Dogs at Festivals, Arts and Craft Shows, etc.

This weekend I was a vendor at the Foster City Arts and Wine Festival and there were lots of people and pretty much a decent event.

However, there appears to be a huge dog population in the area and many of the owners like to take their 'significant mutters' to the event. I have seen loads of dogs at many events and I can't understand why any normal person would want to bring their dog to such a place.

What really bothers me is that there are many instances of dogs urinating in people's booths and a lot of the vendors do not realize where those puddles in their booths are coming from. A friend of mine noticed that a dog had urinated on his table covers and had to throw it away. I had a mysterious puddle in my booth and it wasn't until later that it dawned on me that the only way that could have appeared in my space was for a dog to have relieved itself. This is digusting people. Have you no shame? You bring your mutts to these shows and you are so uncaring that you allow 'that thing' of yours to urinate around people's belongings. I have seen your dogs pee in front of my booth on many occasions throughout the years. Leave your damm dogs at home, okay? I'm not even going to mention about your dogs sticking their noses on our clothing, etc. after they have walked around sniffing other dog's booties.

38th Annual Foster City Arts and Wine Festival

Foster City Arts and Wine Festival

May 30-31, 2009. Sat 11-7; Sun 11-5

Come on down and enjoy the festival, located on Shell Blvd., in Foster City. Our booth is located in space #257 (DandL CREATIONS) and we sell shoulder sling bags, wrap around skirts and much more. A number of years ago, we had done the July 4th event at the Community Center and it was quite enjoyable and we are pleased to return to Foster City and hopefully we shall be doing this event for years to come.

This community event will be held beside the lagoon in Leo Ryan Park, at the corner of E. Hillsdale Blvd. and Shell Boulevards includes free admission and free parking at Parkside Towers. Festivities will include arts and crafts for your home, great food for your palate, beer and boutique wines, a variety of entertainment, a carnival, lagoon cruises, and more - something for the whole family. This year the festival introduces a “Green Street” with various booths promoting sustainability information, services and products for our community.
The festival will welcome over 25,000 visitors. Entertainment has been expanded to include three performance areas – the Meadow Stage will be alive with popular music for all ages and the Shell Performance Area for more intimate performers, and the Lagoon Amphitheater for local community groups including, dancers, YAC talent show, martial arts demonstrations, and a K9 demonstration will also be featured throughout the weekend.

Mother's Day Weekend.

THIS WEEKEND'S EVENTS. There are a number of events this weekend, but probably nothing very profitable. I will be at the NEW Roseville Strawberry Festival. I have a lot of friend's doing the Mother's Day in the Park in Los Banos, Casa de Fruta and also there is the 4-day May Fair in Dixon. Then, there's always the one-day festival in Windsor. Anyhow, on Monday, I would like to see some entries on the STARVING VENDORS FORUM so everybody can see what the shows were like. Now's your chance. I'll make a new topic called - This week's shows May 9-10 and you can enter your comments there.

30th Annual Castroville Artichoke Festival

Sat/Sun May 16-17. This event is held in Castroville which is located approx 20 miles north of Monterey on Highway 156. We will be there selling shell necklaces, shell creations, wrap-around skirts & sarongs and a whole lot more. DandL CREATIONS

On May 16 and 17, 2009, they will be celebrating the 50th annual Artichoke Festival in the community of Castroville, in Monterey County, California. This two-day festival draws large crowds of people who enjoy arts & crafts, tasty food, musical entertainment, cooking demonstrations, a car show and a parade. Last year’s festival was their best yet! Click here for vendor application.

AGRO ART Competition: AGRO art is 3-dimensional fruit and vegetable artwork. This quirky competition fosters imagination, creativity and fun for both participants and the viewing public.
PARADE: Our sanctioned parade is one of the largest and most colorful of its kind.

MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT: Two days of live music! Everything from Swing to Mariachi, Country to 50's Rock & Roll.

CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES: Games, face paints, clowns, stilt walkers, puppets and more!
FOOD: Artichokes fried, sautéed, grilled, marinated, pickled, fresh, and creamed in soup. Plus foods from the many ethnic groups that give this area its character.

