Shipshewana On The Road: Birch Run

This was my first time attending one of the Shipshewana On The Road events, either as a vendor or a guest.  Its was an interestingly fun weekend.

For those seeking out a variety of stuff to buy, this is certainly the place.  Vendors had everything from "as seen on TV" stuff, to hand-crafted wood and leather, to LOTS of food!  Curiously enough, one of the most prevalent items I saw walking by in the hands of visitors was a "magic" mop... promised to pick up dog hair from nearly any surface - several people had two.   The most curious item... the Sugar Gliders.  Super cute, super soft, and completely irresistible.  I didn't bring one home, though because... Charlie has no self-control yet. 

I was there as a vendor, selling my books, sharing booth space with four other spectacular Indie Authors... Jordan J. Scavone, R.A. Andrade, Brenda Hasse, and Wendy Sura Thomson.  After a slight learning curve for booth set up - it's always a challenge to find just the right configuration, we got right at it.  The show ran both Saturday and Sunday, and we didn't need to breakdown and set up each day - the venue was locked and guarded at night.  This, in itself, is a bonus.

Saturday saw more traffic and sales than Sunday, yet I met a lot of interesting people both days.  I kibitzed with the other authors that the little microcosm of humanity that this show held provided a wealth of characters for my next twelve books!  LOTS of interesting people!  The booths were 10' x 10', and had pipe & drape back walls.  The facility was well heated (a necessity, as some of us learned at a recent event), and the bathrooms were clean and safe.  There was a very engaging security person who kept us entertained each time he made his rounds, and I think he enjoyed our antics as much as we enjoyed his. The aisles were wide, with plenty of room for the throng that walked them throughout the weekend.  Standing at my table, engaging with readers, I never felt that the venue was too tight for the number of visitors.

There was only one other bookseller booth in the entire venue, which was nice.  It made for very little competition for sales.  The booth cost was affordable, split between us... but might be cost prohibitive for a single author.  The sponsors had everything well in hand, were friendly, helpful, and well organized.  The event seemed to be well-publicized, based on the number of visitors, and they had the event running on the marquee facing I-75 to draw in traffic.

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​All in all, I think it was a good show.  We had lots of fun, I sold enough books to cover my costs, and I got to hold a Sugar Glider named Ursela!  I would be interested in participating in future Shipshewana On The Road events, if I can share the space with other authors to keep it affordable.

Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars.