Saturday, November 5th …..

Day 2 of the Craft Fair began early. People were lining up at the gates by 8.15 and by 10 oçlock we had lines of cars backing up several kilometres. Saturday is usually a busy day but the arrival of people so early was unusual. The success or otherwise of the Fair often hinges on Saturday and Sunday. Friday is a working day and Monday is usually slow so we cross our fingers that the weekend days will be sunny and the crowd will feel moved to come along.

I spent all of the day around the main venue as I had done a bit too much the previous day and wanted to rest my hip as much as possible. We have a Hospitality Area where tired Rotarians can go for a break, a cup of coffee and a snack. I’m afraid I had three or four little breaks up there and I hope the ladies who were looking after the food didn’t think I was taking advantage. Still, the incident with my hip popping out is a cause celebre (pardon my French) and all the ladies are very concerned that I shouldn’t do too much.

Venue 5 where I spent the day is one of the areas where people come to eat. The Tempura Mushroom stall was doing great business and sold out by mid-afternoon both yesterday and today. Another stall is selling Rabbit Pies, and Wallaby as well and I can see that they are popular. The Raspberry ice-cream stall has a constant long line as has the coffee cart. The coffee cart is the first business open in the mornings as stall-holders and Rotarians line up for their heart starter.

This venue also has the Gourmet pantry which is an enormous hoecker with stalls selling gourmet food, mostly for the pantry rather than to be eaten on-site. The stall-holders can’t believe how quickly their stuff runs out the door. The Christmas Pudding lady always sells out on Saturday and has to rush in reinforcements. Last year a couple of stalls had no stock left by Sunday so packed up and went home. Every year, we have new participants who are gob-smacked by the potential to make serious money.

Apparently, we’re the only Craft Fair in Australia which gives out prizes. I mentioned the Hoffman Challenge yesterday where the second place winner received a fabulous new sewing machine. The winner of that competition received $1000 and, at the Award Presentation tonight, there were several other prizes worth $500 or $1000. The big Prize, the Premier’s Award, is a $10000 cheque sponsored by the Tasmanian Government. The jeweller who won had tears in his eyes; it’s not just the significant amount, it’s the recognition in the eyes of their peers. The judges are professional art critics and know what is outstanding.

Awards are presented for such things as Artistic Excellence, Stall Presentation, Best Working Exhibit and so on. The standard is rising each year and the judges are finding it harder and harder to differentiate the prize-winners from the rest.

The Award Presentation is a great night. We provide food, and drinks are available and the stall-holders have a chance to talk to their mates whom they might only see once a year in Deloraine.

Two more days to go! We’re starting to feel the strain and we’re not the ones who are working the hardest. For example, there’s a duo of Rotarians who look after the Food Area of Venue 5. They spend all day, wiping down tables, picking up rubbish and re-locating chairs. Ian is over 80 years old, and Maree is almost as old as I am. They’re typical of the volunteers who put in a ten-hour day making the Fair go smoothly. I’ve said it before: if Australia didn’t have its volunteer army, it would sink into the sea.