When you make the commitment and send the check in for a booth at a arts/crafts festival you never know what to expect. Will the weather be good? Did I pack everything? Will I be beside someone selling the same items? How did the promoter advertise the event? Will people show up? All those questions and only one do I control! Making sure everything gets to the festival! 
I was booth 19 yesterday, on a cold and cloudy day, waiting for the people to show up. Since I was working my booth alone I didn't get to check out any other booths, but I saw 2 others selling some of the same items I make. The event was a fund raiser for a local high school, the crowds never made it and I never saw any signs the event was promoted beyond the high school. Before you start thinking I am being negative, please reread the title! I met two wonderful ladies in the booth beside me, they were selling a totally unique book marker. They are very wired into the festival scene, and so eager to share their knowledge with me. Website design, linking up your blog, using facebook to promote yourself.....fun stuff!
The second lesson I learned was to move my inventory around so the items I had in common with other vendors wasn't the first thing shoppers see. Why come into a booth that looks like the one you just left. I moved my speciality items to the front and started seeing more shoppers come all the way into my booth.
A slow show also gives you the opportunity to talk to your customers, get feedback on your items, talk up the quality of your product.
I'm new to the whole festival world. My day job is in advertising and marketing, so I also learned to ask questions of the promoters to see where and how they have advertised the event.
At the end of the day, I broke even, after paying for the booth. I got to see little girls excited as they modeled my flip flops, smiling as they picked out the perfect headband and skipping out of my booth with their bag full of goodies from MY booth! All in all a good day!
