Our latest show was only 5 minutes from home in downtown Port Deposit. With only 631 residents, the Fire & Ice Festival essentially quadruples this tiny riverside town's population. It's the busiest evening in the winter for the few local taverns, coffee house, and pizza joint. There are fire pits and tiny decorated tents where visitors can mingle with friends. This year, they doubled the vendor spaces! We had plenty of time to set up and walk around to visit with other vendors and grab a drink before the streets filled.
This festival is in the evening, and it is dark an hour after it starts, but our tent was well lit. Lighting is important any time of the day, but string lights won't cut it at night. You need spot lights. We just use two inexpensive LED flash lights from Harbor Freight and zip tie them at the front of the tent, aiming down toward our tables.
