Fells Point Fun Festival

When: Saturday October 3rd and Sunday, October 4th, 2008
Where: Fells Point, Maryland
Booth Fee: $360 for 10x10
Web Site: www.preservationsociety.org
Deadlines: I applied online to the show toward the end of April and was accepted mid-June

With the sound of rice being stir fried with metal spatulas in a giant wok behind me and the scent of funnel cakes on the air, the bagpipe band parades the cobblestone streets of Historic Fells Point, serenading the morning and ushering in the start of another year's Fun Festival. The back of my booth faces a market square with food vendors, directly across the way on the other side of the square is Sola's booth (Scarvelous) "HI SOLA!!!" Sola has done this show for years.. We were lucky with gorgeous weather both days. This is my first year and here is my review:

Pros:
-Beautiful, quaint setting on the Chesapeake Bay
-Large, pleasant and slightly inebriated crowds (Beer Garden!)
-Great restaurants around for good food during and after the show
-Plenty of close by porta potties (and restaurant restrooms)
-Easy drive-in and unload (if you come early) and if you're not in a rush, easy drive-in and packup

Cons:
-Beer Garden may draw off the crowd from shopping...or cause them to shop more, who knows??
-Street parking is tight and there is a lot but you have to pay for that...pssst....however there is an unadvertised free lot at the end of Thames Street for vendors.
-The streets are very narrow and driving back to my space to load my stuff I got stuck behind a truck which was being loaded and took up the width of the street. I had to wait until they finished and drove on before I could continue on to my space. But I wasn't in a rush so I just turned my car off and chilled.
-The shopping crowd is more local than touristy like we are used to on Capitol Hill but they were buying and interested in hearing about Eastern Market.

Security:
I left my booth and contents up overnight. I had sidewalls zipped up all around. There were police officers patrolling all night. I felt comfortable doing this as so many other booths were left up too. Many lowered their tents down for the night which is a nice option if you don't have grids. Everything was intact in the morning.

Conclusion:
I did well enough in sales - I could have made that much for Sat and Sun at EM but it was enough to make me want to do the show again next year along with the fact that it was fun to be there. My criteria for doing a show is that I make at least 4 times the booth fee or twice as much as I would have at EM so this show was borderline. Sunday was slower as there was a Ravens/Redskins game but nonetheless, sales picked up after the game.