Freyja of V
Deanne, I am dying to know how it went. I"m sure it went great, but it would be great to hear what happened. I only read for myself and for family events. I am so curious what it is like at a festival.
First time reading at festival - tips?
Deanne, I am dying to know how it went. I"m sure it went great, but it would be great to hear what happened. I only read for myself and for family events. I am so curious what it is like at a festival.
Deanne
Freyja, I will definitely post an update afterwards 
It's this Saturday (Sept 12th). I'll try to have something up within a couple days of then.
It's this Saturday (Sept 12th). I'll try to have something up within a couple days of then.
Freyja of V
Freyja, I will definitely post an update afterwards
It's this Saturday (Sept 12th). I'll try to have something up within a couple days of then.
After I wrote it I realized you said next Saturday. Good Luck!!
LindaMechele
I can't wait to hear all about it, too! I'd love to do this very thing one day, so for now I'll live vicariously through you, Deanne.Freyja, I will definitely post an update afterwards
It's this Saturday (Sept 12th). I'll try to have something up within a couple days of then.
Morwenna
I can't think of anything people haven't already said. But as for weighting cards down, two friends of mine, with whom I used to share reading space at a small renfair several years ago, had different solutions to the problem. One who always used the same layout and the same deck had his wife make for him (or was it her idea?) a reading cloth with little top and bottom pockets to hold the cards in place.
The other had a large clear plastic sheet, firm but flexible, that she would lay over the spread. It was large enough to hang over the edges of the table so it stayed in place.
Me, I have several small pouches of small stones, and I would use them for paperweights. I also had a few sandbag critters. They were originally for decoration, but it's amazing how useful decorative items can be.
Water, water, water!!!
And make sure you've eaten well before starting: do not stuff yourself, but have a good meal of healthy food. It's amazing how much energy you will burn.
And if it's bee season where you live, be mindful that bright flowery prints will attract them. I had to retire a lovely Russian scarf with bright roses on a dark background for just that reason; September in the northeast US is notorious for bees.
The other had a large clear plastic sheet, firm but flexible, that she would lay over the spread. It was large enough to hang over the edges of the table so it stayed in place.
Me, I have several small pouches of small stones, and I would use them for paperweights. I also had a few sandbag critters. They were originally for decoration, but it's amazing how useful decorative items can be.
Water, water, water!!!
And make sure you've eaten well before starting: do not stuff yourself, but have a good meal of healthy food. It's amazing how much energy you will burn.
And if it's bee season where you live, be mindful that bright flowery prints will attract them. I had to retire a lovely Russian scarf with bright roses on a dark background for just that reason; September in the northeast US is notorious for bees.
Deanne
I'm only offering 3 and 5 card readings here (I offer various spreads online, but wanted to keep it simple for the festival). It would be simple enough to make something like this with 5 slots (and just use 3 for the smaller reading). Not going to rush to make one now but I could keep it in mind for down the road
I've already got some water bottles and snacks in my bag
Will toss a few more in that morning. Good idea to have a larger breakfast beforehand though, hadn't considered that.Thank you! It's more the wasps that get bad around here.
I was trying to decide between 2 dresses (I always pre-plan my clothes...). One is a muted brown & orange print (non-floral). The other is bright green with large flowers - I'm sure the wasps will love that, so I'll stick with the other one
Freyja of V
Thank you! It's more the wasps that get bad around here.
I was trying to decide between 2 dresses (I always pre-plan my clothes...). One is a muted brown & orange print (non-floral). The other is bright green with large flowers - I'm sure the wasps will love that, so I'll stick with the other one
I feel bad and I don't want to tell you what to wear, but I would read the site I gave the link to. Definitely do not wear the floral, apparently they mistake flowers on clothing for real ones and the dark may not be a good choice either (all according to what I read). I would hate for you to get stung. That would be pretty awful. Again, good luck. Can't wait to hear about it!
Link: http://resteasypestcontrol.com/bees-and-wasps-facts-which-colors-will-attract-them/
Deanne
All done!
So the festival was today, and I think it went well
I wasn't going to post here until tomorrow but I decided to do it now while stuff was fresh in my mind.
Comments about the day (in no particular order):
-I made just over double the registration fee, which I'm happy with. Doesn't work out to much if I look at it hourly, but was a decent profit.
-I offered both 3-card and 5-card readings. I expected to sell mostly 3-card ones (with just a couple 5-carders), but it was actually quite even. A pleasant surprise
-I may charge a bit more the next time I do a festival, as people seemed to be expecting higher prices (and many of the vendors were quite expensive in my opinion but were still selling very well - I think I was quite underpriced compared to them)
-Crystals did not work as paperweights! I had cards fly away numerous times (thankfully within a screened tent, so they didn't go far). Will seriously consider a reading mat with pockets in the future.
-The weather was awesome Not hot, not cold. Partly sunny, partly cloudy. No chance of rain. Only downside was the wind, but I really couldn't complain overall.
