Are ya kidding me?!...

I'm trying really hard to find a good venue
to get my Pondering....... store products out
in front of the public, in person.

I tried the local flea market. Big fail.
I've talked to numerous shop owners and cafe' type
places to see if they would buy products for re-sale or
possibly do a consignment arrangement. No go.
I've been looking around for local craft-type
shows and festivals. Found one for next weekend
that will be really, really nice and it's in the next town
only five miles away. But, I can't do it.

The entry fees made me choke.
First of all, it's a two day seafood and music festival
held in a beautiful park by the river.
The entry fee for non-food vendors is $250!
(They generously refund $100 if you clean up your
10'x10' space to their satisfaction.) Plus.... plus...
you must have a tent that is labelled "fireproof" and
you must have a fire extinguisher. Aaaaaaaaaand...
the festival hours for Saturday are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
and if you want to keep your tent open until 9 p.m.
you must have an electric light. To do that, you must
pay the city $50 for electric access... that will be
needed for about two hours. The hours on Sunday
are only 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. That is some mighty expensive
electricity. Damn.

I'd be looking at spending at least $400 just to be there.
(I don't have a tent or a fire extinguisher.)

Let's see... sell 26 shirts and two cards.
Or, 33 coffee mugs and one card.
Or, 22 hats and one card.
Or, 10 framed cards and 21 mugs.
Just.to.pay.back.the.basic.investment.

This appears to be about the norm for other shows like
this anywhere in the state. Bigger cities charge even more.
Add on travel and motel expenses if the city is far away.

My frustration level is about maxed out.

I wonder how long it would take me to get arrested if I
parked on the side of a busy road and simply sold out of
the back of my car? Oh, wait. There'd be a fee/fine for that, too.