Telephone Rip Off Calls

Just received a call on my cell phone. Now there are like 4-5 people in this whole wide world that have my cell phone number. They tell me to press number '1' so I did. Kind of curious. The lady told me that she wanted to give me updated credit card rates. I asked her how did she get my number. She then told me that she got it from the Merican Credit Buuu. What? The Merican Credit Buuuu. Oh gosh, are you trying to say "bureau?" Yes, The Merican Credit Buuu. She then started telling me about credit card rates and I then axed (get it?) her how she got my number and she hung up. Her number? Of course I will tell you. 228-209-9560. Did a search on the number and there is a lot of info on this. They are trying to get your credit card numbers, etc. or try to swindle you in some other way, shape or form.

San Juan Bautista Chicken Festival

San Juan Bautista Chicken Festival, Sep 19-20, 2009.

This was not a very good show for the vendors and you know something was wrong when they lowered the booth fee. This town has several events during the year and sometimes vendors do somewhat okay. Such was not the case for this event and we could say that perhaps 3,500-4,200 people attended the event over the two days. Not really a spending crowd and I don't think that this event draws very many tourists. With proper advertising and a 'good drawing card' you could pick travelers off the highway. There were around 60-70 vendors and 4-5 food booths along with a little bit of entertainment, which livened things up a little bit. Perhaps the highlight of the event was the Chicken Dance contest and that certainly isn't going to draw people there. Seemingly a local crowd with maybe people from Hollister and Gilroy. Booth fees were reasonable, but there was a reason for that. Never travel far for this one, I didn't.

Please click on link to read more about the event.

http://www.starvingvendors.com/events_chicken_festival_2009.html

Manteca Pumpkin Fair - Oct 3-4

Manteca, CA

The annual Pumpkin Fair presented by the Manteca Sunrise Kiwanis, will be held on the first full Saturday and Sunday of October in downtown Manteca from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Street Fair portion complete with pumpkin patch, kids zone, truck show, car show, motorcycle run, three stages and over 150 vendors will once again be located in downtown Manteca near Library Park.

To read more about the event, please click on the link below:

http://www.starvingvendors.com/events_Manteca_Pumpkin_Fair_2009.html

Cherry's Jubilee at Laguna Seca Raceway

Salinas, CA. Sep 26-27. We sold our goods at Cherry's Jubilee Motorsports Festival in the 'paddock' area of Mazda Laguna Seca Track. Here's a portion of our review of the event.

We left Hayward and arrived at Laguna Seca around 7:15. I was told yesterday that there could be a long line of cars waiting to get in. Yah right. We zoomed up the zig-zag road up and over the hills and on to the paddock area where the show was being held. No cars yet for the show. Pulled up alongside our space and emptied out a couple things from the van and had my son drive it up to the vendor parking area. The first thing I did was to take down our covers, which surrounded our canopy and folded them up. We then proceeded to put up our merchandise as other vendors arrived and did the same.

Click on link below to read our complete review of the event

http://www.starvingvendors.com/Events_Cherry

Vacaville Harvest Days - 2007

UPDATE: Just remembering when we did this event. Beware. The amusement park has now closed and things might be worse... or they might be better. Moi? Uh uh.

Oct 2007. As we are getting closer toward Halloween, I recall spending a couple weekends at this Vacaville event. Let's share the horrors of two weekends at the Vacaville Harvest Days.

Vacaville Harvest Days. Very bad show!! Never again. This event was held over two weekends at the Nut Tree in Vacaville, adjacent to Highway 80. Long ago, there was a restaurant, etc., there by the name of Nut Tree and it was a great stopover for travelers. People that traveled Highway 80 between San Francisco and Sacramento back in the 70's and 80's would remember the place dearly. Very nice place to take the kids, grab some snacks, etc. However, it hit hard times a number of years ago and closed because people had other places to go. October 20-21 and October 27-28.Anyway, they have capitalized on the Nut Tree name and built a number of stores there. Vacaville Harvest Days was poorly organized. On the first weekend it was held in front and there was virtually no foot traffic. Heavy winds at night blew over our canopy and when we came back the following morning, everything was a mess.

