Deschutes County Fair - Daily Log

JULY 29. Continued to set up on Monday morning. I think I like the weather out on the coast better. Only in the 80's here, but too hot. Spent the night in their new RV Park. Okay, but somewhat generic and in twenty years the newly planted trees will provide shade. Kind of hot, being out there in the open. Don't know if we have any other options on this one. Will do some things around town.....what town? Where's it at? Thank gosh I have my GPS..... it helps a lot.

JULY 30. First day of fair. I had been told by the fair, that it was a 'short walk' from the RV Park to our space. Bull crap. Must have been about a mile...one heck of a long walk. Had difficulties finding our space... a bit different when you come in through another gate and are walking. Very very slow day. It looks like we got totally screwed on the location of our booth. We are in the last #($#$ing row, away from the main traffic flow. %*$(#&($# ed. Weather was somewhat okay.

Deschutes County Fair

JULY 28. REDMOND, OR. We left a fog-covered Winchester Bay this morning around 7:00, taking Highway 101 up to Reedsport. Since it was foggy, we decided to leave the coast behind instead of heading up to Florence. We took Highway 38 from Reedsport over to Highway 5 on a seemingly endless journey, zig zagging through the forests, etc. A rather scenic drive, one which I have never taken before. Always crossed over at other locations.

We reached Highway 5 and proceded North up to Eugene. We took Highway 126 east. After a short distance, I ran into construction with many trucks, etc. Somehow I had veered off of the Highway and was traveling down another road, where I had to turn around and re-trace my tracks over to Main St. where I turned right and continued. No signs on that Highway and I wasn't really too sure if I was going the right way. So, I popped up my GPS and set it for Redmond and saw that this was indeed Highway 126 and I was 100 miles from Redmond.

The drive was quite scenic, with snow-covered mountains to our right. We drove through the touristy town of Sisters, which had some people strolling around.

As we approached Redmond, my GPS began directing me off the Highway and zig-zagged our way through back roads to Highway 97 and then continued to the Fairgrounds exit 6 miles away. Not too sure if I could have found this place without my GPS.

After driving around the perimeter of the fairgrounds, I was having difficulties finding the 'office.' I walked over to the Administration Office and they pointed me over the office for vendor check ins. There I picked up my passes and my space number and was given directions.

We drove through the North Gate and attempted to find our space. We checked several areas and then I was finally able to locate one of the people who could help me. She showed me my space #222. So, I pulled the motor home and we unloaded all our things, intent on finishing tomorrow morning. The location really does not look good at all. We are not located on one of the many main aisles. We are just across from the pig area. Oh gosh.....I hope this doesn't turn out to be a doozy.

Cowrie Shell Chokers

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Deschutes County Fair

July 27. WINCHESTER BAY, OR --Okay people..... here we come. A number of vendors have departed the Coos County Fair in Myrtle Point are are heading up to Redmond for the Deschutes County Fair.

Coos County ended last night and attendance was fair. We packed up our merchandise... wrap skirts, shoulder bags, shell necklaces and a whole lot more and left everything in our booth overnight. We loaded up our motor home with our things around 6:45AM and after saying good bye to fellow vendors, we left there around 10:15 and headed across to Coos Bay, where we gassed up ($4.23) and picked up a couple weeks groceries at Safeway. Don't you people have stores like Food Maxx or Costless? I believe that you do have COSTCO, but I don't need 12 boxes of corn flakes, 8 jars of coffee, 64 rolls of toilet paper. I'm exagerrating if you believe I am serious about COSTCO.

We do our grocery shopping at Food Maxx back home in Hayward and the prices have to be at least 30 percent less. We try to stay away from those higher priced wallet-busting chains like Luckys, Safeway, etc.

After picking up our groceries, we headed to a gas station and filled up and began our trek northward on Highway 101, which has been one of my favorite drives. Great scenery, very relaxing drive.

I had the address (sort of) of an RV dump site in Lakeside, but I didn't find it. We headed up to Winchester Bay again and dumped our holding tanks and then chose a spot to park for the night and relax the rest of the day away. Tomorrow morning, we'll head over to Highway 5 and Eugene and take Highway 126 to Redmond, an area where I have never been to.

Can't quite decided where to cross over at...Reedsport or Florence. I can save some time by crossing at Reedsport since part of the trip will then be taken on Highway 5. I might try to get to Redmond, where I can pick up my paperwork for the fair and maybe begin unloading and setting up our booth. Don't know what we'll do...still trying to recover from this morning's loading of the motor home which wasn't easy.

