Christmas Festivals

Christmas festivals are typically filled with toxic stink so I normally don't even attempt to attend one. However, this year I found out the local bead shop has one every year for their artist customers and I just happened to be in the store at the right time. I was excited! Beads are one of the few non-toxic art supplies and very popular with chemically sensitive creatives.  Lately I've been using beads for the mosaics I'm making. I was looking forward to a whole festival of bead-themed art project for ideas. I love seeing what people do for fun. Unfortunately when I asked more questions I was told the event is not just for beadwork, but any homemade project. Hmmm...I think most people would be more excited but the thought gave me pause.

There were a few booths located on the lower level. I'm sure they were run-over due to overbooking as the space was a bit of an after-thought, a messy storeroom area haphazardly organized to accommodate this handful of artisans. There were tables of baked goods, ceramics, hemp sculptures, and cards. Nice, non-smelly. I stopped and chatted with the artists and let them tell me all about their processes. I regret the baked goods were not gluten free. Darn. I perceived this as a preview and it gave me hope.

As I made my way to the upstairs location, a very small sign at the top caught my eye. It was a copy of an email but printed in big bold letters at the top was the heading, "ATTENTION: READ THIS".

OK. Ever the complaint one, I hesitated and thought, It's probably something not so important as it is implying, but at that point my curiosity got the best of me. The email was addressed to artists with booths and said something to the effect (paraphrasing):

Please remember to be fragrance-free as many of our employees are chemical sensitive and would appreciate it! Thanks!

Whoa!! Outstanding! I was so hopeful for this event. I cheerfully walked through the door and was hit by an avalanche of toxic stink. It took me about thirty seconds before I stopped stubbornly fighting the desire to continue, turned around, and high-tailed it out of there. So disappointing.

I wrote to the store and requested next year they put the non-smelly booths downstairs, perhaps those focused on beads since that is what their store sells, and leave the toxic, poisonous stink upstairs so everyone can enjoy. Am I asking too much? I told them if it's extra work, I'd be happy to volunteer to help.

Their response was...no. LOL. Hey, it never hurts to try. In fact, I don't know if they knew about that sign. Perhaps a rogue chemically sensitive employee hung it? I hope I didn't get anyone in trouble....