It started on a bad note, I stopped at the entrance to the festival for admittance and was told I needed a vendor's pass and why didn't I pick it up at the party last night. I had never been told about the party nor the need to pick up a vendor's pass, plus I had not been notified that I was accepted. So I call the lady in charge and was given directions to another entrance to pick up my packet and was told the police would let me through. Well, surprise I wasn't let through there either, I called again and was told she'd take care of it. Finally the Chief of Police told the officers to let anyone through that said they were a vendor. It was bad enough that I was told I had to be there at 7:30 am when the festival started at 11:00 am and ran through 8:00 am. The festival goers knew this and didn't show up till 11:00. Boy, what a long HOT day and its only May. Cold water for the vendors and a restroom set aside would have been nice as well, though several of the food emporiums that were open allowed you to use theirs. The food vendors were varied and what we tried was great.
All that being said, it was a nice day, didn't sell much, at least not for a 3 hour drive and spending 2 nights because the festival ran till 8:00. The people were nice and I enjoyed chatting with the other artists nearby. I see now, I needed fish, crabs, sailboats, anything coastal and I might have sold more. Still working out what I need to take to shows, though each one is different. Maybe I do just too many things, there's too much to look at. Met June who moved there from San Francisco, she was fun and very enthusiastic about my things. June if you read this don't forget to apply to the Craftsmen's Guild of Mississipp at www.mscrafts.org .
Will I go back, probably not, though I would like to try the Peter Anderson Festival in Ocean Springs.
