Okay, I didn't see fire but I certainly saw rain at this past weekend's Pinnacle Hills Promenade Art Festival in Rogers, AR. Approximately 100 artists set up displays on the streets of the walking mall with high hopes of encountering waves of art lovers with purchasing on their minds. A large percentage of the artists were from Eureka Springs brought on board by co-producer Steve Schmidt of eurekaspringsartists.com.

Instead of waves of art lovers, we were visited by wave after wave of rainstorms. The first one hit about one hour after the show opened and it lasted for one hour. We all scrambled to close sidewalls on our canopies, throw tarps over fragile merchandise, and literally hang onto our tent shelters as the wind howled. Lucky that I had my friend John Rankine by my side. He volunteered to help me with the show and was a real trooper offering valuable assistance.

Most displays survived but not all. Some participants immediately called it quits after suffering water damage to their wares or destruction of their canopies. The rest of us endured the wet day until 9 p.m. while suffering through approximately 10 more bands of storms that moved through every 30 to 60 minutes. The day was not a total bust as visitors would emerge from the protection of nearby stores to make purchases.

There was a fun-filled party on Friday night to kick-off the event and a picture perfect day on Sunday that included brisk sales. However as strange as it might seem, Saturday was the most rewarding day for me. Through adverse conditions we, the artists, shared a day that brought us closer together.

My neighbor in the location next to me was Eureka Springs' potter Mark Radamacher and across the street was jeweler L.J. Smole also from Eureka Springs. Both artists are veterans of many shows but neither had experienced quite a long and stormy show day as happened last Saturday.

Across the street were Eurekans Brian Watson, Valerie Damon, and Larry Mansker who along with me were doing our first outdoor show. Carol Saari, Ron Lutz, and Jody Stephenson were a couple of spots down the street. Sure we bitched but we also helped each other, boosted each other's spirits, and laughed at our soggy conditions. Not and easy thing to do when one is cold and wet.

Making a living is important and I was lucky enough to have some good sales. But my biggest gain was in getting to know some of my fellow artists on a higher and different level as we SHARED that day. I feel closer to many of them and closeness to a fellow human being is more valuable than money.

Believe it or not, I can't wait for next year's Promenade art festival!

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