8.26.2022
Higher Education Music Festival was so lame! I ended up not vending for the fest because the vendor coordinator pulled a move. She agreed to a product exchange and a fire performance for part of the vendor fee which was $550 for a “premium” spot. I hadn’t received any communication even after checking in to touch base in terms of how much of that fee I would have to pay. I received my vendor load in email and responded asking what exactly our arrangement would be so I knew what to expect at the gate. The response was that we were doing the exchange but they had no more spots in the location we had previously discussed– but they raised the rate to $700. She said I could still pay the new fee and they would take $200 worth of CBD products for the exchange immediately after saying they had no more premium spots available. So it sounded like she wanted the most for doing the least and all the red flags were up. I responded saying the original rate we discussed was closer to $500 and would be willing to work with the original rate. After looking at the new rates the campground vending would have been the closest to the rate I was willing to discuss and because of the space issue it is exactly where I would have been placed. I also realized I asked if they had other CBD vendors and she glossed over it. She responded and said “if I would have planned better” I could have avoided the rate increase even though she was not responding to emails prior to the vendor load in information. At this point I can see she is trying to aggressively close a sale and I said I will not be vending the event and will no plan to in the future either. It felt like they did not sell enough tickets and where going to try to make their profit back by screwing over the vendors.
I had a friend that went to the event and it was a shit show. The music schedule was all messed up and the headliner they advertised for one of the nights was contracted for the previous night and could not accommodate their mistake. The people that did go and paid for the day pass didn’t get to see the artists they wanted. The event was mostly cannabis vendors that weren’t making their vendor fee back and they were really just hanging out with each other. After hanging out in some Facebook groups related to the event I saw some vendors speaking up and saying how disappointing the event was. The venue itself smelled like trash and from there it went downhill.
I was in Maine and figured I would make the best of my time. I saw Chris Webby and Ekoh perform and it was the best decision I could have made. I had the best time and needed some fun. I don’t really drink but I had one of my favorite Kava drinks (Leilo) before heading into the show. I have no idea what I’m doing next pop up shop wise but I just want to go into hibernation mode already. I might head to Tennessee to stay with a friend before I figure out my next move.
Until Next Time <3