Later this week, the Winchester Bay Dunesfest http://www.dunefest.com/ will kick off. Looks like a really nice event for ATV's, etc. This is held yearly and the parking lots here are beginning to fill up with huge motor homes and gigantic trailers containing dune-ware. Check it out if you are on the coast. However, if you are out on Highway 5 near Eugene, come on over to the Dechutes County Fair in Redmond and check us out...... DandL CREATIONS

Pink Hat Hoodlums strike Coos County Fair

JULY 25. MYRTLE POINT, OR. Last night a bunch of hoodlums calling themselves "The Pink Hat" gang robbed a number of vendors after the fair closed down and intimidated and threatened several other people and there was some outright vanndalism. Supposedly a group called the Pink Hats has been been frequenting this event and were free to road at will since there was inadequate security at that time and poor lighting.

Where was the security force at? I have no idea. One of the vandals was caught with drugs on him and supposedly he was the only one taken in, because he was on parole. This whole thing is one ugly mess. The Fair promises to have added security next year, along with spotlights, but I am afraid that the vendors will have to foot the bill with increased booth fees.

I never knew that Myrtle Point had these kind of problems.

Coos County Fair Daily Log

For info on the fair...entertainment, schedule, visit this website: http://www.co.coos.or.us/coosfair/entertainment.htm

Weather report: http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USOR0238?from=search_10day

Tuesday, July 22. Senior Citizen's Day. Large amount of kids in carnival area. Good sales until 3:00. Night crowd mostly stood around socializing. Lots of $1.00 sales in evening. No sun all day; breezy at times. Cooler in the evening.

Wednesday, July 23. Weather prediction. High 69 Low 48. Partly cloudy. It was sunny all day long with occasional winds. Mostly kids today, but more adults than on Tuesday evening. However, sales were slow and many booths closed at 10:00.

Thursday, July 24. Sunny during the day, cloudy and cool in the evening. Breezy occasionally. Mostly penniless kids (after paying for rides) around. Crowds less than Wednesday. No real drawing card. Rodeo starts on Friday, which should bring people in. But will they bring their money? Vendors quite friendly and need support.

Friday, July 25. Great weather. Little wind and sunny. Where's Waldo? Rodeo has started but sales are slow for everbody....slow, slow, slow until around 7:00PM.

Saturday, July 25. Good pre-11:00 sales was a good indicator that people were going to out buying. Best weather day of the fair. Tailed off during the afternoon, but picked up after 6:00PM. Packed up our stuff at 11:00PM and covered up the canopy and left it overight, return Sunday morning to load up and head on out. They had the finals of their Rodeo Saturday evening, which drew a decent crowd.

Saturday, July 26 Last day of event. Good buying crowd in the morning and early afternoon. A bit warm and slightly breezy. Most of the vendors, etc., will be packing their stuff and leaving tonight, but we'll just pack our stuff and load up in the early morning and head on up the coast, taking a couple days to reach Redmond. The vendors will mostly be heading off to one of three different county fairs.....Blanton County Fair in Corvallis (we were there last year); the Del Norte County Fair in Crescent City, CA and Deschutes, where several of us will be headed. I expect to see a lot of our fellow vendors at the Douglas County Fair in Roseburg in two weeks.

Be sure to check out the beautifully decorated booth, Coral Reef Smoothies for a cool, refreshing drink or try a slice or two of great-tasting pepperoni pizza next to Marcella' s Thai Food, which is pretty good also. Should be constant lines of 30 people waiting later on in the week. And of course, come on over and check us out. We are on the right hand side about 8 booths down next to the trailer selling cell phone cases. We sell shoulder (sling) bags, wrap skirts, sarongs, shell necklaces and a lot more.

NOTE: There is no major entertainment at this fair; the main attraction is the Rodeo

Myrtle Point - Coos County Fair

July 21 Arrived here this morning around 8:00 and set up our canopies. Weather was excellent...temps in the 70's, sunny, and hardly any wind....thank gosh. We had four days of very strong winds down in Winchester Bay which was quite bad. This fair starts tomorrow, July 22 and runs through Saturday, July 26. Come on down and check things out.

Bohemia Days Mining Festival

Just did the Winchester Bay Oceanfest (July 18, 19, 20) and have decided to do the Cottage Grove Bohemia Mining Days festival in 2009. Any of you vendors out there ever do this event? Let me know about it. Thank you....

Sunday in Winchester Bay

July 20. Sunny most of the day, but it was awfully windy again...all day long. Sunday usual late crowds. Far less people today and lower sales. Took three hours to pull down our stuff, having to be extremely cautious of the wind gusts.

I don't think that anybody did exceptional at this event and this was our second time here. I like the area but just too much wind and of course, people not buying. Maybe they ought to check out flea market someplace. Met a lot of nice people here, especially other vendors.

Please be sure to read my review in Starving Vendors.
http://www.starvingvendors.com/events_Winchester_Bay_Oceanfest_2008.html

Next year, look for us at the Cottage Grove Bohemia Days Mining Festival, which is a 4-day event. Now, it's on to Myrtle Point for the Coos County Fair, which begins on Tuesday and runs through Saturday. See you there.

