Mystical gathering/psychic fair

[Guest guest]

Hi Kathy,

 

I have been a vendor at these for years and can give you some ideas. One of

the main outfits that puts on these show is Body, Mind and Spirit Expos, or

BMSE.net on the web. You can see if they will do one in your city and as such,

you can have a head start with your show. When they put one on, there are a core

group of vendors and psychics who make a living out of traveling from show to

show, like gypsies and they are all quite wonderful people. I do the shows in

Florida and have done the shows up and down the East Coast on some years and

have met most of these vendors and some great psychics.

 

If you are going to do your own show, you can get some ideas from them by

looking at the sites they rent and the types of people they have. You can

probably contact some of the same vendors and if your area is busy, they might

come

to your show. A small show might charge vendors about $200 or so for a booth,

and a little more for electricity, and even more for phone hook up. A big show

charges much more, and the fee depends on the place you have rented and the

type of audience you are " guaranteeing " the vendors by exposed to. For example,

I'm doing a show in Orlando in three weeks that is charging me $1500 for three

day booth rental, and that includes electricity. At this show, I'm busy busy

busy, but it's a trade show, just for spa owners and estheticians, closed to

the public. No psychics there, but I'm selling music CDs so I fit in at lots of

different types of shows.

 

A good show will get a reputation and then you can do the same show every

year. each year it will get bigger and bigger and people will start to look

forward to coming to it, and the vendors will sign up for spots in advance.

Vendors

talk to each other a lot about different shows so if you put on a show that

has a reasonable booth rental fee and lots of foot traffic (which usually means

advertising it well), then you'll have vendors contacting you for space

rather than the other way around.

 

Psychic booths are smaller, usually a card table with two chairs and a

partition or drape separating one psychic from another. You'll have variety

because

they all do things a little differently, some read Tarot, some read auras,

some ask for something to hold, etc. Then, you can have another little section

for healers, and this includes people who do massage, energy healing, Reiki,

sound healing, etc. You charge them about the same as the psychics, and this is

usually half or less than the vendors pay since they have less space involved

and frequently share their space with other therapists. A school will often

rent a vendor booth and then have students giving fee massages or " love

donations. "

 

If your goal is to sell essential oils or soaps, etc., you'll probably do

well since their aren't too many people doing that in general at these shows.

From what I've seen, most people who do this have sample available and

literature

but what sells is the personal touch, telling people why your product will

help them in their lives, or to heal, etc., so plan on a lot of talking. You'll

need to " decorate " your booth. Expensive shows all do that for you, in that

you get a draped table and your backdrop is all coordinated with the entire

show. Cheap shows (the ones I usually do!), give you a bare table and two

chairs,

but have a cloth backdrop and draped partitions. I bring my own scarves and

banners and make a beautiful booth. it took me years to figure out how to do

that, but some people do it with their first booth. I've seen people bring in

carpets, potted plants, Oriental screens, lots of lamps, and lighted display

cases. Others just show up without anything and then rush out to find a sheet

(to

cover their table) at a Wal Mart when they get a break.

 

You don't make a lot of money at these shows in general, but most vendors

want to make enough to pay their entrance fees and expenses, and then some on

top

of that. People like chiropractors (they always seem to have a booth or two)

are looking to get patients, and others are looking for mailing lists or to

spread the word about their work. If you want to get a lot of different vendors,

figure out what they would get out of your show before you contact them and

sell them on your ideas. Charge a set fee for each booth, and give them a

discount if they pay in advance, and/or a fee if they pay at the last minute.

MANY

potential vendors will come to your show the first time to see if they like it

and if so, they will sign up to do your next show.

 

It's definitely a lot of work, and can be profitable and fun at the same

time.

 

Anna in West Palm Beach, Florida