David Barthel - North Shore Images PhotographyDavid Barthel North Shore Images Photography
David Barthel

Photo Journal & News

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Midsummer "Up North" Art Fairs

Greetings!

It's now summer in the northern hemisphere and, outside of a little stormy weather (see below), our art festival season has been off to a great start! It's been a pleasure seeing so many familiar faces already this year. The next several weeks take us to communities in greater Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. Please come and visit if you are in any of these areas. We will return to the Twin Cities in August for the Uptown Art Fair.

What keeps an outdoor art fair exhibitor up at night…


My booth Saturday evening June 10.

Same booth after the storm on the morning of June 11.
On the morning of Sunday, June 11 a powerful severe thunderstorm, packing nearly 70mph wind gusts and hail, raced across the Twin Cities metro area.

Along with about 150 other artists, I had my photography booth set up at Art on the Lake in Excelsior, MN when the storm hit. While I own the strongest heavy-duty tent available for outdoor art fairs, one that has withstood its share of bad weather, it was no match for this storm.

The good news is that I arrived on site about an hour before the storm hit and was able to remove and secure a number of my most valuable pieces into the safety my vehicle. Miraculously, the vast majority of artwork that remained in the booth through the storm survived unharmed. It could have been much worse! Several artists at this event lost much of their equipment and inventory and my heart goes out to them.

The best news for us—it's business as usual going forward! I will have a new tent and will be exhibiting at the Lemonade Concert and Art Fair in St. Cloud, MN this Thursday, June 22 and at Park Point Art Fair in Duluth, MN this weekend, June 24-25. If you're in the area, please come and visit. I look forward to seeing you!

David