Canopies

I just checked COSTCO and it looks like they've discontinued the Alumina design (low-end of low-end canopies). I'm sure there's a lot of websites selling canopies such as the EZ-Ups, etc.

Here's one website with a number of different designs that I found interesting:

http://www.canopycenter.com/canopies/353+366.cfm

I'm going to put a link on the right hand side to list canopy vendors.

Energy Efficient Lightbulbs contain Mercury

Please read this about the light bulbs. Very dangerous if they break and the mercury comes out.

Starving Vendors Website

Hi People. Please check out our much improved Starving Vendors website. Have changed servers, used new software, added loads of images and put in new material. Completely revamped!!!!

Take a look at our BITTER BUSINESS BUREAU. A listing of businesses, promoters, etc, that we recommend doing business with

This website explains much about the life of vendors and how these troubled times are affecting a lot of people. Have also written a lot of satire, etc., and it's located in the 'Bull" section. I've got show reviews in there, but only the real doozies are listed. I have all my other reviews in our main website DandL CREATIONS show reviews. So, click, click, click and enjoy!!!

Sports fans.... you might want to also check out The Boston Sports Nut, my blog about the Red Sox, Celtics and other sports information, charts, etc. Also provides links to sports blogs.

Chabot College Flea Market

Did this event just around the corner from my house. I did not really schedule any events for this weekend, since my son and I are heading up to Infineon Raceway to watch the NASCAR race. I don't schedule any major shows, etc., over this weekend so we can go and also, like to give me wife a mid-season rest. It's boy's day out. My favorite sports are baseball and basketball, but I do enjoy the racing.

Anyhow, this is Saturday and a couple weeks ago, we signed up to do the Chabot College Flea Market. This is the second time here this year for us. We do not normally do any flea market, but because of an open-date and it's close to home, we do it. Yesterday it was super-hot here in Hayward...temps just under 100 and it was such a relief to see some cloudcover rolling in during the morning, which has cooled things off substantially.

The Flea Market was held in a different parking lot because the other lot is being re-done. No big deal, except that if you are a customer looking for a particular vendor....well, you have a problem. It didn't matter for me..... I really didn't have a good spot, but we were shaded for a couple hours in the morning. We went with a very simple setup..... putting up 4 sets of grids arranged in triangles and we hung our shoulder bags, tote bags, etc., from them. Normall setup time is around 3 hours for us, but we just put out a little. Sales were okay....not disastrous and not too good. Okay, though. Just Okay.

I was surpised to see a lady that had visited us in our store earlier this year (it's closed now). And, I guess she was surprised to see us at a Flea market.

What your (our) money bought for them!!

Here you go. This is what our money from the oil bought for these people in Dubai.

It's one mile long and 670 feet tall.- It will have 12 lanes for traffic.- It will cost 817 million dollars.- The design has Sheikh Mohammed's official stamp of approval.- The bridge will carry more than 2,000 vehicles per hour in each direction.- A metro line will run across the middle.- Construction begins in March, with a slated completion date of 2012. Damm piece of shit!!

From the land where artificial islands arranged in the shape of the world located and where the world's only seven-star hotel existed, come the home to the largest and tallest arch bridge ever. It will be completed in 2012, according to the source. Nothing is impossible in Dubai, at least architecturally. This money is NOTHING to them; but it is to us..even now at $4.61 a pop!!!

14th Annual Daly CIty-Quezon City Fil-Am Festival

Daly City, home of the largest Filipino-American community in the United States, will host the 14th Annual Filipino-American (Fil-Am) Friendship celebration on June 28 and 29, 2008, at the Serramonte Shopping Center Mall. The Daly City festival remains to be the longest-running Fil-Am event in the Bay Area that offers free admission. For more information, please check the following link:

http://dalycityfilamfestival.com/default.aspx

I am not associated with the organization, but we have been a vendor at this event for approximately 8-9 years when it was at Westlake Shopping Center. We did not participate the past 2 years that it's been held at Serra Bowl. This is the first year that the festival is at Serramonte Shopping Center. Over the years, I guess attendance has been around 3,000-5,000. We enjoyed doing this event and listening to the entertainment, which was sensational the year they celebrated the Philippines' Independence. It was very difficult to set up and take down our displays in Westlake, since it was quite confining. Security was a major issue there also and the mall was declining, with many empty stores our last couple years there.

Fiesta Filipina - San Francisco

June 7-8. I am hoping to hear from people who did this event. Originally we planned in participating in this festival for the 9th consecutive year, but when I contacted the 'new promoter' I found out that spaces were $700. So, we signed up to do the Hercules Cultural Festival in the East Bay. While in Oakdale, I was told that there was another promoter involved who was offering spaces for $375.00 and that would have been fine with me, but I had already paid for the other event and we were unable to participate. Still, the $375 was a hefty increase in booth fees for this show and us vendors are victims of price gouging by promoters, etc.

Anyhow, we do expect to return to Fiesta Filipino at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco next year and we hope to see a lot of our returning customers and other vendors with whom we have shared our aquaintances with over the years. The entertainment there has always been great and occasionally is beamed back to 'The Islands'. In the past, they have had very large crowds on the Sunday of the show.

And what do I think of this event? Let's give it a 4-lumpia rating!!!

American Graffiti Car Show & Festival-Modesto, CA

I know a number of people that did this event during the weekend of June 6-8 and I haven't heard anything good from vendors. To my understanding, sales were atrocious. I think that we did this show the first or second year they had it and it was indeed ATROCIOUS with capital letters!!! It can get pretty hot in Modesto in the month of June.

