Pork, peanut and pine nuts can be appreciated in a festival dedicated to it in Virginia. It is an excellent festival with nothing but only the three p’s, and spending the rest of the day with your family in it, can be described as one of the greater things in life. Welcome to the Pork, Peanut and Pine Festival in Surry County, Virginia.

It is a country festival located in the fields. A family day with nothing but nature, straight drinks, Blue Grass and country style music in the air, and the afternoon sun beating down on you and your family with a warm and comfortable glow. You can find yourself walking lazily under the shades of tall cedar trees that line the River Road. If you’re not comfortable with the sun, there are shades and refreshment stands for your enjoyment and comfort as well.

The barnyard in town is the hub for all exhibits regarding pork, peanut and pine. The festival is mostly headed on weekends so there’s no rush to get right back to work the next day. The venue is most found on Chippokes Plantation State park, where the crepes bloom at the same time. Crepe myrtle trees are some of the more stately trees donwn South, being heat-resistant and hardy. A symbolic tree for the stalwart people of the Southern.

Pine and peanut had always been the cash crops for the Southern folks for almost four centuries. Their art, craft, and culture revolves around these products. Not until ten years after that they had added the red meat into their roster of festivals. Pork has slowly evolved into what we know it is, today.

The County Civil will sell food and refreshments at the site. Craftsmen and registered artisans can also display their wares and products for exhibition and for purchase. Most of the craftsmen are returnees, with some as old as 1976. Regulars, in the local’s terms.

When you are considering going on that road to selling your crafts at a crafts fair, understand that you are taking a big step forward. Along with the risks, and challenges that are involved with this step. There are a lot of things to consider first, in order to systematically sell stuff, categorizes and put all things in proper order, and to mentally prepare yourself for this undertaking. Selling stuff is no easy walk in the park kiddies.

First, immerse yourself in crafts fairs around your locality and even in other places. There will come a time that you will have to move your market and discover new ones and other niches as well. Attend a few fairs and see for yourself, first hand, what is happening inside.

See both juried and non-juried shows, watch how judges rate crafts, see the quality you need to reach in order to deem your craft customer-quality passed. Find out which venue is also most suited for your craft, whether indoors, a fair, or a show or even a booth. Check the pamphlet provided to see the specifications of the fair, so you wouldn’t get confused later on when you make big decisions.

Do your research. Find out what the common costs are, what additional costs you might incur, your projected income, actual income from other vendors (if they are willing to disclose it), and profitability margin. Each show and craft fair will charge differently, with the normal ones usually being around 200 dollars to 300 dollars; the more expensive and exclusive ones could reach up to 500 or more. Of course, this comes with more benefits that the people that engage in these types of shows actually are willing to buy more and spend more.

Don’t forget to tabulate your material costs, labor costs, permits and licenses needed, and how many of your products are you going to bring to the craft fair (because seriously, you weren’t thinking of bringing them all now, would you?)

Of course, with trying out a hand in craft shows, one should always be both aware and prepared even at from the beginning or from the start of the event. Maintaining a professional appearance means being confident with your work, with your look, and with what you know about the stuff that is going on around you. It means that you have to have the knowledge that is expected of you. Experience may be faulted out if you are a newbie at this field, but it is not an excuse for you not to know things that is expected of you. Try to read and learn from these few, simple tips.

First, understand, read, and take in everything you need to know about your agreement with the show that has accepted or approved your entry. Usually, these contracts have almost everything you need to know about the show, from what products they will allow, the proper attire, the time and dates, the do’s and dont’s, and others I might not have mentioned. Knowledge is power, and this power can save you from potentially embarassing situations I am sure you do not want to face.

Courteousness and politeness are two things not far from the concept of professionalism. If anything else, they can be considered as the foundations of professionalism. You can never have professionals without these two, and it is what sets the common workers apart from the classy businessmen.

Always use manners when dealing with people around you. You will never know when you need their help. And help willingly given is a far better type of help, than that which is paid by money or grudgingly given.

Dress smartly, and act appropriately. There is nothing more that could speak about you better than a crisp suit, or a neat t-shirt. Always make the first good impression. It can bolster your confidence, help with credibility, and take you to lengths far greater than you would imagine.

At most times, people in craft fairs would find it wonderful and simply mind boggling to hang around your booth or your table if you give out freebies in some form or another. Freebies come from the word “free” and by free, it means a no-contract or strings attached form of some deal. Nothing in this world is ever free, which is why the concept of freebies would always attract people no matter how trivial or small it may seem.