You can read this story on the Do You Remember page of our website. Also, read about the heavy winds we had to endure there and at other shows on our Flying Canopies page.
Also, please refer to entry made on Oct 1 on this blog: http://thisaintparadise.blogspot.com/search/label/vacaville%20harvest%20days

Thank gosh we had taken our merchandise home from the Vacaville Harvest Days event because we were aware of the local riff-raffs!!! On the second weekend, it was held in the back in the Pumpkin Patch, which turned out to be even worse. Everybody had poor sales. Everybody!!! Very poor traffic flow and people just were not interested. Take the kids to the Pumpkin Patch, grab a pumpkin and drive away. We were forced to walk a very long ways to the bathrooms. Promoters claimed they couldn't put porta potties back there for our convenience. City this, city that, fire department this, police department that.... they were ready to blame the failure of Vacaville Harvest Days on everybody else except themselves. So, people the moral of the story is to never do this event. You are not going to make any money, There is no paradise there...keep on truckin!!! And the other moral of the story? If you are ever going to leave your canopy up overnight, either put up all or none of your side panels. Mistakenly, I only put up 3 and the canopy caught the wind over night and toppled over. What a mess in the morning!! Vacaville Harvest Days ... what a mess.

Vendor News Forum

Hi People. Don't forget to come on down and check out our forum. Many topics discussed with regard to Arts and Crafts shows, festivals and other events. Something that you dare not miss.

http://davejs.proboards.com/index.cgi

Stop by Starving Vendors to read up on the latest reviews of our shows we have done. You will enjoy many of the features that this sight has to offer.

The Craft Fair - Casa de Fruta

Sept 5-7, 2009. Located at Casa de Fruta in Hollister on Highway 152 (Pacheco Pass).

This was a three-day show at Casa de Fruta in Hollister. Very nice place to stop over for tourists, but expensive. Around 35 booths there with a variety of merchandise. The people came out during the latter part of each morning and continued until around 2:00 each day. Then it turned into a ghost town. However, they were very hesitant to buy and purchased little from the vendors, most of whom did not fair very well over the weekend. People just not buying, period. Some entertainment. The weather was okay with occasional breezes some gusts now and then. The price for this event, along with others here is quite reasonable, so I'll continue coming back and I guess, so will many of the others. The economy will turn around and we'll just keep on hoping that the coming week's bring a lot of customers that spend money.

To read more about the event, please stop by our website for a complete evaluation of the event.

Remembering 9-11

I think we all have not-so-fond memories of that eventful day. I had just taken my son to high school that morning. I dropped by 7-11 to pick up a newspaper (what's that?). They had a TV on over there and I looked up at it and they were showing clips of the first plane crashing into the World Trade Center. Unbelieveable. Truly remarkable. I hurried home and stayed glued to the TV set throughout much of the day.That following weekend, we did the Atwater Fall Festival and the mood was somewhat somber as people were still pretty much in shock. Thinking back, you wonder why they didn't cancel the event, but I guess so many people were already committed (and I had paid my booth fee) to it and it was a source of income for community organizations. The show must go on?

It was in a park there and I guess the vendors didn't really do all that well. Fortunately, I was selling patriotic t-shirts, which were bought by many of the people that attended. In the oncoming years, we never returned to that festival, as we did one closer to home on that weekend, Castro Valley Fall Festival. Our 'fondest' memory of the event was that the music was not very good at all and the singing was out of synch.... and they didn't have these 'idol' contests back then. I know that we need to encourage our singers, but really. Maybe some of those people should have tried an instrument if they 'think' that they are musically inclined. Know what I mean?

South Lake Tahoe Lake in the Sky Air Show

Lake in the Sky Air Show
Saturday, August 29, 2009 - 8 AM 'til 4 PM'

It’s the Lake Tahoe Air Show's 20th anniversary. Join us in the celebration - at the biggest and best air show in the High Sierra! The Lake In The Sky Air Show at the Lake Tahoe Airport, in South Lake Tahoe, CA on Saturday, August 29th, 2009.

