At the Zucchini Festival

Sat, August 16. HAYWARD, CA. Unbelieveable. Welcome to Zucchini Ghostown, USA. There were AT LEAST 120 vendors missing from this dying event. Booths spread amongst the trees with huge empty spaces in between. And here I am, crammed up into a 12x12 space along the sidewalk with 3 other vendors. In my 17 years of doing events, I have never seen such a decline in the number of vendors. Wow.... where did everybody go?

Last year was pretty bad and that's why they are MIA. There's probably 30 vendors in back of our booth (spread around) and it seems like one-half of them are new. Out in the field, we have huge open spaces. Something is terribly wrong.

The entertainment was so-so again. I had the second worst Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich of my life. Don't ever get a Philly cheese from a Greek food booth. Awful. From another food vendors I got a combo of mushrooms, zucchini and I don't know what the hell the other thing was. Not very good also.

This show has pretty much hit rock bottom and one of the few ways to survive is to offer booths to vendors for $150 next year...instead of $350. Crowds were down considerably and things didn't pick up until 2-3:00PM. Poor sales; bad attitudes. There is a handful of vendors who are showing some kind of profit at this event, but that is the The weather was absolutely marvelous and the winds never kicked up in the afternoon. And of course, how would you like to be a vendor at an event that forces you to load your stuff in the dark (no #$#(@# lights around) and swerve your way around trees, people, vehicles. etc. This thing ends at 7:30PM on Sunday and gets dark shortly after that.

And of course, the Zucchini Bread was terrific, as always. I always pick up a couple loaves on the Saturday of the event and they are always devoured by my family by Sunday afternoon. Delicious. Well done.

Sunday, August 17. Weather was okay...a bit cloudy in the AM. Decent late-morning crowd and we had a much larger turnout than on Saturday. Better sales for us today, but not necessarily for other vendors. A number of vendors did very poorly. Person selling silver jewelry next to me had many items stolen. This show still attracts a lot of riff-raff. Music wasn't very good. I had another Philly Cheese Steak from another food vendor and that was bad too. Somehow, I get the feeling that I had leftovers from Saturday. Meat rather dry and chunky. Had some decent Garlic Fries and a good combo basket with mushrooms, zucchini and cheese.

Vendors had to wait until 7:30 to bring their vehicles in to load up and that, my readers, totally sucks. Not being fair to the vendors. The let the music play until 7:30 PM and SOME YEARS it goes longer than that. Come on now.... it's dangerous for us to load up when it gets dark because THERE ARE NO LIGHTS AND DIFFICULT TO SEE. I guess they are waiting for somebody to get run over? Hellooooooooo. Absolutely no reason in the world to extend the show beyond 6:00, which is two hours after a lot of other shows end. Also, there were no Festival Programs handed out this year.

Expect more new vendors next year. Poor management led to so many booths missing this year.

Hayward Zucchini Festival

Why on earth is the music going on until 7:30PM. That is way too late. On Sunday evening, vendors want to come in and load up and leave....especially before it gets dark. Richard Essi, every year people have to maneuver their way around in the dark and it is rather difficult. Give the vendors a break.

I know that the fair is going through hard times right now and is not as good as it was in the past when the entertainment was much better and did not bring in so much a drinking crowd as it does now. Let's go a different direction with the entertainment next year, if we do manage to have another Zucchini Festival. I can't recall a lot of the singers/groups over the years, but Juice Newton was okay years ago, Paul Revere and the Raiders was quite nostalgic for people and enjoyable. Elvis impersonators were always interesting. The wrestling thing had to go. If you get the right entertainment in here, you can increase attendance dramatically.

It is nice to be able to set up our booths on Friday, because Saturday morning is such a mess and you can not make it around a lot of the booths to unload. However, I did see quite a number of new vendors this time and we all know what that indicates.

Let's get this thing over with at 6:00..... which is two hours later than a lot of events conclude on Sunday. Chime in on this people.

Hayward Zucchini Festival Aug 16-17

COME ON OVER AND CHECK OUT DandL CREATIONS. We are located in space #135 along the sidewald adjacent to the kid's play area (swinging tires). Get your Betty Boop T-Shirts, shell necklaces, shoulder-sling bags, fannypacks, wrap skirts, sarongs and a whole lot more!!

Here's a map to the Zucchini Festival.

Gold Rush Days - Sacramento Aug 29-Sep 1

Here's another festival that might be a lot of fun for families. Sacramento’s heritage celebration-is scheduled for Labor Day Weekend. More than 200 tons of dirt will be dumped on the streets of Old Sacramento as the annual festival “turns back the clock,” transforming Sacramento’s historic district into a scene straight out of the 1850s. Costumed re-enactors, Wild West gun fights, musicians playing period instruments, and many aspects of life during the Gold Rush will be highlighted during the four-day event.

In 2008, the event will see the expansion of the number of ethnic and cultural components. Featured will be period artifacts, storytelling, food preparation and more. Dancers and musicians will perform according to long-held traditions. There will be a variety of ethnicities represented that could include European, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, African American and California Indian.

The event also features a lecture series focusing on how the Gold Rush experience unfolded for various cultures and ethnicities.
Admission is FREE; and event hours are as follows: Friday, August 29, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Saturday, August 30, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Sunday, August 31, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; and Monday, September 1, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information, call (916) 808-7777.

Brews on the Bay - Sep 13-14

Here's an interesting event for all you beer drinkers out there. This is for your information only; no retail vendors here. Hours for the festival are 12:00-4:30 PM, Saturday and Sunday on Pier 45.