Winchester Bay Oceanfest

July 19. Opened up at 8:40. Just about everybody else had opened up. Some people walking around. Topay was a bit cooler and the winds picked up around 10:30AM and continued throughout the day. A little stronger than yesterday. Never have I ever seen two days of wind like this. My windiest show ever.

More people today and sales were much better... in line with what we did last year. Gosh, how can anybody walk around the booths in this friggin wind. All day long...again. The winds lasted past midnite last evening and I guess more of the same. Don't know how we'll be able to take our things down tomorrow. Hopefully, it will not be as windy in Myrtle Point for the Coos Counjty Fair, which begins on Tuesday.

Voice of the Vendor

Hello fellow vendors. I now have an area on my Starving Vendors website where you can view comments made regarding shows, festivals, promoters, etc. If you have done a show recently (good or bad), place your remarks in the 'comments' area below and I will put them on the following page:

http://www.starvingvendors.com/voice_of_the_vendor.html

I will post this notice every Monday and I would like to hear from our vendors out there on how they did the previous weekend. Thank you very much.

Winchester Bay Oceanfest

July 18. Friday. A typical Friday as far as sales and crowds go. It was sunny most of the day with arriving and departing clouds. The winds blew and sales sucked. Take it from there. Winds began to increase just before noontime and did not let up until late PM.

We drove over early...... 8:15 AM to make sure we could get a parking space nearby. I was expecting a large crowd? Uh uh uh uh. Around 9:00 we walked over to our space to prepare things for the day and to finalize our set up. It was like a ghost town. The streets were still rolled up! Hardly a soul, but the event started at 10:00. There were some vendors open and maybe 5 people walking the street.... Early 'lookers' are usually flea marketeers.

The day started very slow and the 'crowds' increased just after noontime. Look like mostly tourists came by. Quite a numbe of families with kids that had the 'itchy finger syndrome.' The winds were pretty fierce all afternoon, whipping around the top part of our canopies. However, the canopies barely swayed due to the precautios we took by adding lots of weight to the legs.

I suppose there were some return vendors that did pretty decently, but it was obvious that the people were not buying very much. The weather this time around is much better than last year, when we had some scattered showers and a 'Watch out for Flying Canopies' Thursday and Friday.

Regardless, we will return here next year, as this is the front end of four events for us and I prefer to kick off things with a weekend event. Four county fairs is just a bit too lon for me.

So people, come on over to Space 58 at the Winchester Bay (OR) Oceanfest and see what DandL Creations has to offer. We've got a good deal for you... we've got shoulder bags, fanny packs, backpacks, wrap-around skirts and pants, animal backpacks for the younger people, stools, amethyst, dream catchers, beautiful hand-made shell necklaces, hats, visors, shell creations and a whole lot more. Bring your money...bring your checkbooks, bring your credit cards. Come on down to the Winchester Bay Oceanfest.

In Winchester Bay.

July 17. After spending the night in an RV parking lot, we drove over to our space at 8:30 and began setting up. The weather was cloudy with temps in the mid-60's and cloudy. There were occasional winds off and on throughout the day.

We set up our canopy with all our grids, etc. To weigh it down even more, I placed 3 cinder blocks alongside 3 of the legs. I filled up 5 of our buckets/containers with water and placed them next to the other legs and tied them up. It is highly important for people here to secure their canopies because the winds do get pretty strong. Last week, they had winds of 50 MPH. This is the windiest place we have ever had a show in.

We took our time setting up taking about 8 hours. We had our motor home in front, so we were able to rest occasionally and eat, etc.

Our Oregon Shows - Winchester Bay Oceanfest

July 16. We left Hayward, CA this morning in our motor home at 3:00AM and headed up north to Oregon. I always like to leave early to avoid traffic and the weather is cooler during the earlier time of the day. We took Highway 80 to Vacaville and drove up Highway 505 from there, connecting with I-5 near Dunnigan.

The weather was mild the entire trip. There was quite a bit of smoke in the clouds near Yreka, which dissapated after about another 30-40 miles. We had thoughts of dropping by the Jackson County Fair when we passed through Central Point, but it was quite early, approx 9:45AM. We know a number of vendors there, including our favorite smoothie maker, Michelle, who has one of the most colorful, nicely decorated booths you will ever seen. Next show for her will be the Coos County Fair, where we shall be next week.

I gassed up for a price of $4.37 per gallon and in Oregon, they pump it for you, which is nice for lazy people. We proceded up I-5 and turned West at Winton and headed some 65 miles to Myrtle Point, Coos Bay and arrived in Winchester Bay around 3:00PM. It's about 67 degrees here and a little bit breezy. Last year we had heavy winds a on a couple days, it rained.

