Marathon Maple Fest: Mapleicious!

Last weekend I trekked out to Marathon,NY (near Binghamton) for the Maple Festival. After the 2.5 hour drive, I was delighted to be greeted by some very friendly show organizers and the wonderful scent of buttermilk pancakes filling the air.

Little did I know that one of the Maple Fest's most popular attractions is the pancake breakfast that they have each day.  The organizers were thoughtful enough to give each vendor a free breakfast voucher for both Saturday and Sunday. Of course I took advantage of that! 

Free breakfast served with the area's finest
maple syrup. It was pretty amazing. 

Saturday was a crazy day. There were so many people in the gymnasium where I was set up that it was almost elbow to elbow.  I think it helped a bit that it was really windy and overcast outside which drew the festival goers indoors. At the end of the day I was whooped.  I had been up since before 5am and after the long drive and busy day, I was ready to crash. Unfortunately that didn't happen until almost 1 in the morning.

Happy to be here.

I have a friend that lives in Binghamton, so to save on a hotel room, I just stayed with him. He happens to live with his brother, his brother's wife, their 3 children AND he already had someone from out of town staying with him, so needless to say there was never a dull moment. Oh did I mention the 3 doggies running around the house too?  One chocolate lab (Baxter) and 2 pit bulls (Secha and Buster Blue) Mr. Blue is only a few months old. What a cutie pie!! I wanted to sneak him home with me in my backpack! 

Buster Blue

Secha with Mr. Blue

We all went out for an amazing sushi dinner at my friend's favorite restaurant. We talked and laughed for almost 2 hours over a boat full of fish and a complimentary bottle of Sake. Yum! 

When we got home, I was tired and full, but despite that, I ended up staying up past midnight gabbing with everyone and enjoying a free Bob Weir webcast. 

The next morning I dragged myself out of bed and was out the door by 7:30am. Got my free breakfast before the masses came and opened my booth well before the craft show opened at 9am. 

Sunday was a surprisingly quiet day.  I would say about 70% less people than the day before. (which means I did about 70% less sales) But it gave me a chance to talk to the other vendors, and look at their wares. 

My booth neighbor was Ling Wu from Simply Ling. She makes the these divine table runners. I wish I had gotten a better shot of their intricate detail. Unfortunately she does not have a FB fanpage or a web site yet so you just have to be lucky enough to run into her booth at a craft show.

Simply Ling

Ling is a very pleasant lady with a perpetual positive attitude towards life. She also runs her booth, from set-up to tear down by herself, like me. We became fast friends and helped each other throughout the festival in many ways. 

Erin Shepard of Gecko Glass is a very spirited woman who comes from a family of artists. She makes a wide range of cool crafts from unique silk screened hankies, to glass jewelry, and these funky bottle wind chimes.  They have a very soothing sound. I have been to craft shows in the past where I have been placed near wind chimes and after a few hours they can really get on your nerves. These, I actually looked forward to hearing. 

Debbie MacMaster of Sweet Lemonade is a friendly and talented seamstress who makes some absolutely gorgeous children's clothes. Her designs and fabric patterns are so delightful and charming, I wished she had some garments in my size! 

Sweet Lemonade

In the end I was about 15% under my monetary goal for the show. I think that was due to the booth spot I was assigned to. I was in one of the only areas that did not get a lot of traffic because it was sort of off the main path. Next year I will be requesting a better spot or maybe try the Civic Center instead of the gymnasium.  Getting to hang with old friends, make new ones, and almost reach my goal makes this trip a successful one in my eyes.  

Next up, Furthur Tour! I have been waiting 6 months to see the boys again. Find me in the parking lot selling my wares for the MA and CT shows. More details to come...

Oh, and my car hit a milestone speedometer mark on this trip, check it out. (66,666) Yikes! 

But have no fear, I was not really going down the road feeling bad. (I might have been if I'd  run out of gas though)  

Enjoy 10% off of your order until 3/29/12 at www.sunshynesilverwear.com by entering coupon code 'BUSTERBLUE'  in at check out.