FOSTER CITY
       4TH OF JULY FESTIVAL

 

IMPORTANT:  I am in the process of writing a book about our 17 years selling at festivals and I expect it to come out in the fall.  If you wish to be on our 'mailing list' of people who are interested in purchasing the book please email me at book@starvingvendors.com and I will contact you when the book is available.  Thank you.

 

Here's another show that they don't tell you that you have to cart your stuff in until after you have paid the booth fee.  I received my paperwork after paying and it said then that we had to haul our stuff in.  Found out that we have to go 60-75 yards.  That is really rough for me and my wife, who both are getting up in our year's and it is not advisable for us to do it.  Don't want to have the 'big one,' ya know.  We had done this show from 1997-2003 and we were located along the curb and that was fine.  In 2004, we began going to Mt Shasta City for their celebration, which was great.  I really hate when they force you to haul in. 

 

If you have anything to say, please email me at comments@starvingvendors.com

 

Talk about a show going to the dogs.  Check out what is happening here in Foster City, the headquarters for UrineNation.

 

 

We arrived on the scene around 6:30am and had no problems driving in.  Nobody to stop us.   I saw a couple other vendor's parked along the sidewalk and when I walked over them, we began looking for our spaces.  It was difficult because the space numbers were written on the grass and most of them were barely visible.  We walked around in circles looking and finally were able to determine where we were supposed to be.  I pulled up in front of our space and unloaded.

 

AS WE BEGAN PUTTING UP OUR CANOPY AND GRIDS several other people were hauling in their stuff, since it was now after 7:00.  Fortunately, we had arrived before anybody else and were able to get in.  Phyllis Moore, President of the Lion's Club had told me Saturday afternoon that there would be loads of kid's to help.  Load's?  I didn't see loads of kid's, I am sorry.  A couple, that's about it.

 

THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE SPACES next to mine because there were these lady's who were selling sunglasses and had set up in the wrong space.  But they didn't want to believe it.  I was in space 17 and the guy who was supposed to be in space #15, was setting up next to me.  Not my problem, so I am not going to deal with it.  Phyllis should have come over to make sure everybody was setting up where they should and the numbers were unclear.  At least come over and introduce herself like so many of our other promoter's do.

 

I HAD READ the paperwork that she sent us and there was a bunch of "You must' do this and you must do thats in there.  That really says a lot about the person and what you are up against when you read that.  Add to the fact that she told us that we 'must' haul in 60 to 75 yards, you know life is just not going to be pleasant.  I really didn't want to be treated like that.  

 

I UNLOADED MY THINGS and drove my van away, parking on the other side of the recreation center.  I returned and continued setting up as people began arriving as did the other vendor's.  Shortly afterward, I decided to go pick up two pancake breakfasts for my wife and I.  The Lion's Club had set up an area where they were serving up breakfast for $5.  Wasn't anything much and I think that you received less than the last time I had their breakfast, in 1993, just one day before my family left on our Great Alaskan Adventure, lasting nearly a month and traveling a total of 7,777 miles.  An easy number to remember, huh.  They just had pancakes and two sausages.  I believe that they had eggs also back then, but this whole show has changed.  Not for the better.

 

THE WEATHER WAS VERY NICE AND THE WINDS didn't pick up until early afternoon.  The people were slow in arriving, but we had a decent crowd by noontime.  Sales for me and the other vendor's were quite slow to begin with and we all were quite worried about this event.

 

THERE WAS AN INDIAN LADY with her child or grandchild who were looking at our necklaces.  I watched the little girl touching the chokers and saw one drop to the ground, which she saw also.  I told her to pick it up and put it back and she did so.  Her mother took one of our hematite sets and gave it to the girl who walked over and asked 'how much.'  We told her 'ten dollars.'  She took it back to her mother, who grabbed it and tossed it on the table.  I looked over at her.  "Are you buying that," to which she replied "no."  She began walking away.  I couldn't believe it.  Too F....ing lazy to put it back.  Wow.  I was expecting her to say something like "two dollars?"  I told her to "please put it back," but she ignored me and left.  Wow.

 

THERE REALLY WASN'T THAT MUCH TO EAT here and we had a booth next to us selling Sausage, hot links and ribs.  I got a sausage for me wife and put onions and kraut on it along with some ketchup.  Got nothing for myself.  I had gone to Harry's Hofbrau over in San Leandro on Friday and got sick after eating their Turkey Leg, salad and something else along with a coke from their fountain and ended up getting sick 30 minutes later.  Don't know what caused it and it could even had been dirty dishes or utensils.  I was okay after 5-6 hours.  However, I didn't feel like eating any food that wasn't cooked at home.  About 3-4 year's ago I had gotten food poisoning from eating a Philly Cheesesteak at the Antioch Fairgrounds.  That tasted funny too.  I ended up going to the toilet over 50 times in about 30 hours.

