Diana, I have always said that your show is good, and messages like this are
what proves it. Also why it's one of the 3 OS shows I continue to do. PSL
is not one of them, but too many OS shows skimp on advertising, and/or keep
doing what they did 20 years ago and fail to monitor it, and then blame
their growers for low turn-out.

I'm not sure what you mean by free admission for groups, but if you're
talking busses from other OS, admission does need to be included in the
ticket price, otherwise customers get upset. (They already paid for the bus,
possibly a meal, etc., and then someone wants more $$ for admission???
Doesn't sit well) That doesn't mean your OS needs to eat the cost. If your
OS is arranging the bus, you can easily fold it into the ticket price (with
a conspicuous $1 or $2 discount right on the bill or ticket). If the other
OS is arranging the bus, that gets more complicated, but still doable.
Carpools, well, that gets way more complicated.

I could bring the alcohol for set-up, and keep it outside in the van, if you
send me some pre-orders so I know what to bring. Although it would be even
more welcome at breakdown G. Kenni

"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
...
I've been following this thread with great interest, but I haven't chimed
in yet. Here goes.

This I can tell you all: our society is constantly looking for ways to
increase attendance, and it's not all self serving. We recognize that if
the Vendors don't do well, they won't want to return. As it stands, we
have a waiting list of Vendors who wish to participate.

Last year we did some market research at the entry desk to determine which
of our advertising efforts were most successful, and we will use that to
better focus our ad dollars. For this coming year, we intend to offer some
incentives to other societies, in the form of free admission to groups,
for example. This will not increase our net gate, naturally, but it should
be of value to our Vendors. Hopefully, we will recoup a few $$$ due to
increased raffle sales. In any event, more foot traffic is good for
everyone in the long run.

As Kenni knows, we charge a flat fee for a fairly substantial booth set
up. Our flat fee is in keeping with the surrounding societies (including
some which have far more limited facility space), and in fact we were
lower for a good while. That doesn't mean that our own costs have stayed
static. They have not. We try to make things a bit easier for our Vendors
by providing a paid cleaning crew after the show breaks down. For the next
show, we want to provide light refreshments on the show floor during set
up. We can't do alcohol due to venue regulations that would make it
prohibitively costly.

Bottom line: we know our Vendors work hard for their money, and we value
them greatly. As to displays, we have found through informal surveys that
they bring people in. Once in, they become potential purchasers. And it is
rare when I see someone leave our shows empty handed.

Just my two cents.

Diana