Ah, the Astoria Regatta. Normally a fun kinda thing, lots going on, parade, etc.A few years ago the center of it all was that little stretch of Duane by the Moose Club. I had my vending tent there, as did several others, and we covered both sides of Duane. The parade marched right by, so close you could touch them. My granddaughter was only one at the time, and she was in her stroller just inside the tent, her eyes agog.
It was a fun, relaxed street-festival atmosphere. Post-parade, the bands performed in the street by the Moose Club, which was holding an open house for the weekend, and there were food vendors. The Bowpicker must have cleaned up that weekend - there was always a line in front of the place. The festivities were close to the Maritime Museum, so there was a steady flow back and forth between the street and the museum. It a very nice event that had a small-town cozy feel to it.
Then last year, the regatta committee started feeling a little greedy, so they decided to fence in the Safeway square for the vendors, bands, and beer, and charge admission. Think it was only a buck or two. People winced, but some coughed it up and came in. Not enough to give the vendors much business, though. I mean, who's going to pay to go in and shop when they can see the same vendors on Sunday for free at the Sunday Market?
This year, they raised the fee for vendors, and I decided I wouldn't go through the whole ordeal of setting up my tent in the little fenced-in area. Besides, I knew I would be having company, and preferred to spend the time with them.
Bomb threat be damned, we all set out this morning to see the parade, which the regatta committee has not managed to fuck up yet, and parked ourselves on Duane Street just outside the fenced-in regatta area. A pal of mine, who is a vendor, came out to talk to me. She was pissed. Seriously teeth-gnashing pissed.
It seems the greedy bug bit the regatta committee pretty hard this year. They were charging $5 to come into the fenced area. So nobody was in there but the vendors, who had paid from $50 to $75 to be there, and were in a state of uproar.
My pal told me she was going to fold up her tent and get the hell out of there as soon as the parade was over, and was going to demand her money back. She thought several other vendors were going to do the same.
Needless to say, the vendors had not been told about the admission fee. Kinda like when the Sunday Market managers don't tell vendors at the cruise ships about the passengers being Canadian, and only allowed to spend $50 in the U.S.
Anyway, I was going to take my guests to the regatta festivities tonight until I heard about the $5 per person to get in and the short-pours on the over-priced beer. Forget it.
And where were the gill-net boat races? They advertised them last year, and this year, and nope, no races either year. Heard there was some grumbling on the part of the gill-net boat owners, but don't know exactly what the grumbling was about. The last time they raced was 2005, and it was marvelous to watch them. Another fun part of the regatta, gone.
Too bad the greedy bug ruined what was once a fun event.