 

AROUND 2:00,  I decided to do a 'walkabout' and took off in the direction of the amphitheater and beyond, where I saw loads of canopies off in the distance and I heard music over there.  People were everywhere.  Blankets spread on the ground, etc.  A lot of people BBQing along the waterfront as they had decided to spend their day there in preparation for the fireworks which were to come many hours later.  They had entered the area from another direction and no idea that there were vendor's, etc., on the other side.  They could care less.

 

MEANWHILE, SALES CONTINUED TO BE SLOW throughout the afternoon.  I had a certain number of boys who kept coming back to play with my guns and had to chase them away because they were running down the batteries and most definitely were not going to buy.  Just gotta go. No money.  No Buy.  Good bye!Things did manage to pick up around 3:30 and I had half my sales between then and 5:00.  Very good.  Still down from my sales back in 1996-2003.  It was quite a different show back then; more enjoyable and lots more.

 

WE BEGAN PACKING OUR THINGS around 4:30 and the crowds were beginning to encroach upon our space as people spread their blankets on the greenery in order to claim their turf for the upcoming fireworks.  Other vendor's began hauling out their things on hand trucks and other types of carts to their vehicles which were parked at the curb, 100 yards away.  We were not being allowed to bring our vehicles closer and that presented a huge problem for us, since we had a lot of heavy, unmanageable items to haul away.  Phyliss had promised us 'loads of kids' to help out, which I still refused to believe.

 

WE WERE STILL PICKING UP SALES as we packed while placing our things alongside the sidewalk next to our canopy.  Sitting on the grass toward the back of that area was our Indian lady friend with her grand-daughter and other's.  Remember her with the necklace?  As we took down our stuff, I noticed a small pile of assorted garbage directly behind our space and a bunch of straws which somebody had tossed into the canopy.  Pigs.  Beautiful park and they just throw their stuff around like that.  I began keeping my eye on these people, whom I suspected.  I then saw a black guy with them toss an empty can over there and fling a straw inside our canopy.  I walked around to him and said "Please take your garbage and toss it in the can.  You are messing up these people's beautiful park.  You are not at home."  BUSTED!!!  He then gave me a mean look and picked up his trash and brought it over to the garbage can.  THANK YOU.  PIGZ.

 

MEANWHILE, MY FRIEND, MARK who had his space across from me had gotten several 'volunteer's' to help him haul his stuff to the car.  Apparently he had approached Phyliss with this and he did have some problems.  However, they did manage to take his stuff to his vehicle.  I finished tearing everything down shortly afterward and began looking for Phyllis and her 'loads of kids' to help me.  Nowhere to be seen.  It was getting late and I wanted to get the heck out of there as it was getting quite crowded now, as more and more fireworks watcher's were arriving, coming from all directions.  I began walking over to the other parking lot to get my van and was approached by Mark who explained some of the problems he was having.  I then quickly (sort of) walked over and got my van and parked in the street nearest the entrance to the park, where I planned to load up.  Mark told me that Phyllis had told him that 'she was off duty.'  Off duty?  What kind of answer is that?

 

I THEN HOBBLED BACK to my space where I saw Mark waiting.  We both went in search of Phyliss, who was located at the Foster City Lion's Club.  I then told her that "I was ready" and asked her for some help.  She went bananaly ballistic, telling me that I COULDN'T HAVE ANYBODY to help because I was supposed to be ready at 5:00.  I said "WHAAAAAAATTTTTT.  You never told me that!!!"  The paper she gave us said that we were to close at 5:00 and be out of there by 6:30.  She began running away from me and I chased after her.  "You told me that you would have loads of people helping me.  What am I supposed to do?  My wife and I are not physically able to haul our stuff out there."   She then said "we are too busy right now.  You'll have to wait."  I could not believe this.  How in the world am I going to get the hell out of there.  What a bitch!!  One of other older Lion's Club member's then spoke up and said that he would get help.  Fine.  Five minutes later, he came walking over with 5 other helper's who assisted us in getting our things out of there.  Thank gosh.

 

 

My friend had told me that he approached Phyliss about getting help for my wife and I and she replied with a "I am off-duty."  Isn't that sickening.

 

THIS USED TO BE A VERY NICE EVENT WHEN we did it 7 years ago.  No More.  It was local for us and a very short drive.  We will not be returning here next year and hopefully nobody else does.  She never showed her face to introduce herself to the vendor's nor did she assist us early Saturday morning in locating our spaces, as we wasted almost half an hour looking for them.  DO NOT DO THIS EVENT.  IT IS VERY FRUSTRATING AND VENDOR'S ARE TREATED LIKE SHIT.