08/09/2026
This weekend I was signed up to be a vendor at the Dover Hot Air Balloon festival. It was the worst experience I have ever had as a vendor and I want to share my experience.
The vendor fee was $150. It was one of the most expensive fees I’ve ever paid but the email we received said over 3,000 tickets had been sold and the price was for 2 days so I felt it would be worth it.
When I arrived on Friday, there was no organizer to check in with. I didn’t even have to prove I was a vendor. I pulled up next to a vendor and asked who to check in with and they told me that nobody had been around and that everyone was just setting up down the line. I began setting up and was about half way done when a man came by and made me move my tent closer to the vendor next to me. He said we couldn’t be more than 3 feet apart. We had to move everything over. I still have no idea if he worked for the grounds, a hot air balloon company, or who he was. He never introduced himself and just made everyone move. In my experience, organizers mark the spots when space is tight and there were no markings or directives in the emails.
The event started at 5 pm and I was luckily able to make a few sales before it down-poured. When the rain started, there was nowhere for anyone to go. People ran into our tent making it impossible for me to pull my items inside and everything ended up drenched. When the rain stopped someone came by on a golf cart and yelled to us that the event was canceled and we could come the same time Saturday to set up again (9 am- 3 pm). Nobody offered to help the vendors with packing up or load their cars. (I realize typically organizers do not help pack up the vendors displays but given the price of the vendor fee and the horrible weather, I thought maybe we’d have some support)
I decided to return the next day around noon. When I arrived at the gate it was locked and a man was sitting in his truck so I let him know I was a vendor arriving to set up. He said he was also a vendor and had been there waiting since 10 am for someone to come and unlock the gates. I decided to call the organizer listed in the email and I let him know the gate was locked. He told me there was another entrance to go to and as I was leaving another vendor pulled behind me. They had been told the same thing and drove around the entire field and there was no other entrance. She then got out of the car and tried the lock, and it had been unlocked the entire time. Many vendors had left their booths set up overnight so I am hoping the gate wasn’t unlocked all night.
I begin to set up and again, there are no organizers there to greet us and tell us where to go. As I’m setting up (this time more prepared for the rain) I get a Thunderstorm Warning. I covered all of my items to protect them and prepare for the rain when the strongest wind gust I have ever felt comes through and takes out more than 5 vendors tents and booths. Thankfully one of the hot air balloon operators came over and encouraged us to abandon our tents because someone could have been seriously hurt. At that point, my tables were tossed, my pieces were everywhere, and my tent was destroyed. I packed up my car and gave up.
Again, not a single organizer was around to help the vendors. The vendor next to me called the organizer and was told “they can’t control the weather” and “we should have been manning our tents”. We were. There were vendors with cinder block weights that ended up across the field. That’s how bad this wind was. They made us keep all of our tents so close together, despite being in a giant open field with plenty of space, so the tents created a domino effect as they blew away. There were many vendors who left their items overnight and had no idea they would be walking into a mess. The vendors who were there at the time were the ones to reach out to anyone that had a business card or name visible to let them know their stuff had blown away. I tried calling the organizer to ask for contact information for the booth next to me but his voicemail box was full. He called back 30 minutes later but we had contacted the vendor at that point.
Apparently, the night went on Saturday and I would’ve loved to have been there but I couldn’t because my tent was gone. I had no way to light up my space and if the rain came again I would have been exposed.
My hopes in posting this is that a vendor who is considering signing up for the event next year, sees this, and doesn’t waste their money. I am so disappointed. I had been looking forward to this event for months. It was so poorly organized for the price. I have done free events with more organization! I met a lot of wonderful vendors and I think that’s the only positive I can give.
Please consider following some of the vendors from the event. I didn’t get to meet everyone so if you were at the event please comment below so people can find you. Here are some of the other vendors:
Crafty Sass Gifts
Ora Permanent Jewelry
Ccs Craft Boutique
Legendary Crafts
Beaded Blessings
Ivy and Milly’s Bookish Boutique
Closet410 Crew
