I was going to write about how great the Cranberry Festival in Chatsworth, NJ was this past weekend. I was going to write about people and venders of all kinds stretching as far as the eye could see. I was going to write about the fact that I was so busy that I didn’t sit down for two days, had to go home Saturday night and actually had to prep two more tubs of sample bags and pack the van with as many cases of By Nature Dog Organics as I had brought both to set-up on Friday and then again Saturday morning. I was gonna write about all the great people who I talked to and all the very cool dogs I met and how, an hour before closing Sunday night, I ran out of everything - samples, bags, even soda in my cooler - but I am not. I am gonna tell you what it is like to work a show with your boss … and hope he takes it as a learning experience. (If these blogs stop abruptly, you’ll know he didn’t!)

     Because I wanted my boss to have the full Demo Girl experience, I picked him up Friday around noon. I had hoped to get him to help me pre-pack my purple sample bags with handouts (“Feed that Dog,” “Dog Food Demo Girl News,” company brochures and coupons, and upcoming show schedules) but he was busy doing boss things in California (which, of course, he CLAIMED was a hardship but, really now, how hard is sitting on a plane and then staying in good hotels and partying with distributor reps? RIGHT!). Anyway, I pick him up with the “Great White” (my 1998 Ford Windstar with over 200,000 miles on it!), and took him to the show location 1.5 hours away. The best part? It was pouring ( actually teeming!) rain - and, while it was a rotten set-up but anyone’s terms, I couldn’t help but think that I was glad he was part of it - not because he was of any real help, but because he saw what life as a Demo Girl was really like - down and dirty (wet and muddy?). The best part was that he hadn’t bought any rain gear - and mine lives under the front passenger seat of my van - and, no, I didn’t offer to share. I wanted him to have the “full” set-up in the rain experience … do it once, and you’ll never go anywhere without a rain slicker (or, at the very least, checking weather.com!). He was still wet when I dropped him off at his house many hours later!

     Saturday morning I picked him up at 5 am. The “Great White” was already loaded down with another 50 cases of By Nature Organics and Bonnie (Demo Dog Excellent!) and her crate and I had filled my cooler with ice and caffeine free diet Coke and Slim-Fast (my “meal” of choice when I am working as you can slam it down and not have to waste time leaving the booth to forage for food!). My boss was less than talkative on the drive to Chatsworth. I am guessing that he is not used to getting up when it is still dark outside. As I had already done my kennel and readied the Poodles for the day having gotten up at 3:00, I was chit-chatting about everything - past shows, how great Bonnie is, L’Oreal’s use of my blog as part of the advertising for next year’s “Because Your Dog is Worth it, Too” day, the short-sightedness of putting all you eggs in one basket - you name it, I probably said it. It was nice having human company (I always have Bonnie and NPR!) on the long drive to a show venue - it was a novelty that I am not used to having even though he was pretty well mute! LOL!

     Needless to say, the grounds were absolute chaos when we got there. Vendors trying to get set up and ready their merchandise and their were deep puddles and trucks stuck in muddy goo and even worse, for the first time ever, the “Purple Cave” suffered a failure and had flipped over sometime during the night!!! I thought my boss would suffer a coronary ! But, never fear, there is always a fix and advanced planning and care goes a long way - I had completely tarped the contents of the “Purple Cave” both under and over, wrapping it like a big Christmas present (something I always do because you never know!) and we lost only four cases of food due to a river that caused the plastic to soak through! We righted the tent (one of the legs had given way due to water weight on the roof!) and now he knows, first hand, why I have been asking him for a new tent for ten months now. Yep, she has been through a lot and her canvases are stretched from being out in all kinds of weather for almost two years … stretching causes water to pool and guess what? That puts extra stress on her poor little legs which, until now, only bent. Now they bend enough to give way … glad he saw it first hand! Maybe I really will get a new tent now instead of a lot of talk! (And maybe it will say “By Nature” instead of “BrightLife” which is our professional food!)

     We were able to begin stuffing bags at 8:00. We filled up the two bins that I use to hold finished bags even though we were already being bombarded by people - seems people start shopping early at the Cranberry Festival (with all the vendors and everything there is to see, I guess they have learned that the early bird catches the worm!). We were supposed to open at 9:00 but it was elbow to elbow by that time - something you usually see much later in the day. Let the craziness begin!

     To say that I talked to a lot of people would be an understatement! The pet-food recall, still fresh in everyone’s mind, made most very receptive to certified organic food and Bonnie’s story … well, you would have to have an awfully hard heart not to see how wonderful it (and she!) is!

     What was very cool about this show was the number of people who have seen Bonnie and me at other venues and have switched over to By Nature Organics! I gave these people five dollar off coupons for which they were more then grateful! And how many came over just to say hello to Bonnie - it was soooo neat! She was petted and coo’ed over and so many people took pictures of Bonnie with their kids … I was glad to have my boss there to see all of it because I know no one up there in the ivory towers of our head quarters has a clue what an impact all of this has for By Nature …

     I was also glad that my boss had chance to hear, first hand, from our customers how some of the retail stores fall down on the job of maintaining stock and ordering correctly. I can talk all day—but hearing it from those that really matter (our customers!) means more than all the memos I can write and all the emails I crank out. I think it was a much needed eye opener!

     I had to laugh when Saturday ended with my boss as quiet on the ride home as he was on the ride there - and he kinda limped leaving my van and walking to his house. Yep, it is hard, hard work and I can only imagine that he was soaking his feet (and probably drinking a few glasses of wine!) Saturday night when I was loading my van with more food (55 cases!), pre-packing more bags (another whole tub!), and then feeding the kennel! I am sure he thought that Sunday morning came around all too quickly!

     At 6 am, I again arrived to pick my boss up - and again, he was very quiet on the drive and again, because I had been up for three hours, was wide awake and ready to go. It made me laugh that he actually had to stop for coffee at two different locations and complained of being stiff and sore. I also don’t think he was too happy with the fact that there was, yet again, so much to unload once we got there! (I have to admit that I was secretly laughing inside - This IS the life of a Demo Girl … and it is something you have to live to appreciate!)

     Sunday was, again, a flurry of activity - moving 50 more cases of food from van to tent, making up more bags, and talking, talking, talking. At one point, my boss made the comment that he wondered why I even bothered to bring a chair as you never have time to sit down. I told him I use it to hold my coat …

     We ran out of samples about a half-hour before the show actually closed. I misjudged the crowd and I think he was pissed but, you know what? In two days, I gave out over 3000 sample bags and talked to even more people than that. I don’t think you can kick over that! It was a dynamite show and everyone I spoke with was interested and receptive. No matter what he may have said, I know it was a success.

     Tear-down was easy as far as tear-downs go. Because we had run out of samples, he was able to bring one thing at a time to the van which, luckily wasn’t parked too far away. Now ... If he had only carried the bucket full of hardened concrete that I use to hold down the middle of my tent …

     During the hour and a half ride home, I asked him what he thought of the weekend. I have to tell you, I was gratified when he said that he had had no idea that it was so physical, that trade shows were so much easier because, other than set-up, you are just sitting around or partying with prospective distributors. YES! Maybe now someone, other than me, has come to understand that this is hard work!