Time Flies When Having Festival Detailed Fun

So here it is almost a week later. So much for posting every day . . .

Maybe I should be working on my Sustainable Event book instead of blogging. But is was a day I call a “Bad Nerve Day” that comes around once a month. Though I don’t remember one last month . . . And so I had a drink and it is easier to blog than do serious work. that bottle of Tequila I bought before heading to Amy’s party is about 1/3 consumed. Not like I am drinking a lot, but more than I have in months of having no alcohol in the house.

“Little One” is a very difficult kitty to be having in my space right now. She is demanding, and yet so very beautiful. I did take a photo of her, but haven’t downloaded them and don’t want to get distracted into PhotoShop right now.

Monday started with about 6 emails from people needing my attention for things I had thought were taken care of and I was done with for the Art Festival – but NO!

One of the reasons the art festival is better off not at Manitou Springs Memorial park is all the construction going for a new Spa that has big equipment everywhere making parking challenging.

Spa Under Construction by Manitou Springs Memorial Park

They were also drilling a new well for 7 Minute Spring to shore it up and make sure it has a good casing for the water to flow from for many years to come. Quite the project, but it will be so good for Manitou Springs to have this new energy to bring people from all over for reasons relating to health.

Drilling a new well at 7 Minute Spring

Another artist cancelled. I told him I couldn’t refund his money, and just too late to go find a replacement. When I was placing artists, I realized it would have been more challenging without the cancellations. But mostly would have had on more row closer to the music. And since I have no idea how the sound will carry and affect the booths directly to the west side of the stage, I am taking the cancellations as blessings in disguise for us, not them.

All week long, I have been reassessing my relationship with the Art Festival. I really take it too seriously. But how can I not, it relates to the livelihood of about 100 people who have counted on this festival for 40 years. Well, they haven’t all been coming to it for 40 years, but some for at least 30 years. The other person than me that has been doing it for 40 years is having major health issues. My traveling potter friend who I spent many a days and years with doing Art Festivals and the RenFest with for that many years is suffering from Alzheimer and Dementia. I haven’t been able to go up and visit with her. Though I am told the video I sent to her was entertaining for a moment, but then she didn’t remember who I was, just entertaining.

So I declare that September is BOOK MONTH for myself and Z, who has books ready to be published. He came to my office on Friday and we got  a few important things done for him. I loved it when he said he was really comfortable in front of a camera. That is a great skill to have and he does look good always, so will work with him. We need a better camera and as I wrote this remembered I have an older Flip Camera. Stopped to email and ask him if he wants to borrow it.

It felt really productive and inspiring to be working on something other than the Art Festival, and know that I have much time like that coming soon. Just need the Art Festival to be successfully finished.

My cousin who helped me with my Sustainable Event book asked for my input on what she was sending someone for an interview. I had no idea of some of the things she has been involved in during her life. She is amazing! I really wish we lived closer or I had more time to spend with her and a couple of my other beautiful cousins. Really need to take a trip to Arizona before much more time has passed.

And this is pretty wild. I got him to watch Tony’s 100th Expert Media Show and he won the full past and future trainings for Easy Book Illustrations! I had wanted one of us to win one of the physical prizes, but this is pretty fun and I have some of the trainings, so we can help each other learn how to use them better. He doesn’t have PhotoShop, but there are free programs he can start in and the first training will talk about them. Then as more abundance comes into our lives from books, he can get PhotoShop either on the monthly plan or just purchase it.

I had to leave that training at 7:18pm, it was way longer than normal. Lots of people coming on with some tips and some programs to offer (mostly free), but I had to be at City Council for a silly reason, in my opinion.  I knew I would miss the first section that the Art Festival was on the agenda, but then it was up later , so I didn’t want to miss that also. I got there and they were in the middle of a very long discussion about Storm water. So I could have stayed to the end of the presentation, but how would I have known that?

I had started my Tuesday morning with Aine, it was very peaceful and centering way to start my day.

As much advertising as I have done and Social Media, I doubt there will be a new video for the Art Festival, though I have all the slides ready. Just have never seen many people watch it in the past. Though if I posted the link on a FaceBook post and Tweeted it, maybe if I had just one or two, they would get watched. Something to consider. And it would keep me practicing doing these videos for my future use.

So I am jumping around in this post. But that is how it goes some nights.

I kept having to do some Facebook posts to stay ahead of the calendar. I wrote them, I really didn’t want to waste them. Then I finally got time to finally getting them all up. And write up the bill for myself and the person who had created the poster image and done the complete poster and postcard.

Interesting the the Gallery show is “Wanyama Africa” with all the news about Ebola. And one of my festival committee members is headed to Africa during the Labor Day Weekend. Leaving on Tuesday. He will be 2,700 miles away from the countries where this disease is centered. I offered him my YL Purification and Thieves Hand Cleanser for the trip, we will see if he accepts it as a Bon Voyage gift when he drops things off for the Art Festival when I probably won’t be home this coming week.