We parked the motor home over in a dry-camping area for $11 per night. Nice fresh breeze here and I can hear the sea gulls outside. Set-up is Thursday at 10:00AM. I expect to take at least six hours. The Oceanfest here in Winchester Bay starts on Friday and runs through Sunday. Stop by and see us. DandL CREATIONS. Look for the booth with the colorful shoulder/sling bags handing toward the front. You can not miss that. See ya. Great weather this weekend.

Hayward Zucchini Festival (Aug 16-17)

HAYWARD, CA -- The Hayward Zucchini Festival is coming up in another month and is held in Kennedy Park on Hesperian Blvd. Our booth is #135 and we are located along the sidewalk north lf the play area. The name of our business is DandL CREATIONS (www.dandlcreations.com )Come on over and visit us. Once again, we shall be selling our shoulder/sling bags along with wrap-skirts, Betty-Boop T-shirts and a whole lot more.

We usually have great weather for this event and occasionally it gets a bit cool underneath the huge trees. I look forward to buying the Zucchini bread, which is always delicious along with other food being offered.

Here's a story I found about last year's festival.

Deschutes County Fair (July 30 - August 3)

Redmond, OR. Be sure to visit us at the Deschutes County Fair in Redmond, OR between the dates July 30-August 3. We are DandL CREATIONS and we shall be selling our shoulder/sling bags, wrap-around skirts & pants, shell necklaces, amethyst and a whole lot more. You can visit our website at http://www.dandlcreations.com/ and purchase a custom-sized, hand-made shell necklace. Many, many colorful designs to choose from. Also, we sell hand-made cowrie shell chokers and wrap-around skirts. Secure on-line ordering is available.

Entertainment schedule:

Little Big Town - Wednesday July 30th @ 7:00pm Concert is free with ticket (admission to Fair not included).

Alice Cooper - Thursday July 31st @ 7:00pmConcert is free with ticket (admission to Fair not included).

Kellie Pickler - Friday August 1st @ 7:00pmConcert is free with ticket (admission to Fair not included).

For more information on the fair, please check the website

Check the 10-day weather forecast for Redmond, OR

Oceanfest in Winchester Bay coming up July 18-20

Hello Oregon. Will be arriving in Winchester Bay on July 17 to set up for your festival. Hopefully, it will not be as windy as it was last year when we had to really weigh down our canopy with buckets filled with water. Shall be prepared this year. A bit cloudy at times and a few sprinkles, but what else would have expected along the unpredictable and fabulous Oregon Coast.

Oceanfest lasts three days with many booths selling a huge variety of items. Please stop by and see us. We shall be selling wrap-around skirts, Betty Boop shirts, shell necklaces, shoulder-sling bags, tote bags, cute animal backpacks for the kids, stools, parasols (for the sun?) and a whole lot more. The name of our business is DandL CREATIONS. You can even visit our website http://www.dandlcreations.com/ to see what we sell. Great-looking custom-sized hand-made shell and semiprecious necklaces are the most popular.

Anyhow, we enjoy doing Oceanfest and hopefully we'll be able to make it there for many years to come, even though gas prices are getting extremely high. Hope to see ya later...... Look for us at the Coos County Fair (Myrtle Point), Deschutes County Fair (Redmond, OR) and the Douglas County Fair (Roseburg).

check the 10-day weather forecast for the Reedsport-Winchester Bay OR areas

Douglas County Fair - Aug 5-9

ROSEBURG, OR-- Come see us at the Douglas County Fair which is from August 5-9. We have a booth there (DandL CREATIONS) selling our popular shoulder/sling bags, wrap-skirts, shell necklaces, stools and a whole lot more. http://www.dandlcreations.com/

Just checked the entertainment schedule and it looks pretty good. Kelly Pickler will be there on Friday, August 8 at 7:00PM. Other performers throughout the fair will be The Doobie Brothers, Brian Howe with special guest Edgar Winter Band, Bad Company, Rodney Atkins.

http://www.co.douglas.or.us/dcfair/fair.html

Check the 10-day weather forecast for Roseburg, OR

This will probably be our only year at the Douglas County Fair because the dates are being changed to Aug 11-15, one week later and we will have left Oregon by that time. So, here's your chance people.

17th Annual Pirate Faire - Lake Casitas, Ojai, CA

This looks like it would be fun to go to. As for vendor info, It's kind of like a Renaissance Fair, where you have to be selling period merchandise, something I could never sell in. However, I did stumble across this event. Something different, I must say. http://www.goldcoastfestivals.com/piratefaire/piratefestpg1.html

Dates: September 20-21 and September 27-28 Hours: 10Am-6PM each day

Not really too much info on the website regarding activities, etc.

