Ok, first of all, it's not Ren-Fair.

Here's the hyperlink: www.valleyspringspowwow.com/

It's always the first weekend in May.

They have about 200 booth spaces. There were some left empty this year.

There is no fee to attend the Pow-Wow and there is plenty of free parking for those that attend.

It's held in the pasture of a working cattle ranch. They move the cattle to a different part of the ranch, so they aren't a problem.

The show is open to the Public for three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Thursday is for Dealers and their friends to shop. It is possible to set up on Tuesday or Wednesday and not take down until Monday (but it is polite to ask permission to do so).

I rented a booth this year, it was US$130 for the booth, US$45 for electricity and a US$10 deposit for the 'pig tail' adaptor. I snuck out in the middle of the night and as a result, I didn't get my deposit back.

The booth was supposed to be 10' x 30', but the one I got was at least 12' wide. Part of it may have been that I was assigned a corner booth.

The focus of the Pow-Wow is mainly rocks, but there is also interest in NA dancing chanting, drumming & costuming, as well as Old-Timey steam engines and R/C modeling.

By contractural requirement, at least 75% of my booth had to be either Ladipary or rock oriented (Uhhh... silver comes from rocks, right?). I don't see how this requirement could apply to the food booths. I'm pretty certain that this rule is NOT strictly enforced.

I got a Shelter Logic 10' by 20' awning with skirts (about US$200 from Northern Tools - shipping was expensive). I've color-coded the pipejoints with various colors of electrical tape, which makes setting it up a lot easier when I'm brain-dead.

I also used an Ozark Trail awning that I bought in the sporting goods section of Wal-Mart. I forget how much it was, but it's 8' by 11' and it's light enough to move around as the sun shifts. I also brought along the 8' by 8' Ozark Trails tent (also purchased from Wal-Mart) and pitched it inside the 10' x 20' awming. One of the nice things about Snyder's Pow-Wow is that they let you sleep in your booth - makes for good security.

My inventory consisted of opal necklaces that I've made, sterling silver chainmail jewelry that I've made, and a few items from my coin collection. Also, I had a few left-over supplies and used tools that I wanted to get rid of - a real hodge-podge. The chain mail sold best.

I'd made arrangements with an on-line friend for her to ship me a bunch of her necklaces and earrings. They didn't show up in time for me to get them loaded onto the truck. I found out later that they'd been sent to the wrong PO Box. I almost asked if there was stuff there for me... but there was a line and I was overloaded with things to do... oh, well.

One of the potential customers at the show recommended that I take my wares to the RenFair at Valhalla (in south Lake Tahoe), so I'm going there next Friday to explore the possibilities.

I'll probably go back to Snyder's next year, but it'd sure be nice to have some help... I was hoping for a craftsperson that wanted to share booth space and was able to help me set up and take down.

Oh, yeah - Snyder's wants to know what your resale license number is. I had to learn about calculating and paying sales tax. I've got to say that I do NOT like being co-opted by the state!