…though usually we don’t set up a tent and hang out in it.
Last weekend I did the Douglas Octoberfest, setting up to sell my not-so-tawdry wares. Unfortunately it was pouring, and the directions I had (and the address I had to plug into the GPS) were both horrid. So, I arrived later than expected, quickly dumped all my stuff into the wet street, found parking and set up the tent. Thank you to the nice person next to me who helped get that part done.
It’s amazing how important shelter can be on a day like that. Not only does it help shield you from the elements, but it will dictate what comes next.
See, with the rain, my usual “2 tables under the tent” setup wasn’t going to work. This was the first time I’ve done a rain show, so it was a new learning experience to say the least. Rain doesn’t always fall straight down and if you want to keep your product dry, you’ll need a perimeter. So that was problem one. Luckily I was parked near by and was able to quickly toss the (now) extra table into the car to get it out of the way.
Eventually, I got the table set up, but now I had a new problem. Some advice? Buy an extra tarp and tarp bungees. See, most of those canopies you buy aren’t designed for rain. They’re designed to keep the sun off of you and maybe stand up to a quick storm followed by a lovely drying sun with a light wind and butterflies and….yeah right. This was rain, drenching rain and it was going to continue for the next 6 hours. The tent isn’t made for that. I noticed right off that there were a couple of pin hole leaks at the top, which then collect on the joists which then drips down on the $45.00 digital picture frame on your table, or in the bowl with your ornaments in it (both are fine, thanks).
But no…this wasn’t going to thwart me because I planned for this and threw an extra tarp and tarp bungees in the car knowing I’d need them. So I covered over the top of the canopy, and I tried to put up my walls. I’ve done the walls exactly once on a sunny day to practice and it didn’t go well now in the rain, so the walls too went back into my car. Luckily there wasn’t a driving wind. I’m still not sure what to do about those; I can either practice more to do it right, or look into some uglier tarps to hang instead since they’re nearly as simple to secure. The only glitch is I won’t have a door panel. At any rate…I got the tarp over the top, the table centered and set up, and everything stayed mostly dry.
By now, however, my pant legs were soaked, the canvas tent bag was soaked and water was starting to get into my cases. It seems one other change needs to be done here; bags over the inside of the cases on rain days. It was only on a minimal problem overall, but still, a little got in.
How did I do for the day, you might ask? Well, I made table and a tiny bit more. Let’s just say the season’s been pretty depressing so far. But I have to say, I was a little disappointed with some of the other vendors. Some folks packed up early and left. Frankly you paid your money to be there, you made a commitment, suck it up and deal. Did I like hanging out in the rain all day? Of course not. I was cold, annoyed, and had to hang half a dozen things on the line the next day to dry them out before putting them back into storage. But I did it. Will I do this show again? Possibly, now that I know where it is. The vendor next to me told me the year before, when it was sunny, they had about 6,000 people there. There were several hundred (up to a thousand overall) that filtered through during the day, and that was with the rain, so sure, I’d consider it. If I’m still in business next year. I have to say, that’s really in the balance.