Mothman Festival 2019

This blog post has taken me a little longer than expected to post because I am getting ready for my WEDDING and my HONEYMOON!
Anywayyyyys, Mothman Festival 2019 was a blast. Mothman Festival is, by far, my favorite and most successful and fun to sell at, and this year was no different than the previous 3 years I attended before this years.
Mothman Festival is held on Main Street in Point Pleasant, WV. As a vendor, you will arrive around 4 to set up. The street will be blocked off, but when you get there simply tell the event staff that you are a vendor and they will let you in and direct you to the spot you were emailed about. 
When signing up for the Mothman Festival as a merchandise or artist, you have two options - use their big canopy with less space that is already set up, or bring your own. I always bring my own canopy so my space is slightly less crowded and I have more room to display my work. Mothman Festival staff provides you with one table, but you must provide your own if you need more than one. You also need to bring your own chairs!
​Set up is easy if you are able to park close to your spot (which you should). I typically set up my canopy, chairs, tables, tablecloths and any shelving Friday night and set up maybe half of my art and leave the rest in bins in the canopy to finish setting up early Saturday morning.
Here are some tips if you are new:

• The staff offers paid vendor parking which is SUPER nice as it gets crazy busy and attendee parking can be miles away. Just pay for the parking. 
• During set up Friday evening I was making quite a few sales, so definitely come prepared for selling things Friday night.
• The festival does not officially start until 10 AM, however the Mothman 5K starts around 8 AM, so I try to get there around 8:30 AM to be open and ready for the runners. Trust me, it is worth it.
• Bring a helper!! Even two. It gets hot, busy, and sometimes overwhelming. It definitely is nice to have help and take a 10 minute breather.
• Pack lots of water and some snacks. It gets very hot and very busy, so you might not be able to leave your booth for hours at a time. They have plenty of delicious food trucks and fair food available, but the waits for them can be long as times.
• Pack sunscreen. I don't because I am under my canopy 90% of the time, but if you plan on walking around for an extended period of time you may get burnt.
• Do not plan any major events the weekend after. I did that once, and I sold out of most of my stock at the festival that I did not have much inventory for the event the weekend after.
• BOOK YOUR HOTEL 6 MONTHS IN ADVANCE (AT LEAST). If you want the convenience of having a hotel less than 10 minutes away, book it way early.
• Most importantly, HAVE FUN!! You will be meeting and talking to hundreds, if not thousands of people that are into the same weird stuff as you are. I am somewhat introverted, so I have to take the week before the festival or keep to myself to get the energy to socialize with everybody. It is well worth it, because you will meet some great folks! Already counting down the days and have my hotel booked for Mothman Festival 2020!

Below are a photo of my set up and some new designs that I made for the festival that will be in my store once I get back from my honey moon!
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