Pirate Festivals have grown in popularity and numbers in recent years. Many renaissance Faires and Fetivals have pirate themed weekends or events. A pirate fetival will usually offer activities, crafts, and othe fun stuff for children, who will cherish the memory of talking to a REAL PIRATE. Historical characters of places are featured in several pirate festivals. Prices are $7.00 for children under 12 and $15.00 for adults.

For more information on Pirate Fairs, Civil War reenactments and other unique festivals, please visit our website www.starvingvendors.com and check under the menu item Main Menu-Show Guide.

What your 'oil money' has bought them.

This is a weekly feature to show you what the money we have paid for oil has bought the people of Dubai. We have really 'pumped' up their economy. A lot of the construction here is simply unbelieveable.

Coos County Fair

Myrtle Point, July 22-26. Please visit us at the Coos County Fair in Oregon, Just south east of Coos Bay. This is our 5th year for this event and it gets more enjoyable each year. Very friendly vendors and good food. Last year's attendance went up to 43,000 and hopefully even more this year.

The name of our business is DandL CREATIONS and we sell shoulder/sling bags, which come in many colors and designs. You'll just love them. Some people buy two, three, etc. Great gifts and only $12.00 apiece. A wonderful buy. We also sell wrap-around skirts and pants, fanny packs, small stools and a whole lot more. So people, come on over and see us. Looks like the weather is going to be great and pretty much cooperative. See ya there!!!

Marsalee's Thai Food is great. I always see a long line over there, sometimes over 30 people at a time waiting. There's a pizza trailer there also and their cheese and pepperoni pizza reminds me of Maruca's in Seaside Heights, NJ. There's decent breafasts over there at the counter. And the Philly Cheesteaks's are okay. Nobody can match the steak sandwiches I've had back east, but these are really decent.

Here's a website with info on the fair: http://fair.coquillevalley.org/#events

I guess that this one is their official website, but they are very slow in putting up info for people to see: http://www.co.coos.or.us/coosfair/

Vote for Nikki Amber - USA WORLD SHOWCASE

VOTE HERE http://www.usatalentcompetition.com/vote/vote.htm

Please place your votes for this beautiful young lady in the USA WORLD SHOWCASE singing competition in Las Vegas. Similar to American Idol. We need to help our youngsters get the breaks in life that they deserve. This girl is the daughter of one of my close friends and we would really like your help.

http://www.usatvbroadcast.com/ schedule. She is listed under July 13-16, Show 2, part 6 of 9.
http://www.usaworldshowcase.com/ main website. Go here to vote anytime between July 13-16.

Here are some You-tubes of her singing so check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8cN7hwMvL4&feature=related

http://apps.facebook.com/youtubebox/youtubevideo.asp?YouTubeID=4Dr8neWiRUg Fremont talent show

http://apps.facebook.com/youtubebox/youtubevideo.asp?YouTubeID=f8U50D9fH_g adobo festival

thank you very much. Salamat.

More bad news on 14th Annual Fil-Am Fesitval in Daly City

I was going to leave this topic alone because it's over and done with. But I really do not like the way one of the promoter lady's (the same white lady that was somewhat abusive toward me on Saturday) handled a situation terribly with another vendor and I was just made aware of this confrontation tonight. This show has problems, people.

My friend was located on the far side of the event and the 'workers' had placed one of the covers between his space and his neighbor. The cover was flapping consistently back and forth into his booth from the wind and created a bad atmosphere for this gentleman and his mother. He mentioned this to the lady, who's blunt reply was, "You will just have to deal with it." Now what kind of response is this!! This person was also told that the canopies would be better secured at night (because wind gusts almost toppled a couple areas), but they never were. Come to think of it, I was told the same thing, but I left on Saturday because we display was all screwed up because of the winds and because there was no security.

Please read previous entries I made regarding this event. http://thisaintparadise.blogspot.com/search/label/Daly%20CIty%20Fil-Am%20Festival

Now, I do not know this lady's name and I don't really care, but I am telling of our experiences and I want to make a point and give some advice. I was going to let this go, but I am rather perturbed over this. This is a Filipino event and I have had great success in my dealings with this fine organization. They are so nice and very cordial. But then you have these two white lady's walking around with frowns on their faces so tense, that I am afraid that their faces would crack if they tried to smile. I am white, myself, but if people of my color are going to act like that, then they should just stay away and let the Filipino's take charge. You should be ashamed talking to people so bluntly.

My advice for the show? You already can figure my first idea. Yah. I'm not returning, so do what you want next year. Also, my booth was situated far off in the distance amongst non-profit organizations and did not draw the traffic flow that some other people did. If you weren't interested in hospital plans, etc., then you never made it over to my spot. I am retail...I was the only retail in that entire row. Retail/commercial/arts & crafts vendors should be clustered in one section where people could shop. Also, you could demonstrate your concern for the vendors by then providing security for us. You charge each vendor $10-$20 for the security or whatever and also, allow the vendors to use their own canopies and setups instead of forcing them to use canopies which somebody is making a hefty, sneaky profit on.

