the shadow loomed larger than we’d expected: over 1,000 people attend the shadow art fair

By most accounts, yesterday’s Shadow Art Fair was a resounding success. “Thanks,” to all of you who took part, either as vendors, volunteers, customers or curious, beer-sloshing onlookers.

I’m still kind of in a daze. Those of us who planned the event never doubted that it would be a success, but we had no idea just how well it would be received. The most conservative estimate I’ve heard thus far is that we had 1,000 people come through. I’ve heard some estimates that put it as high as 1,300 though.

The space was relatively packed from noon to 8:00 PM, only slowing a bit at around 5:00, at which time I finally left my skin-cookingly hot corner and headed over to buy some food. Matt and Rene, the owners of the brewery, had a few things left, but just barely. They said they’d been practically wiped out. (No word yet on how many of the 9,300 gallons of beer were consumerd.) They were, and I don’t think I’m going too far when I say this, giddy. (I suspect that more unique individuals came through the doors of the brewery yesterday than over the two months since it opened.) They said that they thought that this would be successful, but they just didn’t have any guess how successful.

While working our table, I had fairly substantial conversations with well over 100 people, about art, publishing, potential projects, our stuff, etc. As would be expected, most were from either Ypsi or Ann Arbor, but some had come from as far away as Detroit, Ferndale, and Royal Oak. (The mention in the “Metro Times” really helped.) And, the ages of visitors really ran the gambit too. I saw two newborns, and two elderly people toting around oxygen tanks. (I don’t believe there were any births at the event, like at Woodstock, but I suppose it’s possible.)

It was good to see old friends. Former Ypsilantians, Hillary and Steve Cherry (from the Hamtramck Star) made it out from Hamtramck, two separate groups of friends came out from Chicago, and Mike and Amanda (from Calibog) made it out from Los Angeles. (I think they’d come back to Michigan for other reasons, but I like to imagine that they flew out for out event.)

And, almost all the friends Linette and I have in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti showed up. We both agreed, after the event, that it was like our wedding. We just talked constantly for about 10 hours, barely having time to take a swig of beer or cram down a handful of chips. The whole day was full of weird little things, most of which I can’t really remember now. (Sorry if you and I had a great, interesting discussion and it doesn’t get mentioned here. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t appreciate it. It just means that my mind is/was completely overloaded.)

A guy from Singapore stopped by to say hello and buy a few things for a friend back home, who I believe he said was a film maker. He said that both “Crimewave” and “Found” had been big influences on her work and that he was happy to find us both here in one place. That was nice to hear… Linette and I also met a very nice couple from Indiana who claimed to be longtime “Crimewave” readers. They’d been nearby for something else and decided to come over to Ypsi and say hello. I guess they’d read about the event on the blog… And there were lots of other MM.com readers, all of whom were very well-behaved, polite, and clean. (No unpleasant surprises that freaked me out.) A few regular posters to our “Comments” section identified themselves, like the fellow who calls himself Ol’ East Cross, but most people just admitted, with a great deal of shame, that they were “lurkers.”

The Mayor stopped by to say hello, as did two of the candidates vying for her position. Quite a few people wanted to talk about the upcoming debate we’ve been planning, which was nice. (By the way, I was able to coerce fellow local blogger Sam Abuelsamid into videotaping the debate and posting it online!)

I know a lot of other interesting things happened, but those are the first to come to mind.

The one bad thing — A lot of us there as vendors didn’t have an opportunity to talk with one another because we were so busy. I was able to make one quick round, just checking up on everyone and getting their feedback, but I didn’t have a chance to actually look at their stuff, or talk about it. (If we do this again, there should be some kind of time built-in for us to talk and network — like a private, hour-long session afterward for us to mingle. Amanda (from Growing Hope) suggested it this time out, but I think we were all jus too exhausted.) This, at least from my perspective, was the only big failing of the day. I would have liked to have seen more cross-pollination between the groups. (I did get to have dinner with the CEO of Bulb Records afterward though, and I’m hoping that maybe some kind of project comes of it. I also got to meet Davey from “Found.” He was a nice guy. We traded some stuff.)

If you were there and have any feedback, please leave a comment. Almost everything that I heard was positive, but I really would like to hear criticisms as well, if they exist.

Most embarrassing moment — Having a discussion with an older white-haired woman about Iggy Pop, and mentioning that I’d had the chance a few years ago to see him and “his original band” play. To which she responded, “Oh, The Iguanas got back together?” referring, of course to Iggy’s real first band, formed in high school… It’s nice to be reminded from time to time that people around here actually knew the guy. Kurt, a friend of ours from Chicago who was sitting nearby, laughed as I tried pathetically to regain my credibility by reeling off other bits of obscure trivia and assuring her that I Indeed had known aobut The Iguanas.