However, they do have a number of events circling around the 'American Graffiti' theme as they celebrate the 35th anniversary of this great movie classic. Check this link for more info. Maybe you are interested.

http://www.visitmodesto.com/calendar/specialevents/graffiti/calendar.asp

Sunday in Cambria

After we closed up on Saturday, we drove down the street to the Main Street Grill and picked up some Baby Back Pork Ribs and their Main Street Salad and took them back to devour at the motel. Absolutely delicious. Been getting food from there for years!!! Read what people have to say about this place. Highly recommended!!!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/main-street-grill-cambria

Sales were extremely slow on Sunday. Worst day we ever had in Cambria and shall not be returning. We had planned on coming back in November, but those plans are now shelved. Very few tourists nowadays and the 'locals' just do not support us. The street running behind the show was blocked off for construction, forcing people to drive an extra mile to the other side of town. The show is highly visible from Highway One.

Perhaps in 2009 over Father's Day Weekend, you can find us in Isleton at the Crawdad Festival. Time to give it a try. Anyway, check out our reviews of shows on our website DandL CREATIONS 2007-8 show reviews

If you are a vendor and need to stay in the motel, it's not really worth it. Some local vendors were satisfield as booth fees are reasonable but added expenses of gas and motel just don't make it!!!! I would rate this show: 2 cups of noodles!!

Motels booked up around here

I didn't decide upon doing this event in Cambria until about one month ago. Back then I began checking motels in the area and found that they were all filled up in San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, San Simeon, etc. The only ones I could locate were the ones for $150 per night and there was no way I was going to pay that much.

I checked Motel 6 over in Atascadero and was able to reserve a room there. However, it was all sold out heading into this weekend due to the graduation at Cal Poly over in SLO. At the front desk, I heard one of the clerks tell somebody that the room was completely booked for Saturday... and I really hope that this place isn't full of graduates partying, etc. Lots of noise in this motel and I think that we have a bunch of elephants up above us. Can't get no respect.

Our room is located close to the swimming pool and if I hear them partying outside, I'll be watching for naked ladies' (over 21 years old, of course) jumping into the pool.

Cambria on Saturday

We left the motel around 5:15 and headed north on Highway 101, taking the Hwy 46 exit about 7 miles up the road. As we were climbing in elevation (summit is only 1726 feet), we could see patches of valley fog tucked within the mountains. After we drove to the top of the hills, we began to descent into the fog, which was quite think in some places. When we made it over to Highway One, we had some cloud cover and hopefully, we'll get some eventual sunshine, since we were doing the A&C show in Cambria.

The sun never managed to show itself in Cambria and temps staying the mid-50's. People were coming out from Fresno and saying that it was pretty hot. Reports of 100+ degrees in Atascadero. Much, much cooler in Cambria, Not too many people showed up until around 2:00, but still much less than other shows we have done here, Mike had a full compliment of booths again and there was some very nice 'artsy' stuff in the mix. However, it didn't seem like the tourists made it out, because we always get good sales from them as they buy our shoulder bags, wrap-skirts, fannypacks, etc. and that just didn't happen. Not too many people carrying bags, etc. and I don't think any vendor did exceptionally well.

After we closed down at 5:15, we headed down the street to the Main Street Grill for some of their great BBQ Ribs. Evey time we are in the area.... Morro Bay, Cambria, Arroyo Grande, we always come here. After we drove away from Cambria, we saw some sunshine about two miles down Highway One. Wow. Unbelievable.

Gas in Cambria was running from $4.69 to $4.89. I thought it would be cheaper in Atascadero and I gassed up at a Chevron station for $4.69. Shell was selling for the same price.

Cambria A&C Show

Drove down to Cambria for one of Mike Knapp's shows at the Veteran's Memorial on Main St. in Cambria.

Left Hayward around 11:30 and headed down 880 to 101. We are staying at Motel 6 in Atascadero since virtually all the motels are booked on the Central Coast (Morro Bay, SLO, etc). A month ago I was able to make reservations in Atascadero.... they are completely booked now. This is the weekend for Cal Poly graduation.

After checking in at the motel, we headed West on Highway 41 down to Morro Bay, where we stopped off at Giovanni's along the waterfront and bought some Halibut & Chips and a Combo & Chips for my wife. We drove over to a parking lot near 'the Rock' and ate our food there. The water was completely calm there and the ground squirrels were all over the place.

When we were in Atascadero, it was quite warm... temps in the low 90's. As we approached the coast 22 miles away, there was much cloud cover and when we arrived in Morro Bay, it was much cooler with no sun shining. Perhaps mid-50's.

After we ate, we drove up Highway One to Cambria, approximately 15 miles away. Still overcast up there. We drove down Main St. and park in a lot across from the Craft Fair to wait until the Farmer's Market cleared out. We then set up our canopy, grids and covered up and headed back to the Motel. Thankfully, we didn't have to head into the sun....which was setting brightly behind us as we drove up and over the hills. Will return on Saturday morning at 7:00AM and finish setting up our display. Hopefully, the tourists will be around.

We returned to Atascadero on Highway 46, which is much easier to drive than HWY 41. Cloud cover disappeared after we had driven about 5 mile on the road and the bright sunshine was with us once again. If you are a conniseur of wine, this is the place for you, as there are many wineries situated along the route.