Diana, your show is very fortunate to have that facility, my vote (if I have
one) is that you should hang on to it forever. Moving a successful show is
always costly, for both the sponsor and the growers, and sometimes fatal.
Some of your neighbors have been less fortunate -- Hurricanes Frances and
Jeanne did away with the Civic Center that FPOS used to use, TOS lost its
twice-yearly venue to a Lexus dealer ...

Most malls are nightmares, period. Besides all the problems that Diana
mentions, the hours are hellish. Booths have to be staffed the whole time
the mall is open (average 13 hours/day, around here), and setup has to be
done while the mall is closed (breakdown, too, but that's usually a smaller
problem because most malls have shorter hours on Sundays) -- as in after 10
pm the night before the show. If displays are involved, then that's an
all-nighter.

It's also not uncommon to contract with a mall, months in advance, and then
walk in at setup time to find a car, or some other special display,
occupying the space that was planned for the raffle table, or one of the
vendor's booths or exhibits, or whatever --even though the person in charge
checked in with the mall the week or two, or even the day or two, before to
make sure of the final arrangements. And there's no recourse (read the fine
print in one of those contracts).

Good growing to all, Kenni



"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
...
We have our shows at the city Community Center. Right now, it's the only
venue large enough to accomodate us and the parking is pretty good. The
building has an electronic sign that advertises the show for a week in
advance, which is a nice supplement to our paid ads. And, like you, some
folks do find us by accident, though most intend to come.

Scripps Newspapers now has a function called www.yourhub.com. I don't know
if it is available everywhere, but we have made good use of it, and it's
free. Free is good, LOL!

As far as the mall shows go, you'd have to ask a Vendor how they do at
them, but I know that they are a nightmare for the judges. I have heard
from a few Vendors who have lost plants during shows like that; it has to
be tough to monitor all sides at once, and malls are Mecca to shoplifters.
Of course, people can steal at any venue, and I know of instances where it
has happened to individuals. Still, the displays are really unprotected in
malls, subject to everything from thieves to little kids. Just to add some
more to the mix, at a well run show, it shouldn't matter where a Vendor's
booth is, but in a mall someone really could be left out in the cold, at
the end of the line, for example. Shoppers get weary in malls, and start
thinking about walking all the way back to the entrance nearest their
cars. Maybe it's just me. I guess I'm a traitor to the female cause,
because I *really* don't like shopping, especially for clothes for myself.
Yuck.

The problem with Botanical Gardens, as I see it, is weather. On a good day
it's great. If it rains, everyone is screwed.

Diana