AFTERMATH

With every event, there is always an aftermath. First of all, the exhaustion from the planning, setting up, the event, meet and greet, and the tear down. Then you have to look at what went right and how to improve it for next time.

The elements of the event went off perfectly. All but two of my artist participants were here and ready to go. Very classy artists, with some great works to show both large and small. Two of the artists became gallery members. Tower City got the tables and chairs to me early yesterday and they were set up and ready to go by noon. Our band, FireSide Symphony, was here and played throughout the event.

Food for Thought was our caterer, and they did a just amazing job. Not only was the food beautiful and tasty, their staff was extremely professional and courteous. Heartland Vineyards was also here doing the wine tasting. That went very well and we went through about 5 bottles of wine.

Some of the questions that arose last night:

Would it have been better to do it when the Film Festival was not going on? I thought we would get traffic from the festival but we did not. We have been getting regular traffic and sales during the day, so that was odd.

Attendance was lower than expected. Why? Was it the traffic issue with the Film Festival going on? Was it the fee to get in? We had a lot of PR and the cause, Habitat for Humanity, is very popular and a great organization, so that wasn't the reason. I think we will change our strategy next time to get a greater attendance. I am pretty sure that I will have the artists sell tickets to get a table instead of paying a straight out fee next time. And lower the price of the tickets. I will probably offer one or two prizes to the person who sells the most tickets and to anyone who sells over a certain number.

The number of artists that we had was good, so I will most likely limit the number to 17 next time. And artists sold their work. Not all of them and not in the abundance hoped for, but there were several sales.

Our next Artist/Designer Showcase is scheduled for Thursday October 2. So mark your calendars now.