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PITTSBURG —
Pittsburg is one of the best places around for vendors, according to some who were setting up their booths Tuesday in preparation for the annual Fourth of July festivities Wednesday at Lincoln Park.
“The city officials treat you like you’re part of the family, and that makes you work that much harder,” said Mike England of Mike’s Amusements, Wheaton, Mo. “You go home from here feeling good.”
Maybe that’s why so many of them showed up this year.
“We’ve got 35 arts and crafts spaces and 13 or 14 food vendors, plus one that’s beverages-only,” said Sara Mitchell, City of Pittsburg recreation superintendent.
She said that preparations Tuesday were going well as vendors checked in and all the details were finalized.
“We’re just getting the grand show ready, that’s what it feels like now,” Mitchell said. “When the clouds rolled in around 11 a.m. or noon today, I said, oh, no., but they rolled on through and there’s no rain in the forecast.”
Of course, rain really is needed right now.
“After the show is over, let it rain,” said Midge Barley, Frontenac, who’s been a vendor during the Lincoln Park festivities for seven or eight years now.
She said that her merchandise is primarily watches, slides, Omegas, mini-wallets and coin purses.
“I’ll have about 150 watches, mostly bangle watches or jelly watches, which are silicone and have big faces,” Barley said.
She also sells at the Little Balkans Days and at several other area shows, and said that in some places, vendors are separated too far from each other, which reduces traffic and therefore leads to fewer sales.
“I don’t have any complaints here,” Barley said. “I think this is a very good show.”
So does Sue England, a food vendor stationed over near the J.J. Richards Band Dome with her funnel cakes, cotton candy, brats, fried Twinkies and more.
“We live over in the Cassville, Mo., area, and I’d move here if I could,” she said. “We love Pittsburg. This is one of the best shows.”
Craft vendors include Wayne Norgan, Independence, Kan., who is selling patio lights he has crafted from recycled 1.5 liter wine bottles. He was definitely not at the Pittsburg show last year because he didn’t start doing the bottle lights until last August.
“I cut the bottoms off the bottles,” he said. “The bottles come in dark green and amber, and I use the amber ones because they give off a lot more light.”
Pittsburg is one of the best places around for vendors, according to some who were setting up their booths Tuesday in preparation for the annual Fourth of July festivities Wednesday at Lincoln Park.
“The city officials treat you like you’re part of the family, and that makes you work that much harder,” said Mike England of Mike’s Amusements, Wheaton, Mo. “You go home from here feeling good.”
Maybe that’s why so many of them showed up this year.
“We’ve got 35 arts and crafts spaces and 13 or 14 food vendors, plus one that’s beverages-only,” said Sara Mitchell, City of Pittsburg recreation superintendent.
She said that preparations Tuesday were going well as vendors checked in and all the details were finalized.
“We’re just getting the grand show ready, that’s what it feels like now,” Mitchell said. “When the clouds rolled in around 11 a.m. or noon today, I said, oh, no., but they rolled on through and there’s no rain in the forecast.”
Of course, rain really is needed right now.
“After the show is over, let it rain,” said Midge Barley, Frontenac, who’s been a vendor during the Lincoln Park festivities for seven or eight years now.
She said that her merchandise is primarily watches, slides, Omegas, mini-wallets and coin purses.
“I’ll have about 150 watches, mostly bangle watches or jelly watches, which are silicone and have big faces,” Barley said.
She also sells at the Little Balkans Days and at several other area shows, and said that in some places, vendors are separated too far from each other, which reduces traffic and therefore leads to fewer sales.
“I don’t have any complaints here,” Barley said. “I think this is a very good show.”
So does Sue England, a food vendor stationed over near the J.J. Richards Band Dome with her funnel cakes, cotton candy, brats, fried Twinkies and more.
“We live over in the Cassville, Mo., area, and I’d move here if I could,” she said. “We love Pittsburg. This is one of the best shows.”
Craft vendors include Wayne Norgan, Independence, Kan., who is selling patio lights he has crafted from recycled 1.5 liter wine bottles. He was definitely not at the Pittsburg show last year because he didn’t start doing the bottle lights until last August.
“I cut the bottoms off the bottles,” he said. “The bottles come in dark green and amber, and I use the amber ones because they give off a lot more light.”
Light comes from a small votive candle hanging from a chain inside the bottle.
“You slide the bottle up the chain to light it, then when the bottle is back over it, the light is wind-proof and the rain won’t put it out either,” Norgan said.
Youngsters not interested in shopping will have plenty to do as well. Mike England said that he’s going to have pony rides and giant inflatables, ranging from a 30-foot high slide to an 18-footer for smaller children.
“Then there’s the kiddiepillar, which is a tunnel where the kids go in the worm’s mouth and come out at the tail,” he said.
England also has some other inflatables, plus the Avatar Swing and Lion Kingdom Tubs of Fun.
“That’s all we had enough electricity for, so we left the rest of it at home,” he said. “We changed out some of the stuff, so we didn’t bring the same things that we brought last year.”
England also does Little Balkans Days, and fondly remembers doing employee appreciation events for Superior Industries before it closed.
“Superior would rent Kiddie Land and we’d do a barbecue buffet for them here in the park,” he said. “We’d feed 1,200 to 1,600 people. That was fun. We just love Pittsburg. Lincoln Park is beautiful and we love it.”
