11 April 2010

Some explanation must exist for the fact that the attendance at Scarborough today was abysmal! Yesterday the lanes were full of happy, smiling, shopping-bag-carrying people. Today … crickets. The weather was just as nice—although it started a little more overcast, it did burn off and become a lovely day. The same conflicting events were going on wherever they were going on; the same theme and discount offers from the faire continued all weekend. The only “event” we could even imagine may have made a difference was the implosion of Texas Stadium, but that was early this morning, long before the gates of the faire were open. It was the end of an era for Texas football fans, but did they spend all day in mourning?

So, faire was quiet today. Attendance was very low, and in fact, we made our nut, but not by much. Nobody we have talked to had a good day today, and while that doesn’t pay our bills, it does ease the self-doubt.

Of course, fun being all about attitude … we had a good time, anyway. Kyle and I were very pleased to enjoy our Bloody Mary Sunday tradition once again with Roxy and Damaris—a tradition I hope we never lose. The day passed slowly, but the small crowd meant we had a little more time for our friends and that’s never bad.

We enjoyed having George and Delaenya with us this weekend (dinner last night at Catfish Plantation was a fabulous time) and were sorry to have to say goodbye to them. At day’s end, we packed down and headed home … two tired dogs and two very tired humans. Kyle and I stopped at No Frills for a quick bite to eat before getting home to our nearly empty refrigerator. Then, unloading, paperwork and bed. One weekend down, seven to go!

My photo today is a snapshot of the inside of the East Wind Games shoppe—I love it!

After all our hard work — so many hours on those weekends leading up to faire season— we can finally stand back and look at the booth, and say “Wow! We did pretty good!”

The East Wind Games booth at Scarborough Renaissance Festival really does look better than it ever has! It has a solid new floor, a new floorplan, and a great new look and feel, with the netting overhead. We have finally taken this little shoppe in the very nautical direction Kyle always wanted it to go. There is not only the big fishnet above, but ship’s bells and wheels and pirate themed stuff everywhere you look. Empty bottles and pewter mugs adorn shelves and ledges, and the racks are fuller of product than they’ve ever been, too! We have become very excited about this season, and cannot wait to see if our efforts will actually manifest themselves in an increase in sales. (Fingers are certainly crossed!)

~MB

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Tags: Attendance, Bells, bloody mary, Catfish Plantation, Crickets, East Wind, Empty Bottles, Empty Refrigerator, Fabulous Time, Fingers, Fishnet, Floorplan, Football Fans, Games, Implosion, Lovely Day, mourning, Nautical Direction, No Frills, Overcast, Pewter Mugs, Pirate, Quiet Today, Roxy, scarborough renaissance festival, Self Doubt, Shelves And Ledges, Shopping Bag, Snapshot, Texas Football, Texas Stadium, Weather, Weekend Dinner, Wheels