Duluth - pretty sticky, but I'm glad I stuck around.

Two days tenting on asphalt at Highland Fest in the July heat didn't seem to phase me. But two days at Art on Bayfront Park near the shores of Lake Superior took its toll. Heat exhaustion! Sunday there was no wind; lots of heat, sun and humidity, too much for this out-of-shape body. I drove home sick and had to skip a half day of work. However, it was a great event, with great crowds ..... well, on Saturday. I connected with some people from the days when I lived in the Twin Ports, and I had a chance to dine Friday night with bead artist Cheri Meyer at Lake Avenue Restaurant. Was the food ever good. However, as a sign of things to come, the electricity went out and it got a bit steamy; they treated us to their CEVICHE, as a reward for "sticky"-ing around. I truly loved the festival, but I don't think I'll be back next year. They are running it in conjunction with the Tall Ships that will be visiting, and extending the event to four days. Yikes, that's a pretty big financial and time commitment. I wish the planners well, but I just question whether (even with the tall ships visiting) that Duluth can support a four-day art festival. Well, it's time for me to say goodbye to summer shows and start planning for fall. Check my new website for dates and locations

Art fairs: Do we have too much of a good thing?

Does Minnesota have too much of a good thing? My experience at last weekend's Highland Fest included good conversations with my vendor neighbors about the future of Minnesota's art fair scene. These folks have years of experience participating in art shows, so I was very interested in what they had to say. "John" says that, for vendors, the experience is not like it use to be. .... fewer purchases and lower price points. He thinks that Minnesota just can't support the number of art fair opportunities that are available during our all too short summer season. Maybe he's got a point. Add the number of music festivals and beer and wine tasting events, well, the dollar just can't stretch that far.

I do believe that the proliferation of these events has something to do with the available grant dollars from the Heritage Fund supported by the tax increase we approved a few years ago to support arts and cultural efforts. At least two vendors told me they wouldn't be back next year to Minnesota events, and expressed their frustration at the cost of the events (around $200 for mid-sized shows) with minimal return on their investment. Being a newbie to all of this, well, I'm just taking it all in, learning and still applying for participation in more shows..... looking forward to selling more sun brims.

By-the-way, my next gig is Duluth's Art in Bayfront Park.