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Running
Your Fair
Assuming you have been able to
overcome all the obstacles, the happy day dawns when you and your
exhibitors will set up the fair. With a smaller event this will
probably be a couple of hours before the doors open to the public,
with a large multi-day fair, it would be a least the day before
if not two or three days earlier.
With a table top fair, things should
be fairly straightforward. You and/or your staff will have the
tables laid out to conform with your plan. You will know where
all your exhibitors are going to be placed (it should be on your
plan) and, hopefully, they will know too. You will probably have
complaints about not enough chairs, exhibitors are too close to
the doors or not close enough. They don't like their neighbours
or said neighbours are taking more than their fair share of space.
You will have to patrol the fair endlessly to stop dealers putting
their stock too far into the aisles or blocking fire exits. Remember,
a visit from a health and safety inspector can close the fair
instantly if fire and other safety regulations are violated.
With a stand-fitted fair you will
have to check that the stand fitters are building them in accordance
with your plan. The electrician should also be putting in the
correct number of spotlights and sockets. It is an almost immutable
law of fairs organising that at least one exhibitor, if not more,
will get the wrong electrics and they will usually complain bitterly
and loudly so do not allow the electrician to disappear before
everybody has their stand set up. As the electrics sometimes fail
it is a good idea to have the electrician on stand-by throughout
the fair. You will also need a storeroom for replacement stock
as dealers, hopefully, sell what is on their stands. This usually
has a security guard looking after it. There will also be security
guards on entrances and exits throughout the fair, including night
time when the fair is closed.
If yours is a datelined fair, the
vetting committee will go round and inspect all the stock on the
stands before the fair opens. This is usually done the evening
prior to opening. Arguments will then ensue when dealers find
out what the committee have 'thrown off' - in fact they usually
leave a little form or note saying something like 'out of dateline'
or 'reproduction', etc and then the exhibitor has to remove it.
Many antiques dealers take this personally and are very upset
when something is vetted off so you will need the skills of an
international diplomat to defuse the situation.
You will probably give all your
exhibitors a supply of carrier bags with the fair's name printed
on them as well as pass out slips to be filled in every time something
is sold. This is given to the buyer to hand in to security as
they leave the fair as an anti-theft measure. These normally give
a description of the goods bought so it is possible for the organiser
to use the slips to gauge the success of the fair.
Hopefully the fair is successful,
exhibitors have sold many pieces of stock at good prices, you
have collected all the stand rent, there was a good gate so you
might break even - a profit would be wildly optimistic the first
time. If so, and you have survived without a complete nervous
breakdown, you will already be thinking about the next event.
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