So, this was my first year actually attending the 4th of July Craft Fair in Bar Harbor Maine on Mount Desert Island. The event takes place on the property of the YMCA Bar Harbor across from the Athletic Feld hosting the Pancake Breakfast and the big Lobster Boil. I must say it’s quite the Spectacular. Now this may have been my first time attending as a crafter but not for lack of trying, last year’s 4th of July event got rained out from a torrential downpour.
Now I grew up spending my summers on Cape Cod and the Islands and has spent 10 years living there before moving to Maine in 2021. I have seen huge crazy amounts of tourists as I’ve worked a number of odd jobs dealing with tourists. My former jobs include a snack shop at the beach in the 90s, making gourmet desserts and breakfast treats at a bakery, working the night shift at one of largest package (liquor) stores, a dress shop on Main St Hyannis, giving out food samples at the grocery stores and even as an art gallery assistant all on Cape Cod. So, to say I have experience with tourists is an understatement. I’ve seen some wonderful tourists and I’ve seen multiple decades full of awfully rude tourists in my life. Let me tell you one thing about the people coming to Bar Harbor.
THEY ARE AMAZING!! I honestly think since I started doing craft fairs on Mount Desert Island, I have yet to experience a rude tourist. Now the Cape has some lovely tourists, don’t get me wrong but I have had jobs where a rude tourist was not just a daily experience but an hourly experience on the Cape. Yesterday on the 4th was probably the largest crowd I have ever seen on MDI since I started selling last year so to say that everyone was pleasant is just one of the many reasons that I am so glad I moved to Maine. Vacationland. Home of the happy tourist (IMHO). Looking forward to Flamingo Festival next weekend and my first anniversary selling my art.