Suddenly, we're 10 days out from our market on May 5th. How did that happen?
Wasn't it just Valentine's Day?
It's crunch time and thankfully the weather has finally started to cooperate. We have a to-do list on the refrigerator to keep us on task and today we checked off a big item. Our barn got a little makeover! We added horizontal boards to the entire east interior wall and painted them white. As much as we appreciated the original barn walls, they were dark and a little grungy, and we could only hang things between the studs. This new flat wall will be so much nicer for display and the white
really brightens up the room. We also removed the central checkout area (which we use during pumpkin season but not for RRR), opening up the main room and creating better traffic flow and more room for merchandise. There will be a phase 2 this summer as we create a new pumpkin season checkout area, but that's for a later to-do list!
Employees are finalized, last-minute ads have been placed, social media posts are scheduled and the vendor map is ready to be sent out. We are lucky to have great employees who have become friends, and will rely on them and my dad and brother to help keep things running smoothly on show day.
Since the event falls on Cinco de Mayo we are planning a new photo area with a Mexican theme. There have been long conversations with lots of ideas thrown around, and we have a growing pile of serape blankets and sombreros, but as with most things around here we really don't know what the final result will be until it's done! (Can anyone else relate?)
Setting up the store and schoolhouse are an ongoing task. There are bathrooms to clean, booth spaces to mark out, gates and tents to put up, a parking lot to prepare and lots of mowing. But the to-dos will be worth it when we see our vendor friends and customers arriving next week! I hope we'll see you, too.
