GOOD EVENING, PEOPLE! It is officially the end of the first day of the 2017 Arts Fest. After what seems to have spanned an eternity, yet flashed by in roughly five short “official” hours, I can unabashedly say this: despite feeling incredibly energy-deprived, I must confess I haven’t felt so alive in ages!! Oh. my. goodness. just. wow!!!
There was so much to see, so many wonderful people to meet (and run into again from previous years 😉 ), so much to take part in, and capture behind-the-scenes. With every Arts Fest, it seems, there is a remarkable rush of excitement and joy, in witnessing how the kids (and teens) turn hobbies into very mature businesses; how they market and meticulously work on their items; and how the Festival itself evolves. It was a terrific experience. And it only lasted a day. 🙁 (At least in the main downtown area… there are certainly other events going on as well, elsewhere!)
It’s really too bad that the kids’ and adults’ booths aren’t featured on the same day. However, it does make sense to have the kids’ booths first: the adult booths are in the exact same locations, but easily span much further due to size and quantity. Also, Kids’ Day is very festive and can bring in a very considerable crowd!
Although it did rain the first couple hours, by the afternoon the weather was glorious! (And sweltering…) I did kind of notice that there were fewer booths this year, and a slightly larger but rushed crowd… one of my friends will elaborate on that in more detail, in an exclusive interview post. It wasn’t everyone’s smoothest year for sales, either… but all in all, it turned out very well.
On this day especially, kids can be in charge of their own businesses, while adults can sit back and be proud of them. As someone who used to have a booth there before, I can relate to the feeling of running something of this magnitude all on your own (for the most part, at least). The experience for everyone is immensely valuable, to partake in such a well-known, much-loved (and popular!) event.
In a way, what Mom said about the Arts Festival is quite accurate: it’s just like a time capsule. There will be cycles of people coming and going, being the vendors, then the spectators, or vice versa. Whatever the case, I do believe that Children and Youth Day, and the Arts Festival as a whole, brings people together; it brings the whole community together. Today’s event, having marked the start of Arts Fest, is a time when the most people in and out of the area show up, by a long shot. You won’t see half as many folks out and about during any other event–and, believe me, there were so many people there!
Well, now it’s time to sort through the approximate 500-600 new images from today, and see what tomorrow and all future adventures bring! In future, once all the Arts Festival (and other festival) posts are in order, the interviews transcribed, and so forth, there will be a special series of posts on this Blog for awhile–as it is, of course, perfectly relevant to crafting. There’s so much content that each young vendor interviewed will easily have a specific post, among other things! I can hardly wait to share this all with you!! 🙂
Until then!~