Free items do not need to be expensive, very large, or very big. At the most, the freebie should be part of your products. For example, if you are into the wood works industry, perhaps a small statuette, or maybe a paperweight would be a suitable freebie for your booth.

Don’t forget that you also need to have your name (or your company’s name) in the product’s face. At least, when they look back, they would know the company (or the person) that gave them that particular freebie. Perhaps try and recruit a friend as well through that form of advertisement.

Food industry freebies often come by with using samplers. These are small tidbits of food, usually served cocktail style and laid out in trays for the masses to take one and eat. You would be more familiar with samplers if you visit your local grocery more often and notice the free food on toothpicks that they serve. It’s certainly a crowd drawer, right?

Make sure to have your name out in catchy and bright colors, to attract attention (unless the over all theme of your booth is supposed to be dark, then go otherwise). And make sure to give your best when it comes to freebies. Those items will be like your business card, your first impression as well. If your first impression doesn’t give a good flavor to the audience, the freebies worth becomes nil.

Be ready and be prepared for your show. Do this so you would not hassle yourself, hassle your help, and hassle others as well. Running around panicking because you were unable to do this or do that would be quite an embarrassment for your part, and would make a lasting bad impression to both the people around you and your customers as well.

The day before, arrange and prepare everything you will need; from literature, booth supplies, your products, your clothes, rations and all those other essential items.

Before the start of the actual show, most fairs already open their doors to registered presenters. Take this time to set your booth up. Time is money (and definitely gold). The time needed for you to set up instead of presenting your product is wasted. Plus, customers certainly do not want to see you still setting up. It is a very messy and cumbersome job, so be prepared and arrive early to set up.

Be considerate and respectful to both your prospective clients and other crafters as well. Socializing and talking to one another will ease out boredom and the monotone of the situation. However, if the crafter has a customer or seems busy at the moment, don’t go out of your way to disturb them. It would make you look like you were harassing them.

Also, when the show has started, don’t start to realize important stuff had gone missing causing you to delay your booth, or worse, ask other people for extra stuff and the like for like.

On selecting your wardrobe, dress neatly and for the situation. You are trying to look like a professional, and darn better, you should be one. If ever suits and formal wear doesn’t apply for you, wear specific, brand-name suits (brand name meaning your own) to further advertising. Have your name in your aprons if you are doing a demo, or at least if you want something casual, do wear a t-shirt with your “company” name.

Indiana holds one of the largest mushroom festivals and car shows in the surrounding states, the Mansfield Village Mushroom Festival and Car Show which is most usually held around the weekends of the last week of April. The mushroom festival is a certified family event and a sure crowd gatherer, especially if you have the weekend off for some mushroom gathering fun.

The event registers early, so it is advised that you get your family wagon (don’t forget to bring your family of course) up and running and go to the registration site for the events. You can choose from organized mushroom hunts, buying of mushrooms, and the selling of mushrooms at organized auctions. There are cool prizes for the largest hunted mushroom for the day (as long as it is a mushroom, the judges would not care where you got it…so long as it’s not illegal).

Enjoy the mushroom you hunt because you can bring it home and make it into a hearty, and delightful meal. Those who find the largest and most mushrooms from everyone also gets to bring home an intriguing hand carved, wooden mushroom walking stick.

The registration starts at around eight to ten in the morning with an eight dollar entry fee. Mushrooms for selling at the Mushroom Auction are open all day, for bidders and sellers near and far. Auctions are held at the Red Barn.

The Mansfield Car Show happens on the second day of the festival, a Sunday, with registrations from eight in the morning up until noontime. Oldies up till the latest models will come parading, so car lovers are bound to find something to pique their interest. There are also shops and vendors setting up arts, crafts and flea markets for the buyer in you. Tours for the Mansfield Roller Mill are open and there are food booths for the gastronomist as well.

Indiana is the second home of maple syrup, right after smack behind Vermont’s lead. Indiana celebrates the season of the maple, for it heralds the incoming arrival of Spring, and it is when the air becomes ripe with life, and the saps come pumping in from their winter-driven slumber. Maple becomes the symbol for the rebirth of life and of the seasons.

New technology, that being thirty years old in age, has prompted sap farmers to try reverse osmosis in removing water before boiling the sap into syrup. The use of this process can remove at the very least some good three quarters of the original water from the sap, effectively reducing the time needed to expose the syrup to high temperatures and the energy needed to boil the water off.

A product of boiling the sap is maple sugar, a hard type of candy sold in blocks and quarters, results when the sap is boiled to a level higher than that required for maple syrup. Other styles and level of boiling can also produce products like cream and maple butter, both widely used and eaten with bread.

