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View Full Version : Which Fleet was Getting Blessed?



Belinda Barfield
04-17-2010, 7:42 PM
I headed down the road a piece to the Blessing of the Fleet festival. I haven't attended this festival in several years. I was primed for all things fresh shrimp - as advertised. The first shrimp vendor booth had fried shrimp, yum . . . but I wasn't too crazy about the cleanliness so I moved on, and on, and on. I checked to make sure I was at the right event. I couldn't tell if I was at the Blessing of the Fried Twinkie Fleet, or the Blessing of the Fried Oreo Fleet, or the Blessing of the Pretzel/Funnel Cake Fleet, or the Blessing of the Sausage Dog with Peppers & Onions Fleet. Tomorrow is the Blessing of the SHRIMP Boat Fleet for the shrimping season. Only one shrimp vendor? Seriously? For crying out loud, there were even deep fried hotdogs! How much more deadly do we need hotdogs to be? (I love hot dogs by the way, but only on 4th of July and at baseball games.) I drove an hour for chicken on a stick. So I came home and put on a pot of low country boil. The wet bar got finished without my supervision as well! :)

The positive thing about the festival was that I had the opportunity to spend a bit of time with a delightful gentleman turner. He had some beautiful pens and bottle stoppers on display. He does very nice work, but nothing was selling. He had even dropped the price of his pens by $100. We discussed the fact that there was a lot of foot traffic but hardly anyone was carrying a bag with purchases. He explained the three levels of pen kits he uses, and a lot about the different styles he turns. I hope he had some sales before the end of the day. We also talked about the fact that a lot of people see his merchandise and say, "Oh, that's a beautiful pen. You want how much?" They don't realize how much work goes into the pen, or the cost of materials, etc. They just see "a pen". Do any of you have this same experience with items you produce? Do you just say, "I love doing this so I don't care what I make from it.", or do you try to explain to the customer what's involved from start to finish, or just wait for the right customer to come along?

Pat Germain
04-18-2010, 12:19 AM
Interesting observations, Belinda. I can relate.

- When I've dropped into local festivals and shows which are supposed to have a theme, they don't. Be it an Oktoberfest or a Home and Garden show, there's mostly just window and siding vendors with some Tupperware and scrapbooking suppliers thrown in.

- As for food, it's pretty much just festival food carts. Unless I want a funnel cake or a deep fried something, I'm outta luck. Shoot, Coors field, where the Colorado Rockies play, has better food.

- I have a friend whose wife is a portrait artist. She specializes in painting pets. The people who hire her to paint their pets are thrilled with the results. But she says it's often hard to get customers. When she goes to art shows, she's surrounded by people selling cheap trinkets thrown together with hot glue. People buy those things for a few bucks. They see her portraits and say, "Wow! But you want how much?". Like hand turned pens, a hand painted portrait takes a lot of time.

- I sometimes make shadow boxes for the military command where I work. People are very pleased with my boxes and they often suggest I do it as a sideline. But they don't realize I'm giving them a real deal on the boxes just to support the command. My solid cherry and mahogany boxes with glued miters and a hand rubbed finish can't compete with the stapled together, flat sawn oak boxes available at the Air Force Exchange.

Belinda Barfield
04-18-2010, 10:52 AM
Thanks for the reply and your insights, Pat.

There is one really good festival that has a seafood theme held in a nearby town, and they stick to it. There is always a wide variety of seafood and not everything is fried. One reason I went to the festival was to check out the types of vendors displaying their wares. There were separate areas, one designated "crafts", and one designated as "art". For some strange reason the powers that be stuck the turner with the pens in the craft section when he should have been in the art section. Friends keep trying to get me to sell the jewelry items I make and I figured out really quickly that was not a good idea at this particular festival. There must have been 20 other jewelry booths with items from $1 up to a couple of hundred.

Next month we have the Scottish Games and I'm really looking forward to that. They really stay on theme!

John Schreiber
04-18-2010, 11:45 AM
I gotta guess that if they are blessing the shrimp fleet tomorrow, the shrimp season hasn't started yet and nobody is allowed to go shrimping. Until then, any shrimp available were probably from Sam's Club.

Re. festivals staying on focus, it's a real challenge for the organizers. To maintain the focus, they have to reject people willing to pay for space. Especially when times are tough that's hard to do. The return on investment for a twinky and fat is a lot better than for beautiful wood.

Mike Henderson
04-18-2010, 12:49 PM
He had some beautiful pens and bottle stoppers on display. He does very nice work, but nothing was selling. He had even dropped the price of his pens by $100.
OMG - Dropped the price by $100? Those must be some amazing pens.

Mike

Belinda Barfield
04-18-2010, 1:21 PM
I gotta guess that if they are blessing the shrimp fleet tomorrow, the shrimp season hasn't started yet and nobody is allowed to go shrimping. Until then, any shrimp available were probably from Sam's Club.

Re. festivals staying on focus, it's a real challenge for the organizers. To maintain the focus, they have to reject people willing to pay for space. Especially when times are tough that's hard to do. The return on investment for a twinky and fat is a lot better than for beautiful wood.

The economy, I'm sure, impacted the ability to maintain focus. We're in the Bible Belt, but we're also in the Fried Food Rubber Waisted Britches belt as well. Fried sells!

There are shrimpers who go out year round here, I believe.


OMG - Dropped the price by $100? Those must be some amazing pens.

Mike

Actually Mike, some of the pens were very nice with intricate inlays and high end trim kits. He typically sells the nicer ones for $169 but was just trying to get something to sell so he dropped the price.

