What a complete waste of time

[Terredax]

For anyone considering attending the Blueberry Festival, don't bother.

I was invited to go along, and I accepted since I've been there in the past. It used to be a good time with all of the great crafts and hand made items.
The food used to be amazing, at least most of it.

Now, everything is commercialized and re-sale of imported Chinese trinkets.
There are a few real crafters left, but all of the best vendors have vacated the venue. This junk seems to be infiltrating and pushing out people everywhere.
As for the food, the fudge wagon that was always there, is no longer in attendance. The apple dumplings that were amazing for many years, have changed everything about them (still the same lady running the concession), so now they aren't any good. On top of that, she gave me the incorrect change, that I had to point out. She acted like I was in the wrong, until the younger lady said she owed me.
Then the prices for everything was ridiculous. The Chinese trinkets just astounded me. The stuff was priced more than double what it costs on the interwebs. The food... there's no way I'm going to pay $7.00 for a piece of deep fried dough with cinnamon and sugar, or $9.00 for 5 small cubes of fried cheese. Sandwiches started in the $8.00 range, sodas were $5.00.

I can't believe people attend these events and spend any money. I did notice that the crowd was incredibly smaller compared to a few years ago I was there.

I did see a couple of tents with pens. I didn't stop at either to look around, but the one had out a sign that stated $40.00 for any of his pens. He listed "gun" pens, and "bullet" pens as some that he had.

And the doughnut line... well it was so packed, that we didn't even see how much the prices had gone up for them.

And the parking fees...

Sorry, I just wanted to inform those that were considering going.

 

[MRDucks2]

Was the one in South Haven, MI or a different Blueberry Festival? We arrived to camp late Sunday not realizing a festival had been goin on until we drive through town.

From Houston to Indy the imported commercial trinket stuff seems to be taking over. Good festivals, fairs and markets are getting harder to find.

The food prices are up from what they used to be, but the prices you mentioned are average to good for larger gatherings. While I wasn't there for the one in South Haven, parking to get down to the lake was $10 in the area on a regular day. No wonder a lot of folks were walking in. However, all of those areas were nice with clean public restrooms.

The old prices I have only seen in the smaller venues that areas have on weekends, which suites me. Never cared much for big crowds, anyway, if I am walking though. Of course if I were selling my criteria may be different. Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[Loucurr]

Part of the problem are the fees that the vendors have to pay have gone up let alone insurance requirement for food vendors has steadily increased. The small time crafters can't afford the fees and risk low sales, likewise the Chinese trinket vendors get the stuff dirt cheap and mark it up high. They also have many like booths in a region. It is a business for them with low overhead, usually family run.

 

[MRDucks2]

Years ago the wife and I made, among other things, Red Candy Apples for a festival in a small town we were trying to help bring back to life. They went over well, sold for great profits and were a general hit because they were becoming more rare. Nowadays they are nearly impossible to find and often scratches off of menus at the events. I finally talked with a vendor who owned multiple trucks about them. The reason they are being dropped is insurance requirements. People were pulling caps off of teeth, losing fillings, damaging dentures and suing the vendor. Just amazed me.


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[Terredax]

Was the one in South Haven, MI or a different Blueberry Festival? We arrived to camp late Sunday not realizing a festival had been goin on until we drive through town.

From Houston to Indy the imported commercial trinket stuff seems to be taking over. Good festivals, fairs and markets are getting harder to find.

The food prices are up from what they used to be, but the prices you mentioned are average to good for larger gatherings. While I wasn't there for the one in South Haven, parking to get down to the lake was $10 in the area on a regular day. No wonder a lot of folks were walking in. However, all of those areas were nice with clean public restrooms.

The old prices I have only seen in the smaller venues that areas have on weekends, which suites me. Never cared much for big crowds, anyway, if I am walking though. Of course if I were selling my criteria may be different. Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

It was the festival in Plymouth, IN.
It used to be much better, and was worth spending a little time at.
Now it's turned into an over priced dollar store, with a parking fee.