A Great Canada Day

     I couldn't have asked for better weather! I was able to drag myself out of bed at an early hour, feed and secure the dog for the day, and get on the road early. I grabbed a coffee at Tim's in Elmsdale for the trip in, and arrived at the free artists' parking area early. It wasn't far from there to the artists' area and after registering with the coordinator, I was directed to a table at the far north end under a canopy. It was the only table that had a canopy! The early bird gets the worm! In this picture of the Halifax Dartmouth Ferry, I was located directly behind the vessel. The air was crisp and refreshing, and there was barely an odor from the Harbor. The sewage treatment must finally be up and running. To my right were some painters who had their dog with them, a beautiful male whippet. However, they were in full sun so I was a bit concerned for the dog. Directly across were a nice lady and her son selling t-shirts and bags with fabulous silk screened fish prints on them. I loved the art and found out the son did the design, this was his first selling event and he was going to Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. To their left was a pottery table with wonderful, original things of all types.  


     It didn't take me long to set up. I brought a table cloth that just fit perfectly, whipped it over the table, fussed with it for a bit, duct taped it down and laid everything on the table. Still Going Strong, my old ladies sculpture, took front and center position and I hung the purses from the canopy support bar over my head. Looking around, I decided I had the very best spot on the boardwalk! It was only a matter of minutes before two lovely ladies came and chatted with me for quite awhile, then purchased several items. They also took my card for a friend. Great! 

     One of the painters approached me and asked if I would mind sharing my shade with their dog for a little while. I had no problem with that so had a very pretty dog tied to my table for about an hour. He was a people magnet as well. I got to meet a famous former mayor of Dartmouth which was nice. A very nice lady. Quite a few of my friends stopped by and they were very kind to purchase a few items, some of which were a bit higher end. I even received a commission for an interesting purse. I'll be making it next week and look forward to designing it. It's a unique concept based on two of my other pieces with elements of each. 


     In return for dog sitting, I asked the painter to watch my table while I went in search of a bathroom. It wasn't far and on my return I stopped to chat with a very sweet Pakistani lady who was selling lovely treats from her native land, in the middle of the terminal building. I ordered a lentil samosa, and while it was heating up she told me she was 70 years old (she sure didn't look that old!) and was taking the rest of the summer off after this event. The samosa was delicious! When I returned to my booth, and I'm calling it a booth now as I feel very special having the canopy, I'm the envy of the other sellers as they're in full sun. Some have brought large patio umbrellas. Good plan except the wind was picking up. They were beginning to spin at an alarming rate! Then it was calm again. The next few hours were much the same, with occasional gusts that forced me to rearrange my wares and tack some items to the table. 

     The first disaster of the day happened shortly after 1 pm. The young man across from me walked out from between his table and the pottery table. He tripped over the table leg and caused the pottery to go flying! Oh my goodness; what a tragedy! The casualties were the unique but obviously top heavy sign the potters had made, from pottery, with their shop name on it. Also in pieces were a piece that had been on a wrought iron stand. Such a shame. The look on the boy's face was heartbreaking too, as he clearly wanted to die. I was afraid he might cry, adding further shame to his already shattered inner being. His mother came to his emotional rescue and made things right with the pottery folks. I'm sure they were pissed though. For an artist, each piece is dear to the heart, and we constantly hope to find a home for them where they will have the respect they deserve. 

     Another drama soon ensued. Two of the sellers from inside, a young man in a red shirt and an older gent in khaki shorts approached the bicycle police in a frenzy. Red Shirt was using some pretty foul language and saying that Khaki had "laid his hands" on him.  I heard the part where they were beside each other inside but didn't hear exactly what happened. A couple of the terminal security arrived. Could they not find bigger men? These two giants drew looks from sheer size! Red Shirt slunk off back to his table, leaving Khaki talking to the authorities. Red Shirt had been hanging out at my booth earlier (booth; notice the attitude I've developed over this prime real estate) and he was just plain weird. I was glad when he buggered off. Khaki and the Two Giants headed back inside to have a chat with Red Shirt. I saw them later in the day working in close proximity of each other and successfully ignoring their neighbor's existence, so I guess it all worked out. Khaki had the popcorn stand and Red Shirt was selling God knows what, looked like fridge magnets and key chains but I wasn't going close enough to investigate. 


     A great gust of wind came up, sending those aforementioned patio umbrellas airborne. The one shading the t-shirt folks landed on the pottery table, sending more precious pottery to the cement. It was hard to look. I really couldn't watch this. My heart broke for the t-shirt family. The potters only stayed for a little while longer, then packed up and left. So did the painters next to me. I stayed until 5:30 pm, then packed up as well. I was among the last to go and there really wasn't a lot of traffic on the boardwalk by then, as everyone was seated at the free concert or the beer garden. I didn't make any great amount of money, but a lot more than I came with, and the entry fee was so low it was really a great day. Lots of cards were given out to sincere people who were genuinely interested. Overall,  I was fairly pleased and well attend this show again next year.