Trip to Cary

This past weekend, I was able to go to Cary, NC for their annual Lazy Daze Festival. This was the one that was cancelled last year when Hurricane Irene blew into North Carolina.

It was a great festival! There were over 380 artist from all across the county! The weather was perfect. It turned out overcast, breezy and cool. From what I heard, that was a big change from the usual 95+ weather that they usually have for the day.

My mom working my booth.

I was blessed to have my mom and mom-in-law along with me. They were a huge help, and I could not have handled the crowd without them. I think of all the festivals I have done, this was the most well attended. I think the cool weather was an incentive to be there even in the afternoon hours.

Below are a few recent fused glass pendants that I took to Cary...thankfully some of them didn't make the trip back home.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Off the beaten path...

Since I had nonrefundable hotel reservations, my family took a trip to Cary, NC this past weekend.

Knowing that Hurricane Irene wasn't supposed to be too bad in that area, we drove down on Friday night. We decided to leave I-85 at Charlotte and take the smaller back roads to get there. I really don't enjoy being small car sandwich meat between a semi truck and the cement wall of death. If you could see my little car, you'd understand.

So when time allows, I always like to take the road less traveled and see the small towns along the way. We saw a "Walmart Express" - looked like a cross between a Walgreens and a Walmart. I didn't even know those existed. We saw a convenience store chain called "Tank and Tummy" - their slogan: "fill both at the same time!"

I was really impressed with the Cary area. We stayed in a very nice Holiday Inn and Suites. There were lots of refuges from the coastal areas staying there too. Irene came ashore about 7:00 am on Saturday, and we were in the very outer band of the storm. The winds were fairly high, and it pretty much rained all day long,

Tim and I drove over to the actual downtown Cary area and found the streets where the festival would have been. It was pouring rain, and it made me grateful to the organizers for canceling it. I think it would have been a miserable day for everyone involved. I also imagine my tent would have been worse for the wear after enduring the high winds...if it survived at all.

We didn't really do much the rest of our time there. We visited a mall, had lunch at a Red Robin, hung out at the hotel, and just relaxed. It was good for my family to have a chance to ditch the routine and just hang out. So, even though I was disappointed that I didn't get to experience my first Festival there, it turned out to be a nice weekend after all.

Disappointed...

Hurricane Irene is barreling towards the north now.

The experts are expecting it to swipe the North Carolina coast, so today the town of Cary, NC decided to cancel their annual Lazy Daze Festival - the first cancellation in over 35 years of the festival.

I totally understand the decision. It's always best to err on the side of caution. But, I confess I am selfishly disappointed. I was really looking forward to my being there this year. I applied and was accepted in the spring, and it's been fun getting ready to go. My mom and I were all set to hit the road tomorrow.

I've heard from people who have done Lazy Daze that it is a great festival, in a great area. Cary is near Raleigh - not on the coast, but near enough to get wind and rain from a storm like this.

I have to commend the organizers with the City of Cary for the way they have handled this situation, and I hope to have the chance to be a part of Lazy Daze sometime in the future. Of course, in the big picture, a festival isn't a big deal, there will be other festivals and other years.

Having watched the forecasts all week, I know how unpredictable Irene has been. Maybe, she'll take a hard right and veer off to sea at the last minute. My prayers are with all of those in the path of this monster storm. It looks to be a long weekend for many.

Getting Ready for Lazy Dayz

I've had several requests for earrings since my initial batch sold out. It takes a little longer to do a pair of earrings, because I am hand cutting and painting them. The size, shape and image need to match fairly closely, so it just requires more precision than I am used to.

But, I finished my second batch, and have ordered the findings to make 48 more pairs. I would like to have enough to get through some of the big shows I have coming up this fall and winter.