'People couldn't find us': Vendor, Balloonfest organizers sort out festival frustrations

HOWELL — At least one vendor from Balloonfest was left frustrated, leaving hours before the festival's conclusion after she claims merchants were simply placed too far away from the action.

More: Despite rainy weather, organizers say attendance was high for Balloonfest

Event organizers, meanwhile, blame poor weather conditions.

Erin Hamilton of Howell, who owns The Mushroom Conservatory, sold gourmet mushroom growing kits at the festival, but ended up closing early — shutting down Saturday and packing up Sunday morning. She says she went to the Holly Farmers Market instead, hoping for better foot traffic.

On social media, Hamilton claimed she wasn't the only vendor who packed up early.

"We ended up in a corner where people weren't inclined to walk," she told The Daily. "People couldn't find us. There was a huge distance between us and the rest of the event. It was like being at a separate event."

It's true, Hamilton said, that poor weather conditions made Friday a slow day, but she had higher hopes for Saturday.

"Things started warming up (Saturday), and everyone was like, this is going to be an awesome day," she said. "Then we realized, when a few (vendors) trekked over to the main area, it was picking up, just not here."

Hamilton claimed it was difficult for her to communicate her frustrations to festival organizers, whom she says she had trouble reaching. Instead, she posted her grievances to the festival's social media page and found herself blocked. She posted on another local Facebook group, but the post was removed by group administrators.

"I’ve emailed back and forth with the chamber at this point, and they’ve apologized for the lack of communication," she said. "They've been very receptive and asked me to come to their next board meeting to talk about it."

Marketplace co-chair Richard Lim felt the need "to clarify" Hamilton's complaints.

"For the most part, weather was a big factor this weekend," he said. "Saturday ... the weather improved and, like with anything else with Balloonfest, people started trickling in and the surge came in around 4 or 5 p.m."

He says Hamilton shut down before the surge. Then, on Sunday, there was another threat of severe weather.

"Our contract with vendors is they have to stay throughout the event," he said. "The committee gave them the option to leave (due to the weather forecast)."

Howell Area Chamber of Commerce President Janelle Best said they haven't received complaints from other vendors.

"We wanted to ensure a safe event and that (vendors) didn't incur damages from the storm that was coming," she said. "Their stuff would've been destroyed."

Best said the marketplace was actually closer to other festival activities than in previous years, with the intention of guiding more foot traffic to vendors.

Lim said they're always looking for ways to adjust.

"We live and learn," he said. "There are a few things we need to tweak."

Best said Hamilton's comment on the festival's social media account was "hidden because we wanted to reach her, but there was no time."

Hamilton said she hopes festival organizers will learn from her experience as a vendor and improve the situation for next year.

"It was really hard to say something because I love our local business community and I know how hard the chamber works and how volunteers work hard to make this happen," she said. "I didn't want my post to come across like nobody tried. I don't want this to be misconstrued.

"They needed a central coordinator for the open-air market. They had a few volunteers, but they were so busy."

— Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com. 

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: 'People couldn't find us': Vendor, Balloonfest organizers sort out festival frustrations