When it Rains it Pours

I participated in the Edmond's Arts Festival over Father's Day weekend.   I love this venue for many reasons.   It's right in my backyard.   It's the first art festival I've ever participated in.  It's where I won my first painting award.   I painted the poster for the festival one year.   I love the people who run it.   It has a view of Puget Sound.   I get to reconnect with so many friends.    Fun all the way around.
This year though, I had Johnny Rain Cloud hanging over my head.   I felt like I could have been in the Jim Carey movie, The Truman Show.
Friday and Saturday were typical, fun days.  The weather was cool but no rain!   Sunday came with a forecast for rain.   Nothing new in Seattle.   It wasn't raining outside when I opened my booth in the morning....but it was raining INSIDE my booth....actually raining!   It could have been a movie set...it was so hilarious.  People were dry walking around the festival until they came into my booth to get rained on.   I was amused and fascinated but quickly sprung into action to save my paintings as they were getting the worst end of this phenomenon.  My husband came to put a tarp over my tent but realized we had to close up shop or loose every painting.   So, literally, with Johnny Rain Cloud, over my head I ran every painting I had off the field and headed home just a few minutes after it started raining outside my booth!
My good friend who generously gave me her new(er) tent since she quit doing art festivals, actually gave me a tent that was Shade Resistant not Rain Resistant!
Later, I received this email from one of the wonderful directors who helped me :

"Please accept my apology for the way things turned out for you at the Edmonds Arts Festival.  I sincerely hope that you didn't suffer a substantial financial loss, Patty.  Your art is quite extraordinary, as is your remarkable spirit.   Despite the tragedy of such a fine artist packing up and leaving our Festival under those circumstances, I think I will always remember with a smile your persistent cheerfulness and childlike enjoyment of the irony of having borrowed a booth that actually rains on the inside when it's raining on the outside.  I admire and respect your indomitable spirit, evident in your impulse to respond first to the irony of your situation instead of just throwing up your hands in despair or giving in to anger.  Nice job.

Ci vediamo  "

I'm posting a small painting I titled, "After the Rain".