COOKING DEMOS: The area's finest showcase the versatility and unique techniques for preparing and using artichokes.

WINE TASTING: Sample the best from the area's award winning producers.

ARTS & CRAFTS: Unique gifts and apparel crafted by artisans from throughout the country. Plus artichoke souvenirs galore!

FARMERS MARKET: Artichokes and more, fresh from the heart of the salad bowl.

FIELD TOURS: Hop a bus to the artichoke patch for grower talks and photo ops.

Please No Pets. (I second that motion!)

Please visit Starving Vendors where I have placed many of my reviews of events that we have done. Check out our new forum, where you can comment on shows, promoters, etc. Brand new.

A New Forum

I have just created a new forum where vendors. promoters, etc., can tell about their experiences. There aren't too many posts yet, but I just started it. You can tell about bad experiences, weather problems, events, insurance, your worst neighbor, favorite promoters, bad promoters, music, etc. Anything related to the shows. Come on down and leave your comments. Thank you

http://starvingvendors.createforum.net/viewforum.php?f=2

The NEW 2009 Roseville Strawberry Festival

Signed up to do the Strawberry Festival in Roseville on May 9-10. It's Mother's Day Festival. Very interesting. The promoter provided smaller fees for 'at home commercial' which is what we are. Great concept and I want to encourage other promoters to follow through.

So, come on over to the Placer County Fairgrounds and check it out. Looks like great weather as the forecast is showing temps in the low 80's and sunny. I can handle that. Look for my review of the event on Tuesday, May 12 in Starving Vendors. Here is the link to the review. Be sure to look at some of the other reviews of events that I did also.
Follow menu 'Guide to Shows>reviews>dates

Here's a link to info on the show.

Cupertino Cherry Blossom Festival

Cupertino Cherry Blossom Festival, Memorial Park, Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino, CA (just across from DeAnza College). Sat/Sun April 25-26.

The city of Cupertino will be hosting it's annual Cherry Blossom Festival on April 25-26 at Memorial Park. This event draws large crowds and is promoted by Festival Productions We have particpated in the event for many years.

People come to hear and see them play the large drums, which is one of the highlights of this event.Majority of the food booths are volunteers and serve up various Japanese foods, in line with the theme of the festival.

Last year, there was a smoothie booth there and their drinks were sensational. I had a pina colada smoothie and I wish I would have brought a small bottle of rum with me. Very refreshing. I've seen quite a number of refreshment booths and this one is excellent.

Be sure to stroll on over to our booth (#1 in the far corner by the parking lot) and see what we are selling. The name of our business is DanL CREATIONS and this is our 16th year in business. We sell shell necklaces, shell creations, shoulder sling bags, fannypacks, wrap around skirts, sarongs and a whole lot more. Come on down. Be glad to see ya. Mention this blog and I'll give you 10 percent off your purchase.

The Search for the Great California Philly Cheesesteak

STEVEN'S PHILLY CHEESESTEAK, Sunnyvale, CA. Stopped by there on my way home and picked up 3 of them. A small line, but it only took about 3 minutes to place my order. I waited for them and then drove 40 minutes back home. They were only $6.75 and are a little small for a hungry appetite. Okay for the price, though.

I love my cheesesteaks with the onions and peppers cooked separately and slopped on top. However, they mixed all the ingredients together...steak, cheese, onion, peppers, etc. and I will deduct 3 points right off the top for that. I can get cheesesteaks like that at any festival. The rolls were somewhat okay and the meat definitely was not rib eye or round. The sandwich had it's own distinctive taste to it and I just thought it was okay. I am very fussy with my cheesesteak's and I take them seriously.

If I rated my last one at Amato's as a 5.5, then I will give this one a 4.75, but let's give them another .5 because they are priced accordingly. Overall score: 5.25. They had drinks available, but you had to purchase in the can from the fridge. Credit cards not accepted, but they have a separate ATM machine beside the counter. I have a couple more places in mind in the San Jose area and I will try another one in May sometime as I search for the Great California Philly Cheesesteak.

Let's hear your comments on Steven's and other Philly cheesesteak shops in California.

