you find out they were having trouble coordinating a map with FOUR VENDORS) and would get me the information by Thursday. As they promised, I did get the map on Thursday and saw squares with letters A, B, C, and D and a legend showing which vendor was associated with which letter. I emailed back to verify stakes or weights for my tent and and also that there were only four vendors (there was a building marked pavilion on the map I naively thought everyone else might be in there). She refused to answer one of those two questions, guess which.
She also finally revealed setup times. I went over my notes and email exchanges. I did ask her back in May; she told me, “Everything you need to know is in the application.” All the app said was “must be set up by half hour after start up”. I didn’t ask again, that is my fault. Setup was the Friday before and must be complete before (not starting at) 5pm (not great if you are not local) and one hour, not one and five minutes, one hour, the morning of. I’m starting to see why nobody wants to do this show.
I was all set to make the trip down there when it hit me Thursday night (sometimes beer really does lead to clarity of mind), “What the &*&%$# am I doing?” I’ve worked in gaming over 20 years and I know all about throwing good money after bad. I hope for the sake of the other three that I made a mistake but even if I did, I don’t regret staying home and working in my shop.
Fred
One Grumpy Sailor 
Leave a comment