Gene Howe
04-18-2010, 3:00 PM
"If you would live with the masses, sell to the rich.
If you would live with the rich, sell to the masses."

I'll never be wealthy making my boxes, but each one is rich with enjoyment.....mine!:D

Belinda Barfield
04-18-2010, 5:27 PM
I'll never be wealthy making my boxes, but each one is rich with enjoyment.....mine!:D

That's sort of the way I feel about my pendants and other pieces. I can't just mass produce them, I have to been in the mood to produce a piece. It's hard for me to give up anything I make. It is nice though when someone asks about a piece I'm wearing and if I have any others to sell.:)

Anthony Scira
04-18-2010, 10:50 PM
Tell him to beer batter his pens and see if there is an increase in sales.

Or in all seriousness offer free coupons for one of the other vendors of the fried Oreo's or Twinkies (That sounds really disgusting).

Pat Germain
04-18-2010, 11:06 PM
I think the real issue is people just don't attend festivals expecting to buy big ticket items. No matter how grand the art, most people aren't going to pony up over a hundred bucks while gnawing on a deep fried Snickers.

There's a famous and very upscale resort in Colorado Springs called The Broadmoor. Contrary to the quote in Gene's post, I'll bet exquisite turned pens would fetch a great price and sell well in such a venue. Of course, the real challenge would be getting merch into The Broadmoor. I expect people are already in a long line to do so.

Anthony Scira
04-18-2010, 11:36 PM
Deep fried Snickers ? Oh geez......are you guys kidding me ?

Belinda Barfield
04-19-2010, 6:50 AM
Deep fried Snickers ? Oh geez......are you guys kidding me ?

No sir. All in one spot - deep fried Twinkies, deep fried Oreos, deep fried Snickers, deep fried hot dogs. There were six food items listed but I can't remember the other two.


Pat,

Same situation here with the shops on Hilton Head, Sea Island, and St. Simon's Island. The problem is getting your foot in the door to show your product.

Doug W Swanson
04-19-2010, 7:54 AM
Deep fried Snickers ? Oh geez......are you guys kidding me ?

I've had them. They are actually very good!



No sir. All in one spot - deep fried Twinkies, deep fried Oreos, deep fried Snickers, deep fried hot dogs.

That sounds like the Minnesota State Fair. Most of the food is either deep-fried or on a stick.

Were the hot dogs dipped in batter and then fried? We call them Pronto Pups or Corn Dogs in Minnesota. Or where the buns included?

We love the MN St Fair and go every year. Sure you will eat 5,000 calories in a day but when you only splurge once a year, it's worth it.

Doug

Belinda Barfield
04-19-2010, 10:19 AM
[QUOTE=Doug W Swanson;1403146That sounds like the Minnesota State Fair. Most of the food is either deep-fried or on a stick.

Were the hot dogs dipped in batter and then fried? We call them Pronto Pups or Corn Dogs in Minnesota. Or where the buns included?

We love the MN St Fair and go every year. Sure you will eat 5,000 calories in a day but when you only splurge once a year, it's worth it.

Doug[/QUOTE]

The corn dog vendors were there as well. I was afraid to ask about the deep fried hotdogs but apparently they are different from corn dogs. Pretty much everything else was on a stick, including gator.

John Schreiber
04-19-2010, 12:08 PM
Deep fried Snickers ? Oh geez......are you guys kidding me ?
Illinois State Fair last year was featuring deep fried key lime pie.

It was delicious, but I don't want to do it again.

Glen Butler
04-19-2010, 10:00 PM
No sir. All in one spot - deep fried Twinkies, deep fried Oreos, deep fried Snickers, deep fried hot dogs. There were six food items listed but I can't remember the other two.

I am curious; are any of these items battered or coated in something before frying or are they just thrown straight in? I imagine a snickers would have to be coated in something or the chocalte would be a mess.

Belinda Barfield
04-20-2010, 8:01 AM
Glen, I have to admit that I've been pondering the same thing, particularly after John's post about Key Lime Pie. How does it stay together? I've not tried any of the deep fried delicacies(?). I don't think I've had a Snickers bar (or anything remotely resembling one) since about 1988.

So, for those of you who have tried the goodies the question for today is, "How Do They Do That?". Inquiring minds need to know. I could probably just pick up a National Enquirer and discover that we acquired the Twinkie fryers from a race of alien beings who are secretly plotting to take over the earth after we all die of massive coronaries, but I'd rather hear from a reputable source! :D

Brian Elfert
04-20-2010, 8:48 AM
I see lots of these fairs and shows filling up with completely unrelated booths and vendors. The sponsor of the fair or show just wants the fee for the space and doesn't seem to care other than that.

I work at the MN State Fair every year. I work outside the actual gates so I am away from all of the food. I don't eat much when I do go in. It isn't that I don't like the food, but it is just so expensive to buy anything.

Dan Carroll
04-20-2010, 4:55 PM
We part of the crowd if it was. My Cousin has a weekend house down there and had been trying to get us down for years. We finally made it this year and we had a great time. I agree with the observation about a lot of lookers but not many buyers.

Belinda Barfield
04-21-2010, 10:21 AM
We part of the crowd if it was. My Cousin has a weekend house down there and had been trying to get us down for years. We finally made it this year and we had a great time. I agree with the observation about a lot of lookers but not many buyers.

That would be the one!

Glen Butler
04-22-2010, 10:23 PM
I googled the fried foods in question and it seems they all have some sort of battered coating on them, even the twinky.