Be here at America's High Altitude Air Show for all the action! You’ll see many of the country’s top aerobatic performers including living legends Bill Cornick and Jon Melby. Plus you'll see the amazing Spencer Suderman defying gravity in his famous Pitts.

http://www.lakeintheskyairshow.com/

Vendor spaces: $50. Att: 10,000

A taste of Russia

Here's an interesting Festival I came across. No way I would do it, but it's something different.

Taste Of Russia- 09" Saturday, August 29, 11:00 AM

St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church 3873 Cherokee AvenueSan Diego, CA 92104(619) 284-9476

Come join us at "The Taste of Russia". Satisfy your pallet with intoxicating traditional Russian dishes like pirogies, katletki and borsht! Watch on- going preformances from a 25 person Russian orchestra and folkloric dance. Enjoy street vendors and a beer garden on a warm Saturday afternoon. Finish the night off with a authentic Russian style "discoteck" The only thing Russian about you can just be rushing over here!! This is a free event and is benefiting "St Nicholas Church".We will see you there! Dosvinayo ( Russian for until we meet) Booth spaces: 10x10 $125

Newark Summerfest

Held during the weekend of August 22-23, 2009 at Newpark Mall in Newark, CA. The promoter's of this event is Festival Productions. A first time event that needs a lot of work to be done.

Dropped by there on Sunday to check it out. Looks like it could be a nice event for people to attend. However, crowds weren't that great and vendors weren't making much money. I drove down Mowry and headed for the entrance to the Mall. I spotted a bunch of booths and headed over there. Lots of traffic congestion and it took me several minutes to get a parking spot. I walked over and discovered that it was a farmer's market and it was hopping. There were quite a few booths there, but the craft fair was not located around there. Went back into the van and drove all the way around the mall until I saw more canopies. They had several food booths, entertainment (?), beer, wine, sufficient number of porta potties and of course, a bunch of vendors and not a whole heck of a lot of shoppers. I am not crazy about 'mall shows' and this one was no exception. This is the first year for the event and from a vendor's standpoint, not very good. Not enough people and not too many buying. I did feel 'energy' there, but it sure the hell wasn't coming from shoppers.

click here to visit website, etc.

Vendor Terminology

Have composed a listing of terminology used during the course of a day selling at events.

Baby-sitting. The act of watching a particular person in your booth, either keeping an eye on somebody who looks like he is about to steal or to keep tabs on little kids grabbing stuff and playing around. Example: I've got to baby-sit these 5 kids looking at the necklaces. Cup of Noodles. This is what I say I am going to eat after a rough day at an event. Example: Well, it looks like I'm going to have Cup of Noodles tonight.

Don't Tell Anyone. A phrase used by a fellow vendor, explaining to you that he/she found a show that's really good and doesn't want any other vendors to know about. Example: I'm doing the xxxxx festival next month and it's really good. Netted a couple thousand. It's not in Craftmaster's. Don't tell anyone. Disclaimer: I'm not lucky enough to come across these kind of shows. But, please if you find one, let me know AND I will definitely not tell anyone.

Doozie. The name for a show that is extremely slow and you are sitting there for hours at a time with virtually no customers

Drink and pee festival. When the temps get pretty hot, you end up drinking a lot and making numerous bathroom trips throughout the day. Example: Hardly anybody buying here. It's so stinking hot. Another drink and pee festival.

Hella tight man. Used by teenagers a couple years ago when they saw something they like. Example: Wow man, that's hella tight, dude.

I can do that. A term used by people when they see their friend or family member interested in buying something unique in order to pursuade them not to buy.

Take the money and run. A common practive amongst a number of promoters whereby they charge high booth fees and provide little in return. Very little money spent on advertising. Also these promoters can be referred to as 'rip-offs'.

Click here to read more.