Carving shows; how are they doing?

[mdallensr]

I attended the Dover, Ohio carving show this weeked. It's a good show with some great carvers, but there were fewer carvers there this year, and last year was down too. They changed the date from the fall to May, and most exhibitors said it hurts attendance. If you have kids in school, you know what May is like. Travel and lodging are expensive in Ohio now due to toruism, so some exhibitors were not pleased at hotel rates. One commercial exhibitor said all of his 2004-2005 shows were down. Our show in Bellevue, Ohio in February was full, so I don't know what others are seeing. Is the economy hurting carving shows? Weather?

[Kenny_S]

In Tusla, OK, Wichita and Topeka Ks, they seemed to be doing ok. The Tulsa Ok is in Jult and for the past two years in a new and better location. Easier access and parking. Both Kansas ones seemed to be picking up. Just what I have observed.

[Anthony Filetti]

MD, could be just the way they are getting the word out...most locals don't know about shows unless its on the news...

[mdallensr]

Good point rocket. I always pick up flyers for the nearby shows, but they're reaching folks who already are interested and know about most of the shows anyway. If I didn't read WCI and Chip Chats, I'd never know about the other upcoming shows. Some of the shows are a big deal locally. We have several hundred people come through ours over 2 days; no charge and free parking. The Dover Rotary Club took over the Dover show, and they work with Warther's Carving Museum to run and promote the show. We have a lot of shows in Ohio but it seems to take something special to bring in out-of-state carvers. A lot of them are in the shows to make money, and that seems to be really tough this year and last.

[Anthony Filetti]

MD, used to be a PR person for an RC club, it can be difficult and takes work in order to get a crowd, plus if its free its more likely to draw a crowd.

If someone is in it to raise money for a cause (club, charity, etc.) it takes some planning. Most people would be offended if they had to pay to park AND buy an entry ticket rather. If one was set the price of admission slightly higher to include parking most people think wouldn't think twice. Its all about how many times a person has to reach into their pocket.

Ya gotta be like PT Barnum, and the story of his side show that featured "The Great Egress"...

[KettleKarver]

We just had our show about a month ago. We had a very nice turnout of exhibitors, approx. 43 total. Almost 3/4 were from outside our club. We work hard to guage their reaction to our show accomodations, judging rules, etc. We make it a point to stop by their tables, thank them for attending, and listen to their comments. One thing we heard repeatedly is how happy they were with the interest and friendliness of the viewing public. That's something we can't control but is certainly a factor that makes our exhibitors want to return next year.

In general, attendance has been holding around 450-500 paid visitors ($2.00/ea., 12 and older). We've had years were the number was higher but that was more an exception than the rule. Because our show is in the spring, we've seen significant impact because of weather. If it's the first nice Saturday of the season, attendance is down. Everyone wants to start working on lawns and gardens. If its really miserable, attendance is down simply because no one wants to venture out in a storm. Usually its something in-between and we have a 'normal' turnout. We always want more but we haven't been able to move the numbers significantly upward.

The past few years we've held our show in conjunction with a Chamber of Commerce event so many of the merchants in town are having special sales and demonstrations. We try to support each others efforts to bring people into the area.

We try to put on a quality show that satifies both the exhibitors and the public. We need both to be successful.

Jim

[S-Shamrock]

Head Bange I was just thinking that I would like to go to a carving show sometime as I have never been to one before. I had no idea that there was one in dover.does anyone know of any upcoming shows in the mid Ohio area?

[Bob_in_TN]

Shamrock
Try the show in Wilmot. Just up the road from you and they put on a great show.

[mdallensr]

Shamrock, the Johhny Appleseed show in Mansfield OH is June 4-5; Richland county fairgrounds. Click on "Event Calendar" under "Carving Community" on this page to see a list of shows.

[S-Shamrock]

thanks for the info!