For some weeks now I have been driving miles, much of it in this heat looking at venues to add to our programme. We had a ‘consolidation’ year this year, we cut back to our core shows, many of which are 10 to 12 years old and still strong, plus the two wonderful Monastery shows and Wood Green Animal Shelter in Cambridgeshire. We kept that one because a) I think it showed potential, particularly with the amount of e-mails and telephone calls post show last time and b) Chris is such a dog lover!
The idea was to use this year to plan and decide on the direction we wish to take BSSK next. Planning done, I have just completed the programme on Friday. Next year we have 16 shows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sudden rush of blood to the head???? Most definitely! All very exciting stuff and I hope to have the exhibitor pack prepared and e-mailed out by Wednesday latest, which is the last day of July.
The programme includes the return of the Grimsby/Cleethorpes summer show – you would not believe how many visitors have e-mailed and phoned about it – it is clearly sorely missed this year – so back we go next year with a slightly smaller show (50 stands) in another new location for that area.
In these difficult times we have decided to add some more 50 – 60 stand size shows, rather than trying to make them all 80+ in size. We think this is a sensible move when starting a new show and then letting it build – rather than aiming too high to start with. Pity they can’t all be Monastery shows – it flew from day one, but as long as we can see potential in a new show, we will work with it to build it up. These slightly smaller shows will have slightly reduced spaces for readers, crystals and jewellery - the three categories that we are always inundated with enquiries for, so we do not wish our regular exhibitors to take offence if they are turned down for the odd one or two – we will try and distribute them fairly across the enquiries, but it is in all our interests not to have too much of any one type of stand.
Angie
