Home again after three days of being vendors at the 2023 Port Gamble Ghost Conference!
In general, I would say it was a positive experience. I am always very appreciative of a crowd that's truly "into" the work and even better when that translates into some sales.
Event venue: The Port Gamble Theater. The vendor hall was upstairs!
It might not have been the best ever — from a purely financial perspective — but we ended up meeting some really interesting people, and we made some new friends in the process. And that was cool, and not something you can attach a monetary value to.
Port Gamble is an interesting old town. We have rarely had the opportunity to actually look around there, but we pass through the town dozens of times every year, on our way to the ferry terminal for the Seattle/Puget Sound ferries.
A look up main street; early morning, before the crowds arrive!
We learned that the majority of town is actually a "Company Town," with virtually all the buildings being the property of the original lumber mill that was on the site.
Well, not the successor company owns the town.
The reason the houses don't look much like your typical Washington state village is that the whole town (dating to the 1840s) was actually modeled on towns in the state of Maine, in order to look "familiar" to the workers from the Eat coast that the lumber company was trying to bring out here.
One mystery solved!
The Masonic Lodge is one of the FEW "non-Company" buildings in town
Why this small town is allegedly so haunted is hard to explain, except for maybe the fact that a lot of the people who died here died a long way from their original homes.
And, of course, the presence of the lumber mill probably meant that a fair number of people lost their lives early, thanks to accidents.
Main Street, from the opposite end
Anyway, this was our "kickoff event" of this year's holiday events schedule.
I'm happy to report that we did well enough that some of the cloud of doom and gloom that has been hanging over me in recent months has somewhat lifted, and I feel inspired and motivated to get back to creative work.
It was also a positive event for my wife — who's a fairly renowned psychic and counselor — who came away with a desire to "re-spray" some of her old projects.
At the vendor table - sorry it's a bit grainy, it was pretty dark in there!
Now I get to do some serious catch-up work in the creative department, ahead of our next event on December 1st & 2nd. At that point, I need to have all my stock ready, because it will be "go time" every weekend until December 17th!
I appreciate you coming to visit and please do leave a comment if you feel so inclined!
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If you enjoy painted rocks, do check out The Hive Rocks Project and help spread the word about Hive, while also being creative!
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