Do you know any talented artists? Have you visited a unique antique store? Been to any festivals or events and been impressed by the food, entertainment or other vendors? The members of the Gathering at Garst Committee have been busy traveling all over the state visiting festivals and special events seeking out quality vendors to invite to Greenville's newest festival.
We are looking for high quality vendors in the following categories: Artists, antique dealers, skilled historical craftsmen and reinactors, garden and nature exhibits, farmer's market vendors, primitive folk artists, unique food vendors and entertainers. If you know of someone who would be interested, please let us know.
You can contact our committee members at info@gatheringatgarst.com or call Garst Museum at 548- 5250 The booth fee is $40.00 for this 2-day show scheduled for July 30 and 31 on the grounds at Garst Museum. You can find out more about this new event and download vendor applications at www.gatheringatgarst.com. Remember as you travel this summer, if you see a potential vendor, please pick up one of their business cards so we can contact them.
so the Gathering will be a high class flea market and craft show- nothing to do for kids equals no crowds. So the fight between the Annie old/new festival continues with a contest to put on festivals at the same time. Good job extracting money from local businesses though in support of your idea.
ReplyDeleteNot everything has to be about kids. Leave them at home. Are you not capable of doing things without dragging your kids along?
ReplyDeleteThe Gathering at Garst is geared towards generating additional tourism opportunities and business traffic to the Greenville area. Our selected dates were chosen in regard to timing within the targeted antique and gardening show market. We looked to select a weekend that fell into a time frame which would allow us the best marketing potential within those guidelines.
ReplyDeleteNo intent to detract from the Annie Oakley Festival has been initiated. On the contrary, every attempt is being made to market both events in conjunction as a tourism opportunity to draw traffic of every variety to the area. Working on a grant from the Darke County Board of Tourism, the entire point of the Gathering at Garst has been set to entice visitors and residents alike to explore all that Darke County has to offer. If you will, please take a look at the promotional video our organization has compile, as it re-enforces this notion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llkFYIOmN1w
Our greatest wish is to see an influx of traffic into the area. As a committee, our defining goal is to provide an event which will stimulate a new point of interest, as well as highlighting local business, events and history. Our committee chairperson, Jenny Clark, has been frequenting the gardening and antique festival circuit at events around the area. She has envisioned an opportunity for Darke County to capitalize on this market with a similar offering.
There will be child friendly activities as well as points of interest for adults. We will be featuring a children’s story time area with historically based themes. Featured colonial story tellers will be DAR chapter members John and Karen Burkett. Area author, musician and story teller Bill Light will also be performing a program using a mixture of his musical gifts and witty story telling to entertain the crowds which will be sure to amuse all ages. Garst Museum will operate on extended hours throughout the Gathering event, so families will have additional opportunities to explore all the wonderful displays our museum has to offer, many of which have recently undergone updates or received additional attention.
The Gathering at Garst will also feature an art show component which will include fine artists, various crafts and much more ranging from painters and including such elements as basket weavers, pottery and much, much more. We are quite pleased at the level and variety of offerings which will be presented. Julie Clark, noted local potter from Bear’s Mill, will be just one of the featured artists. The Gathering at Garst attendees could expect to see artists of the same caliber which are on display at the gallery at Bears Mill to also be present at our event.
ReplyDeleteWe will also offer a selection of excellent food and drink options available at reasonable pricing for our crowds to enjoy. Several local entities will present their offers for the enjoyment of the Gathering attendees. The inaugural year will be a foundation for the program we will build upon for years to come. Plans are in store to feature additional historical aspects from around the area. Additional vendors will be added and more programs will develop as time permits their formation.
As for having gained local business support to assist in creating our event, we have presented our program to the local businesses and outpouring in favor of creating something which will be beneficial to the area has been outstanding. In our efforts to put forth this event, we have gained regional support from the news media as well as the Ohio Tourism Division in favor of us staging a quality event which will appeal to a wide audience.
In our short existence, The Gathering at Garst committee is quite pleased in what we have achieved as an organization. We are very excited in launching this new undertaking, and the future ahead will only bring many more new elements which will unfold as we progress. Daily updates continue to transpire as we progress towards our launch date, so stay tuned to see what else will evolve between now and July 30th.
As an aside- one of my fondest memories of past events I have attended on the Garst grounds as a child where of exploring all the neat and interesting trinkets, nick knacks, and other sundries the various vendors had on display. It is at this juncture that any resemblance and remnant of past events intersect with The Gathering at Garst.
Admission to The Gathering at Garst is FREE!!! Come out and enjoy a free day of family fun.
www.gatheringatgarst.com
www.facebook.com/gatheringatgarst
Jeffrey B. Besecker
The Gathering at Garst Committee
Thank you for sharing your concern for the entertainment value of all the children who might attend The Gathering at Garst. Your community support will be taken into consideration and added to the mix of ideas planned for great children’s activities as we continue to build upon the event.
ReplyDeleteSeveral elements are built into the event which will provide an excellent opportunity for a day of FREE family fun!
Here are a few more ideas which you may utilize when planning for a day of family fun at The Gathering at Garst:
-View the artists and crafts people attending our event (Expose your kids to some culture outside of Hannah Montana, facebook and video games!)
-Pick up some fresh local, produce from one of our Framer’s Market vendors ( Take home some something and allow your kids to help in preparing a family meal that is not only fun, but also more healthful than a stop at McDonalds!)
-Prepare a scavenger hunt list of items to find while viewing all the cool antique and garden vendors in our garden wonderland! ( Remember when a game of “I spy” was considered GREAT FUN???)
-View one of the many updated historical displays inside the Garst Museu, during our extended Gathering hours. (How much do YOU know about Tecumseh, Zachary Lansdowne or The Treaty of Greenville?)
-Hear a historical storytelling hour relayed by one of our period dressed storytellers!
-Make a game of listing how many different kinds of plant or flowers are on display on the Gathering at Garst grounds?
As you can see, with a little creativity, the Gathering at Garst can be a simple, easy day of fun for the kids or the whole family. Just use your imagination!
You can send you ideas and information for great additional family fun to info@gatheringatgarst.com.
Community participation is greatly appreciated and encouraged!
Not to mention the fact that the Anthony Wayne Peace Council House will be open, adjacent to the Gathering at Garst. It will provide an amazing opportunity for kids get an up close and personal look at our rich cultural history and interact with phenomenal local historians!
ReplyDeleteWhile The Gathering is free, the regular admission price to enter and tour the museum is in place.
ReplyDeletei don't know much about the local "festival battles" but as an antique dealer in classic late 18th and early 19th century americana and as a prospective exhibitor i find it amusing that someone is concerned about your burden to entertain their kids. Perhaps if they spent more time more try to broaden their children's cultural appreciation the world would open up to them. On the other hand, as a businessman i find little potential in terms of sales with someone who is only entering to entertain the kids and not for their own search for art and antiques. Maybe if they saw mom and dad enjoying those things, they too might grow to appreciate them.
ReplyDelete