October: Shadows on the Teche Fall Arts and Crafts Fair
For most of the following week, I was exhausted and disappointed. I had a broken canopy and nothing to show for it. The Daily Advertiser and The Advocate reported on the rumors that kept attendance low at the festival.
The first high point of the week came when I tried to fix the canopy. Dawn and I had two more events to attend in 2014; as long as I found a way to make the canopy serviceable for those two events, I would be happy to throw it out afterwards. I fixed the three problem areas with splints made of duct tape and dowels, and my fix worked perfectly. I could even fold up the canopy without breaking it further. This good news lifted my spirits a bit.
The following Saturday, on October 4th, Dawn and I had plans to return to New Iberia for the Fall Arts and Crafts Fair at the Shadows on the Teche. I wasn't sure I wanted to go, but Dawn was willing to do it. While the Sugar Cane Festival was primarily a music festival, the fair at the Shadows would be strictly for arts and crafts vendors and a few food vendors. The last fair at the Shadows, held back in March, had gone well. Customers would come to the Fall festival intending to buy art, so the vibe and customer base would be different than at the Sugar Cane Festival. The grounds at the Shadows on the Teche are gorgeous, and the atmosphere was likely to be good. Still, after the rumors about a protest at the Sugar Cane Festival, I worried that the protest would actually occur at the Shadows, instead.
Dawn and I went to the fair, anyway. I'm glad now that we did. The vibe was indeed different, and my own mood was improved. I love the Shadows; I love the architecture from that time period, and the grounds are gorgeous and well-maintained. A fiddle player stood on the plantation house's second story porch and played for a few hours. The weather was great, the crowd was stronger, and business was better. Many vendors who attended the fair in March returned for this one, and the organizers put us in the same spots. I got at least one repeat customer from March, who recognized our booth from that other Saturday. I met the plantation home's artist-in-residence, who I was delighted to discover actually got to use a ground floor room in the house as a painting studio. She obtained the residency through a federal program, since Louisiana currently gives no funding to the arts. She plans to hold a tempera painting class later this month.
Time actually flew by that Saturday. It was 2:30, then 3:30, then 4 PM, when the Fair was scheduled to end, before I even knew it. Unlike the Sugar Cane Festival, the Shadows Fall Arts and Crafts Fair was so much nicer. There was also no planned protest or riot. I'm glad we went.
What's Coming up in November: The Steampunk and Makers Fair
On November 15th, Dawn and I will be in downtown Lafayette, Louisiana at Parc Sans Souci for the Steampunk and Makers Fair. I enjoyed the last Steampunk and Makers Fair in 2013 and the Steampunk and Makers Ball back in April, and I'm looking forward to this fair, both as a vendor and as a visitor. A couple years ago, I'd never been to a steampunk event and hadn't thought I'd really enjoy it, but now, I'm happy to be a Steampunker.
Be sure to Like the page "Bits and Bobbins" on Facebook for the latest updates. At this time, we don't intend to return to the Erath Farmers Market, but I'll be posting on Facebook and/or here if that changes.
For most of the following week, I was exhausted and disappointed. I had a broken canopy and nothing to show for it. The Daily Advertiser and The Advocate reported on the rumors that kept attendance low at the festival.
The first high point of the week came when I tried to fix the canopy. Dawn and I had two more events to attend in 2014; as long as I found a way to make the canopy serviceable for those two events, I would be happy to throw it out afterwards. I fixed the three problem areas with splints made of duct tape and dowels, and my fix worked perfectly. I could even fold up the canopy without breaking it further. This good news lifted my spirits a bit.
The following Saturday, on October 4th, Dawn and I had plans to return to New Iberia for the Fall Arts and Crafts Fair at the Shadows on the Teche. I wasn't sure I wanted to go, but Dawn was willing to do it. While the Sugar Cane Festival was primarily a music festival, the fair at the Shadows would be strictly for arts and crafts vendors and a few food vendors. The last fair at the Shadows, held back in March, had gone well. Customers would come to the Fall festival intending to buy art, so the vibe and customer base would be different than at the Sugar Cane Festival. The grounds at the Shadows on the Teche are gorgeous, and the atmosphere was likely to be good. Still, after the rumors about a protest at the Sugar Cane Festival, I worried that the protest would actually occur at the Shadows, instead.
Dawn and I went to the fair, anyway. I'm glad now that we did. The vibe was indeed different, and my own mood was improved. I love the Shadows; I love the architecture from that time period, and the grounds are gorgeous and well-maintained. A fiddle player stood on the plantation house's second story porch and played for a few hours. The weather was great, the crowd was stronger, and business was better. Many vendors who attended the fair in March returned for this one, and the organizers put us in the same spots. I got at least one repeat customer from March, who recognized our booth from that other Saturday. I met the plantation home's artist-in-residence, who I was delighted to discover actually got to use a ground floor room in the house as a painting studio. She obtained the residency through a federal program, since Louisiana currently gives no funding to the arts. She plans to hold a tempera painting class later this month.
Time actually flew by that Saturday. It was 2:30, then 3:30, then 4 PM, when the Fair was scheduled to end, before I even knew it. Unlike the Sugar Cane Festival, the Shadows Fall Arts and Crafts Fair was so much nicer. There was also no planned protest or riot. I'm glad we went.
What's Coming up in November: The Steampunk and Makers Fair
On November 15th, Dawn and I will be in downtown Lafayette, Louisiana at Parc Sans Souci for the Steampunk and Makers Fair. I enjoyed the last Steampunk and Makers Fair in 2013 and the Steampunk and Makers Ball back in April, and I'm looking forward to this fair, both as a vendor and as a visitor. A couple years ago, I'd never been to a steampunk event and hadn't thought I'd really enjoy it, but now, I'm happy to be a Steampunker.
Be sure to Like the page "Bits and Bobbins" on Facebook for the latest updates. At this time, we don't intend to return to the Erath Farmers Market, but I'll be posting on Facebook and/or here if that changes.
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