There are plenty of other folks who will tell you how the players and coaching staff performed at Saturday’s Festival. This blog will just be my personal experiences from yet another Blackhawk’s ‘first’ event.
After a week of dealing with gut-wrenching financial decisions I looked forward to the Festival to be a day of, well, festivities! I’m happy to say that it was. My thanks to the loyal Message Board fans and friends who stop by to make me laugh, make me think, give me suggestions and buy my art. My thanks as well to the many new fans who purchased prints and made the day successful. My final thanks to my wife, Sheila, who ‘ran the shop’ allowing me to take-in the sites and sounds of the day.
I saw a lot of happy fans, some of whom were very optimistic after what they’d seen on the ice. I saw a lot of guys playing street hockey on a perfect day for a tournament. I saw runners getting awards from the Legendary Stan Mikita. I enjoyed playing table hockey against some very good players. I watched some energetic scrimmages and gained some insight from my seat between the team’s architect, Dale Tallon, and it’s historian, Harvey Wittenberg. In short, I was able to enjoy the Festival experience even more than the Convention because it gave me the opportunity to hang out with friends and fans (thanks for letting me play with your Nikon d80, Tony!) AND watch hockey!
From a business point of view, the logistics and staging orchestrated by the Blackhawk’s Brian Howe was excellent! Parking, unloading and setting up was a snap. I enjoyed the knowledge and company of many other vendors, some of whom were fellow artists, and my lower operating expenses allowed me to pass along the savings to the folks buying my prints. Happy people, happy times-it’s good to have hockey back in Chicago!
Go Hawks!
-tib
