This was one of those festivals where you question why you do art festivals. Why do you pay an application fee, get judged (possibly rejected or put on a wait list), pay a nice size booth fee... only to sit in the pouring rain for two days, cold and miserable...
It was a shame too, because the venue for this event is gorgeous. It's in a lovely little park right along the Ohio River with the Big Four pedestrian bridge looming overhead. Load in and load out couldn't have been easier, as you can drive right to your space and parking for the artists was close by. The show certainly has potential.
But, there's not much you can do when the remnants of a hurricane ends up parking itself right over the festival for two days. I believe that this was just the second year for this festival and rain-outs like this one can kill an event, but based on their website, they're raring to go for 2019. Will I be there? Possibly. It truly was one of the more miserable shows, but you can't plan on the weather when you sign up for these things and, as I said, the show has potential. It also allows me to go back to my roots, with a large contingent of family members all coming from Kentucky.
A special shout out to those family members that came out in the rain to see me... and, some friends of the family as well. And, I want to thank the other artists (not necessarily the ones that make copper turtles, who seem deeply invested in what they called "festival rage") for commiserating and making what could have been a completely lost weekend some fun.