Event Shut Down Early

We were really looking forward to a day in the park at Robin in the Hood this weekend.  Unfortunately, a flash thunder storm that blew through just after we had set up felled numerous tree limbs, some of them quite large.  One landed within 3 feet of one of the other vendors.  There was some minor flooding in the low spots too.  The parks & recreation department of Elmira closed the park due to safety issues.

So, we came, we set up, we tore down, we left....and we sold very little.  We'd packed the truck on Friday evening, left the house on Saturday morning by 7:30 a.m. and were home just after noon.  The organizers we very apologetic as they went from vendor to vendor informing us that we needed to vacate the park.  They thanked us for taking the time to come out and set up our wares and voiced their hope that we would come again next year. 

Yes, we will go back.  Weather does not deter us.  I recall one particular three-day event where we experienced torrential rain, 100 km winds, marble size hail stones and funnel clouds whirling above us.  Not to mention that we were ankle deep in water and that several of the other vendors had their canopies collapse or blow away.  Thank goodness for the super-duper tent pegs we use or we would have been chasing our shelter across the field too. 

We've also been at multi-day events where there is no running water and we had to shovel the horse manure off-site before we could set up our tent.  We've been to late autumn camping events where the temperatures at night were well below freezing point and all the tents were so covered with frost in the morning that they looked more like igloos than tents.  I remember one event where we were plunked in the middle of an open field, had no trees for shelter and the rain was coming into our booth sideways. 

Heck, we would have stayed on Saturday if the park officials had not told us to pack up.  The rest of the day turned out to be okay, weather-wise.  We would have been fine.