I had a wonderful time at the Appalachian WordFest in Sevierville, Tennessee. Early on Saturday morning, I packed the CRV with my Cruiser Cart, which Lisa bought me for Christmas, the decor items for the booth, and my inventory of books to sell.
The back of the CRV with booth decor and book inventory loaded for transport!
I had a great booth location at the main entrance to the festival, and I signed a few copies of “The Art of the Compromise.” I enjoyed meeting authors and readers from across the region. The furthest traveler was a kind lady from Cincinnati, Ohio. She had some wonderful stories about Skyline Chili.
View of the festival booths outside the lecture rooms.
In an attempt to lower the “temperature” of discussions, I added a couple of items to the booth. The items are difficult to see in the picture below. One is a small metal bee sculpture holding a wooden sign that reads “BE KIND.” The other is a marquee board with changeable white letters that reads “ALL DISPUTES SETTLED BY ROCK, PAPER, SCISSOR.” (The skull and crossbones in the background are a sign for the booth next to me.)
These elements did a great job of bringing smiles and setting a better tone for discussions. A couple of folks stopped for pictures, particularly the rock-paper-scissor message. (The singular “scissor” rather than the plural “scissors” results from a lack of sufficient ‘s’ letters to complete the marquee message.)
Booth setup with the bee and marquee signs to reduce the “temperature” of discussions.
I was excited to see that my brother Dan and his daughter Sydney had the chance to stop by and say hello! Glad they could make it, and I hope they enjoyed some time hitting the shopping in Sevierville for the day. We also had the chance to catch up and grab an early dinner at Calhoun’s together after the close of the festival.
Dan and Sydney stopped by the booth!
With the success of this festival, I am now getting ready for our next event, the Third Annual Conyers Book Festival, in Conyers, Georgia, on Saturday, April 19, hosted by the Book Cellar. If you are in the Atlanta area that weekend, stop by and join us!