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| Carroll S. Taylor and Hugh Taylor |
In spite of a rainy day Friday, Carroll and Hugh Taylor and I put up our tent, tables and chairs to create a booth at the annual Festival on the Square.
This delightful event is sponsored by the Clay County Historical and Arts Council in Clay County North Carolina. Over 70 artists and crafters set up their booths around and on the historic square that surrounds the old Courthouse which has been renovated and is now a convention center with the name, The Beal Center.
NCWN-West has been a part of this festival for years and this year has been one of the most successful for our authors and for Netwest. We gave away brochures and sold lots of books on both days.
Carroll Taylor was kept busy talking to those interested in her young adult novels and Feannag, the Crow, her picture book. Echoes Across the Blue Ridge was popular with the out of state visitors. Tourists wanted to take home this book from the mountains. Brenda Kay Ledford found visitors interested in her new picture book, The Singing Convention.
The small town of Hayesville, NC hosts thousands of guests as the folks from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and surrounding states vacation here in this scenic area. A young couple from California dropped by, extremely interested in our booth.
People signed up for our giveaways every two hours and asked to be put on our mailing lists.
Appreciation goes out to Bob Grove, Brenda Kay Ledford, Jim Davis, and Anne Wheeler for staffing the booth along with Glenda Beall and Carroll on Saturday.
On Sunday, a new member, Raven Chiong enjoyed meeting fellow members and talking with anyone interested in writing. She also used this opportunity to purchase books.
Joan Howard was another member who worked in the booth and was there when the big rain came. Joan is a supportive member of Netwest and volunteers to help when she is needed. She is a poet whose poems I recommend.
Caesar Campana, a member for only a year, helped with taking down the booth. His wife, Monica, sat at a book table. Check out his Amazon page to learn more about this novelist.
In spite of the on again and off again showers both days, the writers did not fold their tent and leave. When table cloths were soaked, they were removed and books were put back on the bare tables.
This event is wonderful for networking with others. We met the new owners of Curiosity Books in Murphy, NC. They want writers to come by and talk with them. They are interested in books by local writers.
All booths were directed to stay open until 4:00 PM Sunday. When the time came to break it all down, Hugh and Caesar made short order of folding the tent and chairs and loading it all in Hugh's truck.
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| Carroll and Hugh endured rain showers but saved the books and brochures. |
This event would not have happened without Carroll Taylor and the support of her husband Hugh. Carroll's novels sold well and her bright display drew attention to our booth. She is very good at meeting people and discussing NCWN-West.
This event serves several purposes for writers. It shows we are a strong active part of the community and we welcome new people. Because we are open to the public, beginning writers and those who are a little hesitant to join a writers' group find they are comfortable with our members. That is very important when speaking to novice writers. I am sure we will have new members after this weekend.
Often out of state visitors discover NCWN at this festival and find that they can join even if they don't live in North Carolina. Our brochures, designed by Meagan Lucas, are filled with information, and they were in the hands of everyone who stopped to speak at our booth.
See photos of the booth and the people who managed it this weekend.
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| Brenda Kay Ledford and Carroll Taylor ready to meet festival-goers |
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| Our poster, Books by Local Authors, drew attention from the passersby |
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| Caesar Campana and Raven Chiong work the Sunday afternoon shift |
Photos by Glenda Beall, Carroll Taylor and Raven Chiong.
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| Glenda Beall and Raven Chiong |