Beware of Scams

Just received my daily dose of spams in my email. I get dozens each day. Here's the latest:

This is to officially inform you that we have verified your contract file presently on my desk, and I found out that you have not received your payment.due to necessary Verifications & Procedures. After the board meeting held at our headquarters, we have resolved in finding a solution to the issue, and as you may know, we have arranged your payment through our SWIFT CARD PAYMENT CENTER in Europe, America,Africa and Asia Pacific, etc.

Decided to do a search on spams and came up with a terrific website devoted to phony scams, etc. Please click here to read more info. They explain what is happening and how they are trying to con you along with samples of emails. Interesting. They look really familiar.

American Idol

It just dawned on me that Adam is not going to win. Just keep in mind that the person with the most votes at the end may or may not win the finale. I strongly think that it is actually up to the producers to determine the 'most marketable' and 'versatile' performer and that may not be him. It's all about money. Just about everybody thinks that Adam will win. Great singer. Fantastic performer and very charismatic. He makes sure to give kudos to somebody involved with the show each weekend. However, he will not win. Just about every week, he rolls over everybody and to continue the spirit of 'competition' while keeping viewers watching you must throw in the unexpected. You must show the other competitors that there is always hope, no matter how good the performer is and to keep their hopes alive. You need to create controversy. THIS IS ENTERTAINMENT. Your winner? Adam and Danny are top 3 finalists, for sure. Watch out for that third person, who will probably finish number 2. It's all about entertainment, making money, keeping the viewer$ and $ponsor$ in the game. Maybe I am wrong. All said, Adam is truly the best.

Street Fairs, Events, Festivals

Hi People. How about letting me know how you did at your events (vendors). I'd really like to hear from you and you can email me at starvingvendors@aol.com. My website is http://www.starvingvendors.com/ and I have many reviews of events to read.

There are many shows each weekend and I'd like you to share that information with me on how you did, problems, the good things, the nightmares, etc.

I just heard from a lady that did the Central Valley Pizza Festival (Lemoore) and she hit the hammer right on the nail. Some of her comments were: we did it for the first and last time!!! There was only four to six "crafter's" there...... the rest was resale and food. Weather was HOT and as another vendor said people were walking around like they were in a daze...... I will give the award for the rudest kids to this street fair...... As a matter of fact, rude is too nice of a word to use. This is the first place I have ever had to ask anyone to leave my space...... There was a guy walking around with the huge snake wrapped around his neck. I saw one girl who was trying to get away fall over a bike..... also saw a vendor fall and they had no way to get an emergency vehicle in there.... but they did walk in to help him.... Also, porta potties were about half way back in the parking lot... and by noon they were filthy.... two porta potties at the end of the street I was on (the carnival end)... Was told they were too expensive to have any more than the two. BTW, I look at your site daily and love it!!

You know what? I believe her because we were vendors last year at this event and I had many of the similar occurences. Click here to read my review of the Pizza Festival Seems like they have to get a whole new bunch of vendors every year.

I would love to hear from other people. Let's hear about the Chandler Ostrich Festival in Arizona. Anybody else do Manteca? Clovis?

Starving Vendors website

Hi. I have a website called Starving Vendors and it contains a lot of information for vendors who sell at shows and festivals in California, Arizona and Oregon. However, one of the best features of this website is Your Daily Dose, which contains various tidbits of interesting information along with links to more information.

Some of this week's recent stories and newsclips, etc.

BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT producer Simon Cowell is trying to bring together the winner of their 2007 contest.

ASTRONAUT EDGAR MITCHELL: UFOs ARE REAL

PEREZ HILTON. He proceeded to inquire about her views on same-sex marriage. He blasted runner-up MISS USA contestant (Carrie Prejean) for her answer.

RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR. Oh gosh. SF mayor Gavin Newsome

BRIDGE PRICES GOING UP. Prices to cross our Bay Area

MELISSA HUCKABY. CBS News reported Wednesday that Huckaby had been hospitalized

ASTEROID HEADING OUR WAY AGAIN.

Head on over to Starving Vendors 'Your Daily Dose' to read more on this headliners. Check it out.