The Festival Season Shakedown Cruise

February Winter Blast at The Taylor Town Trade Center

The first signing event of every year always reminds me of the Shakedown Cruise in the sailing world. It's customary to take a sailboat out early in the boating season, to make sure everything is seaworthy, remind yourself which lines to tug, and reacquaint yourself with the wind before venturing out into open waters, so when the bigger, longer sailing opportunities come around, you and the boat will be ready.

After a long winter of stowing everything and nearly forgetting how to set up, engage with readers, and tear down at the end of the day; it's important to have a a day to sweep away the cobwebs and shake out all the kinks in your festival routine. It's time to get my sea legs back, always keeping my eyes on the horizon so I don't get nauseous.

Although it's nice to also sell books at the first event of the year, (I didn't sell anything this year) it's more important to make sure everything functions and responds the way you imagine and expect. It's a refresher, helping you get the details back on autopilot so you can more easily focus on meeting readers throughout the coming year.

The February Winter Blast at the Taylor Town Trade Center was my shakedown cruise this year.

I practiced loading the car so nothing shifted in transit. Strapping everything down so nothing goes flying through the back window, should I need to make an emergency stop, is critical. I got a rating of "good" on this skill. I used more tie-down bungies than I really needed, but the first trip out, I'm typically overly cautious.

After so many months away from the routine, it was a good chance for me to practice loading the cart, too. It's a Tetris adventure to make sure everything I put in the car is loaded properly onto the cart so I can make just one trip into the venue. I got a rating of "average" for this skill. I was a little off my stacking technique so I had to make two trips. However, now that I've done it once, I've remembered a more strategic method. Next time, I'll do it in just one trip.

Setting up the table display is similar to setting the sails on the boat. How I arrange the display, what angles I use, and the grouping of genres for maximum discovery by readers is the rigging that helps me sell more books. This first trip out gave me an opportunity to set up in a slightly larger space than usual (with an 8' table instead of the customary 6') so I was able to use all three of my new book display shelves, and play it a little looser with the aesthetic of the table. New table runners are like new sails, you need to unfurl them and test their strength and reliability to catch a passing breeze. I got a rating of "adequate" on this skill because it took a little longer to get set up than I expected, and I didn't group my genres as intelligently as I'd hoped. However, for a shakedown, I'm pleased with the overall result.

Packing up to return to my home port also took a little practice, and the timing wasn't as speedy as I would have liked. We often bump the rail against the dock a few times before we get the hang of this process. Docking procedures can be tricky. I got a rating of "adequate" on this skill because I was tired and rushed through my tie down. The bungie forestays rattled and a few boxes shifted as I cruised home after the event. Nothing got broken, so I'm calling it a success.

Overall, I'm pleased with my shakedown cruise event. I think I'm ready for the new festival season. Packing, setting up, teardown, and reload will go much more smoothly now that I've tested everything and reminded myself the how of it all.

The why is the easy part... Just like sailing, it's a ton of fun to be back on the water!