That's all I have to say about this show and I do not expect to hear of any more problems experienced by my fellow vendors at this event. However, if I do....you will definitely be the third person to know.

Gas Prices decline

Just drove by my local Chevron station (Southland Mall-Hayward) yesterday and saw that the price had dropped 4 cents from $4.61 to $4.57. I remember the last time I saw it drop was a few months ago and a couple days after it went lower, it went up and up and up and up. Stay tuned. The price of a barrel of oil dropped, but we are starting to have more turmoil in Iran, so they say that prices could skyrocket.

Refilling ink cartridges

I just had a couple of my cartridges (black $10, color $15) refilled at Walgreens and would like to hear from anybody who has had this done. How long can I expect the ink in these cartridges to last? I've heard a lot about buying your own 'kit' and filling the cartridges myself, but I don't know how complicated it could be.

Did I get a decent deal on my refills? Is there anyplace that does them cheaper? I'd like to hear about your experiences, good or bad with refills. I am sick and tired of paying full price for brand new cartridges at places like Office Depot. Just can't afford it.

Chime in people.

Add-on fees for booth spaces in events

The cost of doing shows has been rising and our net profits are going down. Gas prices have really killed us and we all are cutting back on shows we have to travel distances to.

In many events, promoters have raised their booth fees and a lot of them come up with these 'add-on charges.' Many now require 'city permits' and fees range from $25-$50 and up. A few years back, you hardly ever saw this, but the promoters AND city governments want to extract as much money out of us as possible. There are cities that require a 'police permit' or a 'peddlers permit' and that can run from $25 and up. You provide them with your driver's license, social security number, name, address, etc., and they run a police check on you as if you are a criminal. It's degrading, I think.

Of course a lot of them have 'jury fees' where you send in your application with photos, etc., and they jury you. I admit that it is important to screen out undesirable merchandise and if you are running a quality Arts and Crafts Event, then I really understand. However, a lot of the promoters are following suit and charging you for this in order to collect more money from us. This fee can range from $20 to $50. What bothers me about this is that these fees are non-refundable. You don't get the money back if you are not accepted, which is definitely wrong.

Now think about this. If 10,000 vendors send in applications with a $30 jury fee, then the promoter has collected $300,000 for doing absolutely nothing. Some just take your application and pictures and put them in an envelope. They put on your address and place a $.42 stamp on the envelope. Ahhhhh. That's a NET PROFIT DEAL..... Some promoters can make a nice living off these fees. The double whammy on this is that they are accepting these jury fees even after they have been filled up. They don't even look at the pictures, so there was actually NO JURYING. Do you think that this is legal?

All of us vendors do have canopies, etc. Another gimmick is for promoters to force you to use a canopy that THEY HAVE RENTED from some rental company. Of course, we all have canopies, etc., but many of us prefer to use our own, since ours are easier to set up our displays in. More so, we are being charged one way or another for these rental canopies. You have promoters who order up a hundred, two hundred canopies for a show. They naturally get a good 'rental rate' on these and then they charge perhaps, double what their cost was. That is just another way for them to get money out of vendors.

For more information about vendors, shows, reviews and crazy satirical stories about the business, come on over to Starving Vendors and check things out.

Vendors' Comments

Hi Vendors. Thank you for visiting this blog. I would appreciate if some of you could comment on events you have done or just gone to. Russell City Blues coming up in Hayward; Cornfest in Brentwood. How about your July 4th shows. There were lots of them all over the place. Sales up? Sales down? Buying crowds? I would like to also post your comments on my Starving Vendors website. If your show was bad, tell me why. Ditto for the good. Need your comments.

What your 'oil money' has bought them!

Each week I will be posting pictures of Dubai, the city that we have paid for with our oil money!!

Mt. Shasta 4th of July Celebration

Sunday ended up being quite slow. Very few people showed up and vendors were sitting around with empty booths and poor sales. Don't know what you could do to bring people in. I guess everybody came around on Friday (the 4th). The main street booths were set up on Saturday morning and I imagine that people came over to see them; perhaps many returning from Friday and we did get a 'trickle' over.

Not too many tourists over the weekend and we all know why. In case you are interested, gas prices in and around town were approximately $4.67 per gallon.

Sunday seemed like a completely different show. Temperatures are beginning to warm up in the area and on Sunday, it was probably in the low-mid 90's. Expected temperatures on Tues/Wed....107 degrees- a real scorcher. Glad to be out of there that. I don't want any part of that!! Last year it got up to 110 degrees, but I guess the people in this area are used to it.

