Kountze Big Thicket Trades Days Revisited

On April 22 and 23 we set up at the Big Thicket Trade Days in Kountze, TX for the 3rd month. It was Easter Weekend, so the crowd was off a bit; but Saturday was a pretty good day.  The weather was good.  Of  course there was no rain which we we glad for those 2 day.  But truth be known, we are really desperate for rain in these parts.  There were even wild fires in the area north of us that weekend.  That is unusual in East Texas and the Big Thicket.  The temperature was nice--not too hot and not cold.  We are expecting it to be really,really hot as the summer progresses.  Our main complaint was the wind.  Friday it blew straight out of the south and wreaked havoc--blowing our stuff around a lot.  Saturday it blew probably just as hard, but a bit more from the east or ESE and didn't seem to blow stuff around as much.  Really, I guess we should be very thankful as the wind kept it from being so hot.  I know the fire fighters in north Hardin and Tyler County did not like it, though.

We've come a long way since our first trip as vendors at the Trade Days.  We've gotten 2 long light-weight tables. And for April, we added a canopy.  We've also picked up some garage sale rugs to spread across the gravel to make it easier to walk.  Everyone hates the rocks, but I keep saying that IF it ever rains we will be glad they put the rocks in.  We hope next to get some side panels for our canopy since we plan to be there every month.  For May, we are trying to figure out how to attach some of our extra grid wall from the store to the sides of the canopy to display the sun hats I am making.

Our Space for April!



The next Trade Days is May 27-29.  The Big Thicket Trade Days is a really nice place to sell or to shop.  The vendor areas are all covered with rock, the "streets" are paved, there are porta-potties on practically every street and they recently opened a large new parking area.  It only costs $2 to park for the day.  We also see golf carts carrying people too and from their cars.  Each vendor space has water and electricity available.  You see a little bit of everything for sale, including a big choice of yummy food items.

A few of our neighboring vendors in April!



Check out the Kountze Trades Days here.  And our previous trades day blogs here. See ya there!

Big Thicket Trade Days--Kountze, Texas

This past weekend, after several months of considering it, we took the plunge and got a space at the Big Thicket Trade Days in Kountze.  It was a very humble beginning as we didn't want to put a lot into tables, canopies, or the other things it takes to really do a space up right.  We borrowed card tables, took one of our plastic shelves, loaded up several boxes of HodgePodge stuff and were on our way.  We also took a few guitars, our one in-stock violin, a few straps, picks, and guitar stands from the music store. 

I thought that overall it was a rewarding weekend.  The weather was good.  It was not too hot, or too cold.  I got a little sun on Friday, but there was a nice north breeze and the temperature was okay.  Saturday was overcast most of the day but again a nice day.  Sunday was a blustery, windy day. This time it was a south wind. It did not rain though, just a little mist.  We were not out there long on Sunday which was a good thing.  We made some sales, but spent most of the time packing up the HodgePodge stuff.

Joe and Moe, our leprechaun windsocks, have a new home for this St. Paddy's Day. I put them in a small tree as eye catchers.  Turns out someone wanted to buy them.   Like Paul says, almost anything we have is for sale. 

A collage of our space at the Kountze Trade Days in Feb.



I brought along some of the Wilton cake pans that I have collected over the past few years. Not having any more room to display them, I spread them out on my tarp. As it turned out,the cake pans were our #1 selling item for the weekend. I even brought more with me Sunday afternoon and sold quite a few of those, too.

These are some of the cake pans I still have.
You can see and buy them at Hazel's HodgePodge

If you like to learn more about Kountze and the Big Thicket Trade Days click here.  And be sure to take a look at the video.  This gives a good overview of the Trade Days.

I enjoyed people and pet watching myself.  It is amazing how many people had their puppy dogs with them. Some were being pulled along by a large dog on a leash. Some were carrying small dogs. And I saw one man with an elaborate stroller with a cage on it and his little dog inside.  Wish I had taken a picture of that!

You could even buy a dog there --or adopt a pet.

The advertising for the music store was worth the cost of the space.  I figure we made a lot of contacts by having the guitars out there.  We handed out a lot of business cards.

Yes, it was worthwhile endeavor!  We will be better prepared in March and have more merchandise.

See you at the Big Thicket Trade Days March 25-27.