Getting the park measured to my liking has been challenging, and then I started working on the Food Court area. Very crazy with all the trees and distances did not make sense when I came home to put it on paper. I met with the new Sound person. And it turns out he is a friend of my friend’s of mine from my Greeley College days. What a nice person. And he has the same concept of volume of music as I do, and won’t be afraid to tell the players that they only get so much volume. They are playing to a small crowd that will be right in front of the stage, not a huge amphitheater.  And he was happy with the set-up and where the electric was. He did ask that the Stage Manager be the person who gets acts on and off the stage on time. He didn’t want to be that “bad” guy.

The night before, I had learned that the person who had gotten all the acts again this year would not be here. Her daughter is starting school in Boston and she will be there for the orientation. Her husband will be handling the Stage Management side. I am sure he do a good job. Just another new and different piece I hadn’t expected.

When we met, it was drizzling and that made it difficult for me to get more measurements of the Food Court area. But I think I have it close enough to place them. What to do with the Kid’s booth and the Balloon guy is still up in the air a bit. And then the only Food vendor who doesn’t need electricity is the Lemonade person. Hate to put him so deep in the Food Court, but with the Beer Garden also, the next best place would have him right across from that. Will see how this all works out. Am hoping if he is near the Kids Activities that it will work out just fine . . .

What I have been dealing with this last week so much is how I do get so intensely involved in wanting it all to work out for the participants. I did the placement of artists and had some feedback from committee members and am very concerned about a long time friend, that I can’t really honor her request with the new layout. How to let go of this? Working towards that. And I do know that I will have done my absolute best! on many levels – Advertising, layout, etc.

Thursday I got an email telling me that the PP Bulletin hadn’t done our ad in color, as agreed for sponsorship. But they would give us a larger color ad next week. They needed me to get the newly sized ad to them quickly to make that happen. And then on Friday morning I saw that the GO! ad wasn’t in color. I sent them the email that noted that I had dropped off the agreement for paying for color long ago. They will put an extra color ad in Wednesday’s paper. But geez, did I need the extra time spent on getting that all straightened out? Not really.

My new printer isn’t as easy to figure out as I had hoped. Can’t get it to scan yet. I think I need to take a day away from the office and look at it fresh on Monday. The reason I needed it to scan was to send a contract back with changes for the Shuttle. They are upping their sponsorship, but need me to agree to the new deal on signed copies returned to them. And of course, can’t just sign the contracts online in a pdf . . . need to sign and scan them back into the computer.

At the Wednesday MSAC meeting the new admin for COPPeR gave a rather exciting presentation. They are going to piggy-back off of, but not join in the National October Art Month campaign. With Septemberama happening with many art related events in September (including a Dance Party at the Art Festival to “kick’ it off) and then continuing a focus on the ARTS in October, hopefully more people in the region will start spending more money on the various art related offerings in our region. And a great report related to the Creative District application process was also heard.

I attended three trainings this week. Had to leave 2 of them early. I knew the Adobe Illustrator one would be cut very short on Wednesday. At least I got to be there for the Easy Book Content Creation training about creating “No Content” books. I have ideas for myself and Z. On Friday when I mentioned them to home, he did like the journal idea, but that also sparked another couple of ideas for books he could easily write and there is a market for in Real Estate.

My roommate is having a difficult time in a relationship she thought was solid. Now it is less settled which has her a bit on edge. But really glad she has some other things that are changing for the better for her life path and future.

I asked someone to put up the Festival Flags, and just as she predicted, she put them in not the right placement. I had said at the East end, by the large Flashing sign. She put them towards the West end and back in trees. Can’t really see them that well and don’t relate to the sign that is flashing for parking that we want them to pay attention to next week. Not sure how to fix this easily. May have to wait until later in the week.

I had thought a memorial for a friend’s husband was today, but it is tomorrow. Just shows how I was not totally in my center today. When I was going from one bar to another in search of this memorial, I saw the ad person from PPB and chatted with her. Met her husband who is one of the new owners of PPB. She made a point of reminding me that we were meeting for lunch on Monday at the new location for Adam’s Mountain Cafe. I will enjoy a break from the Festival focus. She is one of the contacts I want to work with when I do start promoting my and Z’s books. And she is a really nice and interesting person.

I did spend a short amount of time in my feather studio tonight. Have a few pairs of earrings and a couple of hair clips done. That is how I plan on ending my day tomorrow, playing in my FantaFaces studio creating some items to have at the Group Booth during the Art Festival.

I think I will head to bed a bit early tonight. And I hear the noisy kitty coming to ask for her evening feeding.

I am determined to go for a hike in the Garden of the Gods in the morning. The flowers that I have seen from my car make me really want to get out and walk among them with my camera in hand. And I will! 




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