There's a lot of people who have re-located to this area and I suppose that life is a lot more pleasant, healthier, etc., than in the San Francisco Bay Area. But I just don't know about that hot weather in the summer and of course, the snow and cold in the winter. They have four seasons up here and I am sure that it is very beautiful during the winter. But it's not for me. I'll just stick it out in the Bay Area for a few more years and probably head up to Oregon, where it's not so expensive. Still looking for paradise... it's not here... be we are getting closer!!!

We've all gone to Vegas, of course and had to deal with the high temperatures there. But you are indoors most of the time but when you walk outside, a blast-furnace of hot air hits you in the face. I can not understand why somebody would move to a place like Lake Havasu and deal with those 115-120 degree temperatures. For snow-birds that would be nice for them during the winter, but summertime? You can have it.

Food Festivals in California

Ran across this website that lists a large number of food festivals in California. Whether you are a vendor or you just enjoy going to these type of festivals, then you will just love browsing through the listings.

California Food Festivals, Food Shows, Food & Wine Events, etc

Saturday in Shasta.

Today was the second day of the festival and it seemed like a completely different show. Of crowds were much less than yesterday and we had the addition of some 40 booths on the main street. Foot traffic on Castle St. was sporadic and the 'dynamics' of this event had changed. Temperatures are heading up faster than the gas prices as it was around 93 degrees today, but the cloud cover probably spared us a few degrees.

On Sunday, temps are supposed to be around 99 and we'll be heading home during the early evening. Going to be a scorcher on Tuesday and Wednesday, with expected high temps of 107. Ouch. Thank gosh we missed that by a few days.

Mt. Shasta City 4th of July Celebration

Very nice event. We arrived Thursday afternoon and set up most of our booth. The weather was great, but a little hazy from all the smoke. Temps were in the mid -80's and quite comfortable. We spent the night at a local motel and then returned to our booth around 5:30AM on Friday morning.

We were ready for everybody at 7:00, as were just about all the other vendors, expecting a large crowd from the run/walk event scheduled around 8:00. Quite a difference from last year, when temps soared to 110 degrees.

Attendence was very good today, as they started the day off with the walk/run and then had their parade. I believe that today's crowd was mostly 'locals' and there weren't too many tourists. I checked outside my motel and the parking lot outside my room is virtually empty. Maybe they have heard exagerrations of the fires up here, which are some distance away.

People...it's a beautiful weekend here in Mt Shasta City and temps are only in the mid-80's. Very nice breezed. So, come on down or up to the celebration which runs through Sunday. Many vendors over the next two days. Come on over and see us on Castle St. (D and L CREATIONS) and buy one of our popular shoulder/sling bags

Gas holding steady

Last price rise for our Chevron station came on June 11, when it rose to $4.61. So, that makes it three weeks since it budged. Calm before the storm? You guys ready for 'European style gas prices?' Price per barrel reached record highs (again) today and I guess it's just a matter of time before U-know-what happens.

Good luck people. Have a nice July 4th weekend.

How about a Betty Boop T-shirt?

We sell Betty Boop T-shirts at our events and also on our website Prices start at $12.95 for medium, $13.95 for L and $14.95 for XL. Secure on-line ordering with no hassles. Pay with credit cards, PayPal or you can mail a check.

Check out our other products on the website...custom-sized, hand-made shell and semi-precious necklaces, wrap-around skirts and more.

Mt. Shasta 4th of July Festival

COME TO MT. SHASTA CITY'S 4th of July FESTIVAL. FRI/SAT/SUN
A very nice celebration held in this scenic town. Lots to do and see!! Loads of fun. Vendors.

It's all systems go for this weekend's 4th of July Celebration in scenic Mt. Shasta City, located north of Redding. Many of the other shows in the areas west of Highway 5 have cancelled their events due to the fires, which hopefully are subsiding.

Temps are supposed to be in the mid-80's with a bit of humidity due to the smoke. Hopefully, no thunderstorms. Last year, the weather was unbearable, with temperatures soaring to 110 degrees. That was hot, my friends. Hotter than....uh uh uh.

On Friday morning, the fun-run/walk kicks off at 8:30 am, parade at noon and fireworks over over Lake Siskiyou at dusk. Booths and live music downtown on 5th and 6th and Castle Street. A big celebration for a small town! Our booth is located over there in the parking lot on Castle Street. Here's a link to the schedule of events:

http://mtshastachamber.com/chamber/4thofjuly.pdf

Chamber of commerce - other events
http://mtshastachamber.com/visitor/events.php

Another Mom and Pop bites the dust

Located in the tiny plaza at the corner of Hesperian and Middle Lane in Hayward was a store that sold mostly used clothing and other items. I visited this business a number of months ago, when we had our store to get some insight. I passed by this place many times as I left our neighborhood and seldom saw very many people in there and I really didn't think that the business was doing any good. Apparently, they emptied out the store for whatever reason and logically it looks like their lease ran out on June 30.