So, to sum up, the consensus seems to be that it was a great thing for Ypsi, a great thing for the artists involved, and a great thing for the brewery. And, I’m happy to have been a part of it

I don’t want to talk numbers, but Linette and I did better than we’d expected, and we plan to pour all of the money earned into the making of new products. So, if you’re interested, stay turned. We should have some new stuff soon.

We weren’t the only ones who had good sales. Everyone seemed to have done well. At least everyone sold something and quite a few sold several 100$ worth of whatever it was that they were selling. (Artist John Roos should get some kind of award for being the most ingenious/entrepreneurial. He not only brought his paintings, and bags of the coffee that he roasts, but he brought an espresso machine. And the line for iced Vietnamese coffee didn’t subside all day.)

Now comes the real challenge. Can we leverage this and do even more? Can Ypsi get it’s shit together and really capitalize on the momentum that we all felt here yesterday? I don’t know that we have leaders willing to stick their necks out, but, on the off chance that we do, here’s a thought. How about tearing down the meaningless “Cool City” banners that we have flying around the city and hoisting the “Buy Indie in Ypsi” flag. (I hate to be the one to tell you all this, but any city that would announce itself as a “cool city” probably isn’t one anymore than the guy who wears an “I’m cool” jacket is.) And, while we’re at it, let’s pass a resolution to keep companies out of our historic downtown that aren’t locally owned and operated to some significant extent. (We can quarrel about this in another post, but I really do think that we should pass legislation keeping our historic downtown franchise-free. I think, in the long-run, that’s our city’s best chance for survival. More on that later though.)

OK, here are a few other things I’ve picked up around the internet about the Shadow Art Fair this evening.

Cyndy says: “(T)he Shadow Art Fair was a great success. It is going to put Ypsilanti back on the map… (T)he place will be known as the world’s premier center for indigenous art.”

Sam says: “(It) was packed… It was good to see so many people turn out to this event. Hopefully this will become a standard fixture on the Ypsi summer calendar along with the Beer Festival, the Elvis Fest, and many others. The city of Ypsilanti may be having some financial difficulties but this city is alive and well thanks to the efforts of an involved community.”

Murph: “The Shadow Art Fair was a smashing success… (The) organizers are a cultural force to be feared. One only wonders how this could be done more regularly throughout the year – it’s not as if the exhibitors have to pack up their RVs and drive up from Florida, as is the case with some local events that could be named. The Corner Brewery was packed, (and) not just with MySpace hipsters…”

Brooke: “There were 30 vendors in all, and I thought all the stuff was great. I had no idea there were so many great local artists… we had a great time… It would be really cool to participate in these fairs. Perhaps I’ll be able to get myself some items going for next year. It was quite inspirational.”

And, pictures from the event and the after-party can be seen on this person’s Live Journal page.

OK, and there was also this one kind of sad post on Live Journal: “I tried to go to the Shadow Art Fair a few blocks from my house today, but everything was so whimsical and indie (not to mention crowded) that I couldn’t even strike up enough of a conversation to ask to see some comics that were hidden under a homemade purse. I just don’t have anything in common with creative people. On the way home, I pricked my finger on a purple thistle.” (Hopefully not many others had this experience. My sense was that the vendors we selected were pretty accessible and down-to-Earth, but if that wasn’t the case, let me know.)

There were other little negative things said as well. A few people on the net mention how crowded it was. Someone complained of the heat. Someone else said that they were expecting for there to be more vendors. All of those people, however, liked the event and none of them, at least as far as I can tell, regretted having gone.

Some things happen at just the right time, and I think that’s what happened here. The community was ready for it. The artists were ready for it. Ypsilanti was ready for it. All the stars were aligned. I don’t know what it all means, but something is really happening. More than one person came up to me and told me that this was an important moment in the history of Ypsilanti. Several invoked the name of “Google,” a rather large company that recently indicated that it would be opening a 1,000-person facility somewhere in the Ann Arbor Area, saying that if they could see what we’d pulled together that they may be persuaded to give up the search for land in Ann Arbor and buy in Ypsi instead. (As the company is known for valuing creativity and innovation, it makes sense.) Quite a few people, from Ann Arbor, said that what they saw reminded them of what Ann Arbor “had been.” Almost everyone said, “You have to do this again.”

There’s no doubt that we tapped into something very real. I suspect part of it is that people are beginning to tire of big box retailers like Wal-Mart. They want to deal with people who are directly involved in the manufacture of their goods, and we gave them that opportunity. And, they’re looking for ways to be less isolated. People, I think, want to connect with other people and to have meaningful conversations. This was an excuse to talk with neighbors and even strangers, and to open a dialogue with other creative people. It came together easily because it was the right time and place. Hopefully, something good will come of it.

Again, “Thank you for your support.” I need to sleep now.