Why we love the Newport News Fall Festival of Folklife

It’s a wrap!

October 6-7, 2018.  The Newport News Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department held its annual Fall Festival of Folklife at Newport News Park.  The usual crowd of craftspeople representing a variety of skills set up tents on Friday and early Saturday.  They sold handmade items from soaps to wooden signs to metal sculptures to jewelry.

Each year for the past five years or so (except the year of the flooding), I set up in the Juried section with my handmade crocheted items.  I make fall-festival themed items in preparation (pumpkins and such), along with my usual army of original owl pillows.

Over the past few years, I’ve noticed a decline in the traffic and interest in vendors at the Fall Festival.  The organizer’s of this year’s festival dropped the price of a 10×10 tent space by $50 and parking fees for attendees went down from $10 to $5 last year.  We speculated the “why” behind the dwindling traffic and the lowered fees.

1.  Competing festivals in October.  There are local festivals every weekend in October … with some weekends with multiple festivals.  See this link for more information about Fall Festivals in Virginia (warning: coastal Virginia is near the bottom – so scroll scroll scroll).
2. Economy.  Sure we have seen some uptick in the economy, but maybe people are more interested in ordering handmade items online, or maybe folks are just preferring to buy from local department stores.   Honestly, you can find some good deals at the festival, and with Christmas around the corner you can also find unique gifts that just can’t be found at the Wal-Mart.
3. Crowds.  With the rise in popularity and social acceptance of social media, I honestly think people have turned more inward and are more crowd-averse.  Obviously not all people hate crowds.  This event, though, is not terrible in terms of crowds.  Sure, you might have to wait in a long line to get your crab cake sandwich or fried pickles (or funnel cake), but it’s reasonable.   If you’ve been worried about crowds, give it a try next year.

I’m holding out hope for next year, that every 10’x10′ space will be occupied and we have lots of foot traffic.  You’ll never know what new thing you’ll see at the festival.   We loved the metal works shepherd hooks.  We bought one last year, and I think they nearly sold out this year.  Across from me was Slack Tide from Gloucester who made awesome hand painted art that would appeal to fishermen.  I also noticed they offered paintings of your pet.  Very rustic.

My personal favorite entertainer of the festival is the Vaudeville performer with the Capuchin monkey.

As for me, I really enjoy this festival.  I love when people walk past my tent and “ooh” and “aah” at the items on display.  They are pretty cute and whimsical if I do say so myself.  I’m wondering if cute and adorable handmade items aren’t eligible for winning the judges over in the Juried section?  Maybe I have to purchase some llamas or alpacas and spin and dye my own yarn before the judges consider me?

Finally, I have repeat customers who I really love seeing every year.

And to the mom with the sweet little girl with the feeding tube, see me next year for something special for you.  You’re my hero.

We are attending another festival on October 20th – a one day Bluebird Gap Farm Fall Festival in Hampton, VA.  This is a fun time with lots of kiddos running around. I hope to see you there!