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Show eAUGUST78m 7 frustrating. The key is efficiency of movement if you figure that there are 235 artists, and if you were to spend just two minutes at each of their booths, it would take you somewhere between seven and eight hours to see all that's around you. Once you're at the top of Main Street, take a breath. Get another cold drink and maybe a bite to eat at the Treasure Mountain stage area, where there will be live music being played from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. There is seating available for 500 people, so sit down and relax before you start down Main Street to take in the other half of the art booths. Make it a point to stop into the shops and restaurants along Main Street as well; there you can escape the crowd and the heat and find more art treasures. Don Gomes suggests if you're in the buying mood, view the whole festival before you purchase so you can see all that's available. But beware of two drawbacks to that approach: what you really loved may be gone by the time you return; or worse, it may be at the top booth on Main Street, and now you're at the bottom again. Don't Be Afraid to Ask Don't be afraid to ask the artist questions about his or her work if you're about to invest money in it. How long can you expect a ceramic soup tureen to last? How should you care for it? What sort of matting and framing would best offset a watercolor? How does sunlight affect a certain piece of artwork, and how should it be displayed? Try to get a business card from the artist in case you have questions later, or in the event a friend says he's just got to have one, too it's a nice way to support the art community. One important piece of advice from Sean Toomey: "Be careful if you're buying something that is being sent to you later at your home. If you can, have it sent C.O.D. The Art Festival can't be responsible for deals you make with the artist, so be careful about giving someone money in return for later shipping." ship-ping." Because the work of all of the artists is accepted only after a rigorous jurying process, you'll find that nothing on the street is "junk." Of course, quality is a matter of personal judgment. But the rules of entering the Festival require that each piece be handmade by the artist, not mass-produced on an assembly line. Because there is such a variety of art within easy walking distance, many people take advantage of the opportunity oppor-tunity to do their Christmas shopping. Remember last year's vow to get started early next year? Here's your chance. If you do start collecting an armful of packages, keep two things in mind: One, don't put anything down, even for a minute. It's sad to think that someone would walk off with a purse or newly-bought newly-bought art piece, but when there are 20,000 people milling around you, it's possible. Secondly, if you can't carry your purchases, ask the artist to keep it inside his booth until later in the day, or take the free shuttle bus running down Swede Alley (parallel to Main Street) to take valuable purchases back to your car or room. If you want to be really meticulous about seeing every booth, but a momentary momen-tary crowd keeps you from visiting a particular artist, check off your progress on the map in this newspaper so you can return. (See centerfold.) Every artist is listed with an approximate location of his or her booth. Festival First Aid If you wore your spiked highheels to the Festival, you may by now be in severe agony. Next year you may want to consider sneakers. If you are suffering from a blistered heel, there is a first aid station about halfway up Main Street in the parking lot of the Post Office. If you've lost your child, you may temporarily tem-porarily breathe a sigh of relief; but when your senses return, ask for assistance from any Art Festival staff member, all of whom are wearing grey T-shirts emblazoned with the blue Festival logo. There is also an information infor-mation booth at the bottom of Main Street where they will direct you to the lost and found for packages and children. Festival Etiquette Emily Post probably hasn't included these points of etiquette in her book, but if everyone who visited the Festival kept them in mind, it would make for a nicer time for everyone: If you have a dog with you that is right now wrapping its leash around someone's leg, sniffing up a stranger's dress or licking the skin off a baby's face, please take him somewhere off Main Street. Things tend to be confusing enough at the Festival without the added excitement of pets trying to bound up the street. Try to keep an eye on your kids; first so they don't get lost in a sea of thousands thou-sands of legs; but also so you don't end up buying something that just smashed on the pavement. The Art Festival is a great experience for kids who spin like tops trying to take in all the sights and sounds; but there are always items that can be damaged, and somehow kids seem to find them. If you're interested, a child care service is being offered for a fee at the Park City Community Church at 402 Park Avenue (west of and parallel to Main Street). If it's a hot day, things can get even more heated when people are constantly running into each other. Like driving, try to watch out for the other guy and avoid a collision. Stand off to the side when you're eyeballing art so you don't stem the flow of traffic. If you're carrying a kid on your shoulders, instruct in-struct him that no matter how much fun it is, he's got to stop kicking people in the head. Try not to run your baby stroller up onto people's ankles. Be careful not to drip ice cream or soda onto on-to artwork or art lovers. Artists Are People Too Artists are people too. Try to bite your tongue when you have the urge to say things like: "This is art?!! My 3-year-old could do better than this!" Or, "Fifty "Fif-ty bucks! You gotta be kiddin' me; that piece of junk isn't worth a dime!" If you don't like what you see, simply move on. Try to realize that whether or not you appreciate the work, an artist has spent a great deal of time preparing for the Festival, and it's an emotional experience ex-perience to sit for eight hours watching thousands of people watching you. "You're so vulnerable," said Toomey, recalling his two years as an exhibitor. "People are critiquing your life. If you are thinking something nice about the work, it's terrific to say so. But it's okay not to say anything; sometimes the con trived things people say because they trel they're supposed to say something are more awkward than if they just smileo and walked on." Making comments about the technique or beauty of the work is appropriate; ap-propriate; but complaining that some guy down the street is selling the same thing for $5 less is not. "Those kinds of comments are not addressing the artist," said Toomey. "But questions or comments com-ments about the piece are great. Artists are interested in not only having somebody buy their work, but having them enjoy it, too." In past years, there have been artists who are willing to haggle on the price of items still remaining on Sunday evening. But, as Toomey points out, it's a situation that should be handled Continued on page 30. "The perception of beauty is a moral test. 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