Yay! Finally! I didn't get rained on!
It helps when your show is just one day, but still. I'll take a dry (and warm) day in October any chance I get. As always, the Bluff Park Art Show was another great show. Things were changed up this year as far as booth placement was concerned and they added artists (which caused all sorts of grumbling among the artistic rabble), but I felt it worked pretty well. In the past, the booths were kind of scattered around the park and this year there were more definitive rows. It could have just come down to where you were placed - my placement was next to a pizza truck with an obnoxiously loud generator - but, sales were good for me.
There is certainly a "buying crowd" at Bluff Park. You may have a similar size crowd at other festivals, but I have always felt that those that attend Bluff Park come with the notion that they intend to buy something. I also appreciated the judge for this year's prizes making a point to stop in each booth and conversing with the artists. In other shows, they glance and move on. This judge asked questions, which is really all we want - some interest in what we do.
The only bite to this show is that they take 20% of your sales. On the upside, no booth fee. So, it just depends on how good a show you have as to how much your booth is actually costing you. And, if you have a bad show, you're not out as much as you would be at other festivals.