FEATURED SHOW REVIEWS
December 2007
DELAWARE
September 8, Bethany Beach Boardwalk Arts Festival, Bethany Beach. Contact: Bethany-Fenwich Area Chamber of Commerce, 36913 Coastal Highway, Fenwick Island, DE 19944; phone 800-962-7873. E-mail: info@bethany-fenwick.org. Web site: www.bethanybeachartsfestival.com. Application fee: $10. Space fee: $125-$200. Space size: 5x12 to 10x10. 100% outdoors. Hours: 10-5.
By Shoshana Matthews
Maryland Reporter
E-mail: shoshana@handwovens.biz
Medium: Fiber
I'll make this review short and sweet: This is the one of the best one-day art shows on the circuit. It's not easy to do, but it's worth the effort.
Artists with booths on the boardwalk or the bandstand (formerly in the sand) start setting up at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday. Artists in the parking lot, on the other hand, start setting up at 7:30 a.m. That's because the parking lot is the staging area for those setting up on the boardwalk and has to be cleared first. In theory, the show opens at 10 a.m., but in practice, patrons start walking around at 9. That doesn't really leave much setup time.
Because some spaces require a long haul, I would suggest NOT doing this show alone. Once you've unloaded your vehicle (not set up, just unloaded), you have to park quite a few blocks away, then jog back to finish setting up. That's easier to do with a helper. Teardown is just as grueling and takes place at 5 p.m. the same day, after spending all day selling. As I said, it's not an easy event to do, but I recommend it.
This year, my husband and I decided to make a "weekend" of it and stay in Bethany Beach on Friday and Saturday nights, even though we live only an hour away. I have to say that made the show much saner for us. We didn't have to leave home at 5:30 a.m., and we didn't have to drive home that night. We had a nice, relaxing dinner with friends and got a great night's sleep. I'm convinced it was worth the extra money!
This year's sales were slower than last year's - hasn't that been the case all year?! - but still good. I'd take this one-day total at any show and go away happy. I spoke with many artists during the day on Saturday and in the motel parking lot on Sunday morning. (Quite a few stayed the extra night.) I didn't speak with one who wasn't happy with the 29th annual show, and all said they would be back next year.
An acrylic artist said this was his best show of the year, and a 2-D fiber artist said sales were at the low end of his/her product line but were still good. My results were the same: I had lower totals than last year but still ended up with a great one-day total. I did notice that, this year, people weren't buying multiple pieces. Several jewelers (and there were lots of those!) said the same - sales were lower than last year but still very good.
I think the Festival can be summed up by saying that - if you can get in - it's one of the most refreshing shows of the season. People come to the show to buy, so although it's difficult to do, it can be quite satisfying.