The prices of maple syrup can be a fickle thing. Prices are determined by the availability of sap and syrup, the grade of the syrup, and the resources needed to transport and market them. Indiana has been supporting the maple syrup demand behind Vermont, with the other state being the prime producer of the good. Recent late springs and longer winters are starting to have a bad effect with the sap flows as of late.

A good industry in Virginia alone is maple, where the state supports its own market, and those that they can afford to sell or export, they export. The addition of maple trees in the area also boosts the environmental value of the state. So it’s safe to say that maple growing is a bit of win-win situation in the long run.

Virginia is an ideal place to be for many fairs and festivals annually, just like most other states. But the events held in Virginia are unique because of their interesting and wide focus. While some of these craft shows are what you’d usually expect from a fair, there are also those with a category of their own. Let’s take a look at some of these events so that you have an idea of what I’m talking about:

Each year, there is a convention for anime, manga, and otherwise Japanese culture that occurs in Crystal City, Virginia. It is traditionally held at the weekend before Thanksgiving Day, it usually has no place for local craftspeople. Although, as I have made my way through this particular event, I noticed some people who have taken it upon themselves to adapt. They make sculptures of popular anime characters, and it sells well during this time of the year.

Another example of a different sort of festival is the MAGfest (Music And Gaming Festival). Its key features are large open video gaming rooms and loud concerts from bands that have been likewise inspired by video games. Like the anime convention earlier, figurines inspired by video games are well-received in this fair.

Next, we go to another convention, but this time it is for those with a liking for science fiction. As the blending of futuristic events and fantasy grows ever popular, RavenCon’s science fiction convention also gets a bigger attendance. Here, space ship models take center stage, with the figurines getting only middling attention. Many of the actual actors attend, you see, and it’s better to get an autograph from them.

All in all, I find these events to be really interesting, but I also understand why people who may find it too different from a standard craft show. And while yes, the crafts are not the main focus in these fairs, there are still a lot of ways to put your crafting skills to good use. Whatever the case, you can always search craft shows in Virginia in the Internet if you prefer the more traditional craft shows.

Honesty is the best policy. When dealing with other craftsmen, either be quiet or say the whole truth. Do not speak half-truths, for they are but whole lies. Honesty also has a big impact on first impressions, as mentioned. Be honest, but don’t be brutal. There is a big difference between honesty, and being tactless. Have etiquette first above anyone else.

Stay inside the space that you paid for, and make sure your booth, table or space is free from gaudy decorations or cumbersome things that could drop into your mate’s table. Make sure it doesn’t encroach nor does it distract. This includes strong scents, loud music, or bright, painful colors.

Stay the whole time that you had paid for. Most buyers usually stay up until the last minute for discounts or because they had just taken off from work. The last hour of the day might be the most stressful you will ever have, but this will also be the prime opportunity for you to have potential clients far more prospective than that which you might have encountered during the day.

Common sense and positive attitude will surely help you in your endeavor for business and keep you away from harm. Avoid negativity and harshness during the day. You need all your pep and your good side to face and talk with both clients, customers and co-peers. Be in the good side of most of your colleagues and recieve win and profit. Help others and expect help from them when you most need it.

Always greet the day and everybody with a smile. Keep an upbeat mood, and be full of positive energy. Think big, create big and win big. Be who you are and be brimming with energy as much as possible (but not to the point where you can be downright annoying and irritating).

When trying to make a checklist of the things you will need for the fair, always think of the essentials and the things that will be needed for the entire day, for the booth, and for your products as well. Don’t forget the things for personal comfort too, because that will be in essence, what will determine how you will interact with customers during the big day.

For the operation to work smoothly, make sure to bring these. Your products or merchandise that you will need for the big day, labels and signs that pertain to your product, boxes or bags for purchasing customers, extra price tags should the ones on your product get removed, damaged or is unclear.

You’d also need a complete inventory listings before and after the show, to confirm how much you had sold during the day. String and wrapping paper for the large items, and bags, either paper or plastic for the smaller ones.

You will need to disseminate information to the customers as well, in case they will want to come back for the next day’s affair. Make sure to have large booth signs with clear fonst of what your product’s names are, brochures and flyers could also help. Those who’d be interested to sit down and take their time browsing your items can also do with a catalog. Have business cards printed out and ready the day before, and don’t forget to hand out invitations to your friends.

Don’t forget to bring your schedules too, so in case you’d forget what part of the day this event happens or where this is going to be held. Special order forms can also help, for those who like to buy in bulk. This would be a great help, and a great convenience for both you and them.