-I was given an awesome location - either got very lucky or the festival organizers know their stuff when it comes to vendor placement. I was in front of a vegan cafe, and the vendor beside me was a lending library (a number of my customers read books while they waited - loved that!). I was also about equally far from both stages, so pretty much the quietest area (still lots of traffic, just less noise)
-I was asked 3 types of questions. About half were romance based - that's not surprising. About a quarter were regarding career - also fairly expected. The other quarter were about missing people - not a topic I've really encountered before, but all of those clients seemed satisfied with the readings.
-There was only one reading I felt went poorly. I kind of went all over the map with my interpretation, and I could sense the sitter was a little disappointed. While I'm not thrilled with that I think it's probably not bad that only one was off.
-I had quite a few compliments on my little screen tent - people said it looked cozy and welcoming. Very happy to hear that!
-A lot of people came to the table and asked me what Tarot was - how do you give a concise answer to that?! I tried my best One of those people decided to give it a try, and she enjoyed the reading. The others didn't get a reading, but I got most of them to enter the draw I had for a free email reading (told them 'free' is a good way to test it out).
-There were Tons Of Kids! Toddlers through pre-teens galore - and all seemed interested in my tent! I had quite a few 8-13 year olds ask for a reading. I told them I'd need their mom or dad's permission before giving them one. One kid did come back with dad who gave me the go ahead - none of the others did. This wasn't a scenario I had considered happening but I feel comfortable with the way I handled it.
Okay, that's all I've got for now. That turned into a bit of an essay, but oh well
If anyone has any questions (about the stuff above or other aspects of the festival) feel free to ask - I'd be happy to answer!
So the festival was today, and I think it went well
I wasn't going to post here until tomorrow but I decided to do it now while stuff was fresh in my mind.
Comments about the day (in no particular order):
-I made just over double the registration fee, which I'm happy with. Doesn't work out to much if I look at it hourly, but was a decent profit.
-I offered both 3-card and 5-card readings. I expected to sell mostly 3-card ones (with just a couple 5-carders), but it was actually quite even. A pleasant surprise
-I may charge a bit more the next time I do a festival, as people seemed to be expecting higher prices (and many of the vendors were quite expensive in my opinion but were still selling very well - I think I was quite underpriced compared to them)
-Crystals did not work as paperweights! I had cards fly away numerous times (thankfully within a screened tent, so they didn't go far). Will seriously consider a reading mat with pockets in the future.
-The weather was awesome
Not hot, not cold. Partly sunny, partly cloudy. No chance of rain. Only downside was the wind, but I really couldn't complain overall.-I was given an awesome location - either got very lucky or the festival organizers know their stuff when it comes to vendor placement. I was in front of a vegan cafe, and the vendor beside me was a lending library (a number of my customers read books while they waited - loved that!). I was also about equally far from both stages, so pretty much the quietest area (still lots of traffic, just less noise)
-I was asked 3 types of questions. About half were romance based - that's not surprising. About a quarter were regarding career - also fairly expected. The other quarter were about missing people - not a topic I've really encountered before, but all of those clients seemed satisfied with the readings.
-There was only one reading I felt went poorly. I kind of went all over the map with my interpretation, and I could sense the sitter was a little disappointed. While I'm not thrilled with that I think it's probably not bad that only one was off.
-I had quite a few compliments on my little screen tent - people said it looked cozy and welcoming. Very happy to hear that!
-A lot of people came to the table and asked me what Tarot was - how do you give a concise answer to that?! I tried my best
One of those people decided to give it a try, and she enjoyed the reading. The others didn't get a reading, but I got most of them to enter the draw I had for a free email reading (told them 'free' is a good way to test it out).-There were Tons Of Kids! Toddlers through pre-teens galore - and all seemed interested in my tent! I had quite a few 8-13 year olds ask for a reading. I told them I'd need their mom or dad's permission before giving them one. One kid did come back with dad who gave me the go ahead - none of the others did. This wasn't a scenario I had considered happening but I feel comfortable with the way I handled it.
Okay, that's all I've got for now. That turned into a bit of an essay, but oh well
If anyone has any questions (about the stuff above or other aspects of the festival) feel free to ask - I'd be happy to answer!
Deanne
I thought of 2 more things overnight.
-I offered pendulum readings as an add-on to the Tarot ones; had a little sign about using that for yes/no questions or time frames related to the main Tarot question. No one purchased that though
-I gave a choice of 3 decks - Radiant RW, Shadowscapes, and Steampunk (thought those seemed like a good variety, and I'm quite comfortable with all of them). 1 person chose Radiant. 1 person chose Steampunk. Everyone else chose Shadowscapes - that was definitely popular!
-I offered pendulum readings as an add-on to the Tarot ones; had a little sign about using that for yes/no questions or time frames related to the main Tarot question. No one purchased that though
-I gave a choice of 3 decks - Radiant RW, Shadowscapes, and Steampunk (thought those seemed like a good variety, and I'm quite comfortable with all of them). 1 person chose Radiant. 1 person chose Steampunk. Everyone else chose Shadowscapes - that was definitely popular!
Disa
Thanks for sharing your experience. It sounds like it was a great day, overall. Do you feel it's something you would do again?