The San Francisco Brewers Guild is excited to present its fifth annual Brews on the Bay beer festival. All seven of San Francisco's artisan breweries will serve their finest & freshest beers on Saturday, September 13th and Sunday, September 14th from noon to 4:30pm. This fun filled event takes place aboard the Jeremiah O'Brien at Pier 45 and is a benefit for this historic WWII Liberty Ship. So come enjoy over 50 remarkable beers, live music and delicious food. To purchase tickets online and find out more about the festival visit http://www.sfbrewersguild.org/

Srarving Vendors website

Read my reviews and daily logs of the events we just completed in Oregon. Coos County Fair in Myrtle Point, Winchester Bay Oceanfest, Deschutes County Fair in Redmond and the Douglas County Fair in Roseburg.

Additionally, I have include some shows that were real doozies or disastrous in one way or another; Chandler Ostrich Festival, Tucson 4th Avenue Street Fair (Dingwell's sandy and muddy lot)

On Tuesday, you can check out the review of our most recent show, The Hayward Zucchini Festival.

You can also read about Newark Days in California and you can read about out terrible experiences at the Quartz Hill Almond Blossom Festival, just south of Lancaster, CA
I have a number of stories about problems we have had with the wind and you can read about them on the following page: Year of the Wind - Watch out for flying canopies along with stories about the pitiful Vacaville Harvest Days. I have write-ups about The Good Ol Days in Pacific Grove. and the Manteca Street Fair. I have written about problems at the Ripon - Almond Blossom Festival and also tell about the weather at the Ripon Almond Blossom Festival. There were high winds at Harvest Days in Vacaville, winds in picturesque Pacific Grove, Oceanfest in Winchester Bay, OR.

I have created a 'Mini-Review' page on this website which consists of smaller reviews of other shows we have done this year. I have reviews of such shows as the Chabot College Flea Market in Hayward; Cambria Arts & Crafts Show; Hercules Cultural Festival; the Apricot Fiesta in Patterson; the Millers-Y Craft Show in South Lake Tahoe; International Festival of the Winds in Marina; the Ceres Street Fair; Cupertino Cherry Blossom Festival; Los Banos Street Fair; Clovis Big Hat Days and The Craft Fair at Casa de Fruta in Hollister, CA

Our Event Schedule

Please visit us at one or more of the following events. The name of business is DandL CREATIONS and you can get more information on our main website: www.dandlcreations.com/showschedule.html

Aug 16-17 Zucchini Festival, Hayward, CA
Aug 30-Sep 1 Arts & Crafts Fair, Casa de fruta, Hollister, CA
Sep 6-7 Pittsburg Seafood Festival
Sep 13-14 Castro Valley Fall Festival

Reviews on shows, etc.

Check out our website: Starving Vendors for info on shows, reviews and other information for vendors, etc. Also, see our reviews of all our festivals we have done over the past three years and our Event Schedule. The name of our business is DandL CREATIONS and we shall be at the Zucchini Festival this weekend.

What your 'oil money' has bought them.

Here's another sight in Dubai. A relatively new tourist destination, Dubai has gained in popularity in the last 7 years. It is esentially a desert city with superb infrastructure, liberal policies and excellent tourist amenities. Just 5 hrs from Europe and 3 hrs from most parts of Asia, Dubai makes a great short break for Shopping, Partying, Sunbathing, Fine Dining, Sporting Events and even a few Sinful Pleasures. It is a city of superlatives. For the fastest, biggest, tallest, largest and highest, Dubai is the destination. This is called Wild Wadi and of course, this is where the gas/oil money is going. A million dollars is nothing for these people. If you want to see more pictures I have put on here, please click on 'Dubai' below.

I notice that there are people from Dubai checking out this blog. Any of you want to give us some insight to your unique place. Thank you...dave Just click 'comments'

Back to Hayward

Arrived back home in Hayward last night after the long, 9 hour drive from Roseburg. Noticed gas prices..... Ashland (filled up) at $4.29 per gallon; drove by Anderson, CA and they had the lowest price I've seen in awhile...$4.09 per gallon and of course, I put in just enough to make it home. In Hayward, the price had dropped to $4.19 from $4.35 on July 17, before we left.

So, next up for us will be the Hayward Zucchini Festival which is held at Kennedy Park on Hesperian Blvd. Has gone downhill over the years, as more of a 'beer-guzzling, music listening' crowd has attended.

Will be in Casa de Fruta in Hollister for Labor Day Weekend, doing one of Mike Knapp's Craft Fairs. Probably the Pittsburg Seafood Festival after that and then the Castro Valley Fall Festival.

Loading up the motor home was not easy on Monday morning, since a number of vendors had not taken their things down. We took everything down and placed it alongside the curb and then brought the motor home over and parked alongside our space as close as possible. So happy to get out of Fat City.

Hayward Zucchini Festival

Hayward, CA. Come on down to the Hayward Zucchini Festival during the weekend of August 16-17. Check out our booth located along the sidewalk next to the kid's play area. We are DandL CREATIONS and we sell shoulder/sling bags, Betty Boop T-shirts, wrap-around skirts, hand-made shell necklaces, tote bags, fanny packs and a whole lot more.

Vendors Comments

Hi Vendors. Thank you for visiting this blog. I would appreciate if some of you could comment on events you have done I would like to hear about it. How have your shows gone? There's events 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. Just input your comment at the end of this entry. Thank you.