I feel sorry that another private entrepenour (mom & pop we could probably refer to) has gone out of business. When this property was vacant a few years ago, I gave thoughts to having our business in there, but I wasn't quite ready for it. One year ago, we did open our store, Desirable Fashions on Hesperian Blvd in Hayward (across from Kennedy Park). We spent much of July in Oregon and when we returned, preparing to move in, the McDonalds next door was demolished and their was dust, sand, rocks and ugliness all over the place. This went on for several months and they opened their new establishment just after Jan 1. By that time, we had been ruined - construction completely ruined our December sales, and we decided to close the store in late January. As time goes on, I'll go into more detail over this because there are so many things that went on over there. I'll either put bits and pieces in this blog or put the whole shabang on one of my websites.

My major problem with my store was there was no foot traffic and the other businesses were 'destinations.' Hair dresser, fish & chips, cell phones, a BAR, a BARber, etc. Biggest lesson: I needed to be next to other similar (but not the same) businesses where people good go from shop to shop.

And that was the demise of the business I began telling you about. It too needed foot traffic that plaza did not have drawing power. I've seen so many small businesses (like this one and my own) go under. The economy is very bad and with rising gas prices....it's going to get worse. Much worse? With slow sales, we had no choice but to close down. With larger businesses (Target, etc.) they merely fire the employees and move on. It's always the 'little guy' that gets hurt.

What your 'oil money' has bought them!

This is going to be a regular feature on the blog. I want you people to see for yourself what a lot of the money you are paying for gas (oil, etc.) is going toward in the country of Dubai. It has to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but has to be despised by the Western World. I guess one billion dollars to them is like a million to this country? That's what it seems. They do not care about how much this stuff costs. People, this is not something out of Star Wars or come computer-generated image. This is real. This stuff is really there. Google 'Dubai' sometime. You will be amazed (and pissed). I will have more on this city as time goes along. In the meantime, to see what is on the blog, look just below and 'click' on the word 'Dubai' and you'll see all I have posted for this.

This might just be 'Paradise' but none of us can afford going there, that's for sure.

Is Scavenging a big money maker?

Or should the title of this be "How I make $50,000 a year digging through other people's trash." That is something I do not wish to try. No telling what is going to bite you!!!

I have a clean-up day coming soon whereby I set out all my 'unwanteds, furniture, toys, junk, etc.' near the curb for the local Waste Management to come by and pick up. I have been doing this for years. Many years ago, our city used to have a general clean-up day whereby EVERYBODY would participate on the very same day and there would be stuff lining curbs for miles and miles around. One evening, I was coming home from work at 12:30AM (just before the pickup) and everybody had their stuff near the street. I was two blocks from home and I could not drive down the street because there were about a dozen cars parked in the middle of the street and people were racing up and down the street looking for 'goodies'. There were cars all over the place.

I thought about putting up barricades and charging a $10.00 'rummage fee' per car to enter. Or better yet, you could put on some kind of orange jumpsuit (or bright flourescent yellow so these people can see you) stick on an official-looking patch and tell these people that they have to pay some kind of $10.00 fee for environmental something or other. With your computer, you can design and print out a legitimate-looking ID badge, run down to Office Depot and buy a good-quality (if they have good quality) ID plastic/leather ID badgeholder and attach it my shirt. And I could get away with it.

Nowadays, you schedule an appointment for your own 'personal yearly pickup,' and they come by on the designated day and haul your stuff away. Much better. They ADVISE you not to put the stuff outside until the night before or better yet, the morning of the pickup for reasons I have stated above.

On regular garbage pickup days, I see people strolling the neighborhoods rummaging through the recyclable bins and removing the things they can get quick $$$$ on and dumping them in those big black heavy-duty (re-useable) plastic bags. They usually drive older beat-up cars, so either that's a disguise or they aren't making big bucks off the stuff....just meal money so they don't have to eat Top Ramen or Cup of Noodles all the time. I suppose the 'flea market people' roll in with their pickups earlier and retrieve furniture, toys, used toilets, mirrors, etc. I live on a cul-de-sac (no exit) in a decent neighborhood and these people really scour the place. Maybe somebody wrote publications showing the best neighborhoods to do your scavenging.

Okay...now my question is... Do you think that a lot of people are making decent sums of money and do you see a lot of scavengers around? I have a lot to say about all of this, but I really do not want to take up a lot of space on this blog. Some people might not be interested in reading this. So, in a couple days, I am going to have a continuation of this topic on one of my websites: Starving Vendors and you can read to your heart's content and you can provide me with your comments on this blog for all to read.