(YANKTON, SD) "25 foot (sic) away from the front of my canopy here,
was river, I had riverfront property," art vendor Leroy Von Glan said.
And many vendors weren't sure if the so-called riverfront property would be a positive thing for business last year.
"It was almost flooded the whole park but not quite, we still managed
to set up. I remember that weekend, it was very rainy and cool, but
it's good this year," said fabric artist David Crawford.
Vendors across the waterfront area of the park say that last year's
flood waters rose significantly. But even still that didn't stop people
from coming out and enjoying the live music, food and the art.
And this year isn't much different. Von Glan says the drought hasn't impacted his business, yet.
"Throughout the year, my sales have remained the same here even though
we had the droughts, I may be seeing that next year with crops and
things of that nature, but so far it's been the same," he said.
And the impact of this summer's drought could last for years, driving
down turnout at the festival in the future. But for now, these vendors
focus on their wares.
"It's hand thrown, hand made, everything starts out as wet mud with me, and ends up as stone," Von Glan said.
"I'm a traveling artist, and I've traveled all over the United States
selling my art for the last 20 years and what I have are these beautiful
purses like what I'm wearing. My wife has actually sewn this one,"
Crawford said.
Festival Times:
Friday August 17th- 5 P.M. until 11 P.M. Fireworks on the river start at 10 P.M.
Saturday, August 18th- 10 A.M. until 11 P.M.
Sunday, August 19th- 10 A.M. until 6 P.M.
http://www.riverboatdays.com/index.html
