When I was getting all of my framed prints ready for Festival in the Park, I wasn’t prepared for the experience I was going to have at the festival. Last month I wrote in my Where Art Thou? column that I was excited for the experience I would have at the Festival, along with the people that I would meet. With scorching heat, a cute anniversary present, Prince Charles and Betty, and a purse snatcher, it was definitely a weekend I will never forget!
My mom flew down from Minnesota on Wednesday and as soon as she landed we were off to Freedom Park to set up my booth! Setting up on the early set-up day, there were no problems getting in and out, avoiding crazy traffic, and with the great help of my mom and friend Katie!
The Festival started on Thursday night in Freedom Park, being a slow night and pretty uneventful. Friday was kids day with all of the cute kids strolling around the park, walking in single file lines, with strict instructions from their teachers not to touch anything!
Saturday was the long day running from 10am-10pm. I was excited for the busy day they were predicting. Sales were great, the park was packed with people, but it ended up being an EXTREMELY warm day, cooking all of us vendors!
My booth happened to be nicely placed underneath one of the largest trees in the park right at the entrance!:) As most of the other artists’ booths were out in the direct sun, mom and I were hanging out in the cool shade!
Across from my booth was Jim, an energetic painter that kept shifting his paintings around, bringing focus on a new one every half hour, and coming over to me to tell me his ADD was kicking in. He just couldn’t sit still, which is bound to happen when you’re sitting in one place for 12 hours! He was very entertaining and we became good friends over the weekend.
I will now get to the most exciting day I think I have had in a very long time. Sunday morning started out with my mom and I getting my booth ready for the day at 10am. We got it all set up and I then slouched down in the chair next to my booth thinking, I’m not sure if I can get through this last day. I was extremely exhausted after the 12 hour day and I looked over at my mom and said “8 hours to go!”
About 20 minutes later I was woke up with two guys that were amazed with the large print I had standing beside my booth of my Loft 1523 Charlotte Skyline Reflection. I got up and was talking with the guys and they said they had to have one to hang up in their living room! It’s always exciting, and eye wakening, when you hear someone wants one of your photos to hang in such a prime spot:) So, I was now awake for the day!
On Saturday this girl had shyly walked up to my booth, holding something in her hand, and asked me if I would be able to do something for her. She said she was embarassed to ask, but it was her and her boyfriend’s 1 year annversary on Sunday and Freedom Park was where they had their first date. She wanted to give him the framed pictures in a cute way and asked if I would have it set up somewhere in my booth around 1:00 on Sunday for him to find. I love cute stories, so I was very happy to do it for her!
So I was anxious for 1:00 to come around and for them to walk up to my booth finding the frames I had put up on the side of my booth, with pictures that had special meaning for them. I had my camera ready as I saw Megan walking up, she smiled at me as I saw her, and they then walked inside my booth. I told her though that some of my photos were also hanging on the side of my booth. (sneak, sneaky!) So her and her boyfriend walked around and he was shocked to see photos of him and her that he recognized! It was so cute! (see photos of the moment attached!)
A little while later this older gentleman I noticed passing on the side of my booth under the tree, stumbling a bit as he walked through the wood chips, and seemed to be waiting for the rest of his family. He got sick of waiting and was looking for a nice place to sit down in the shade. So of course he sat down in the convenient park bench beside my booth! It changed my day!
I was standing in front of my booth and he looked so cute sitting there (I’m a sucker for cute old men), so we started talking. When he introduced himself he told me I can just call him Prince Charles. He went into these stories of him living in England and how he got to escort around a lot of the royalty in England, he explained he has a Japanese wife, Jamaican daughter and American grandson. He went on and on and I was fully entertained. This was exactly the type of experience of meeting people I was hoping for when I wrote last month’s column.
After talking to Charles for quite some time this cute lady Betty sat at the other end of the bench next to Charles. She was with her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter. She was hot, and wanted to rest in the shade. How convenient was my spot! The story only gets better from here.
Betty and Charles then began to flirt because both of their families were off wandering around the park, looking at the other art booths. Of course Charles loved being around us girls and told us to take advantage of him while his wife was gone;) Those two made my day and I had to get a picture of us to remember the experience. (Make sure to check out the photos attached.) And I wanted them to have something to remember our day by, so I gave them both a print of my Charlotte reflection, with a cute note on the back.
Betty and Charles sat on that bench together until Charles family sadly came back to retreive him. None of Charle’s family knew exactly about the couple hours we just had, but of course could imagine knowing Charles.
Charles then left with his family and there Betty sat. She was such a great sales lady yelling out to everyone, “Don’t you want to buy some pictures! I got one!” She then turned to me and winked, “I didn’t lie.”
I was smiles all day with the great day I had been having with them. Betty continued to sit in the shade by my booth, until the shade moved, so we moved her to behind my tent where the tree still made some shade. Then around 4:00 the excitement started!
Betty was sitting behind my tent, with a view through my tent where she could see this gentleman looking around in the booths. So she pulled me over and said “Laura, watch out that guy looks suspicious.” Then about two seconds later I hear my mom yell “Stop that man! He has my purse!”
I then see the man start darting through the crowds, wearing his pink dress shirt and tie! I start running after him yelling “Stop the man in the pink shirt!” Immediately the crowd looked in confusion and see this man darting through, pushing people aside as he ran! It was like a scene out of the movies with the man running, purse in hand, and me chasing behind him trying to get someone to stop him!
I continued to run and yell, and it was amazing how many guys heard me yelling, realizing what was going on, and immediately started chasing after the man in the pink shirt! I looked up and about 6 men…and more starting to join…were chasing the man and trying to get him to stop!
I just kept running and caught up to everyone as they had passed the food vendors, and someone told me that he had ditched the purse and threw it in the trees. Me out of breath, looked in all of the bushes and wondered how I was ever going to find it! I looked over where the thief was and the nice guys that started running were surrounding him until someone came. I was wondering when the police would get there, but I had to find my mom’s purse.
The man that saw him throw it directed me to the area where he ditched it. There it was nicely placed underneath a tree, as if he was hoping to come back and get it. In a huge crowd like that he thought he would get away with it, and even possibly come back and get it???
I thanked the man that helped me get it and told him he had to have one of my photos! I was completely out of breath and was worried about my booth I had ran away from. So, I headed back to make sure everything was ok.
Ten minutes later I headed back to the spot where the man had been taken down by the nice guys, but no one was there. I asked someone where the police were and they said since they couldn’t find me while the police were holding the man, so they let him go!
I was thankful we had my mom’s purse back, but I hate that I didn’t get the chance to thank ALL of the guys that helped take down the thief! So I’m sorry to all of you that I didn’t get to thank, and I REALLY appreciate all of you that immediately, without thinking, starting chasing the guy in the pink shirt! Please email me if you are one of those and you definitely deserve one of my prints!
So all-in-all Festival in the Park was an experience that I will never forget and maybe next year will be just as exciting! Thanks to Mom and Katie that helped me set up and take down, Prince Charles and Betty for the memorable Sunday, all of my friends that came to see me during the four days, and for everyone that made the high speed chase on foot exciting! 
