Demoing Five Men Standing to Euan at Made In Wairarapa- photo by Bruce Levy
Last weekend we were at the brilliant Made in Wairarapa expo, demonstrating Five Men Standing and handing out entries to the new colouring competition.
After the turmoil of recent months with earthquakes in the south and ongoing news of global financial calamities, it was inspiring to be part of such a positive, exciting experience, and to be able to see how many people are just getting on with life and creating innovative and intriguing work!
There were photographers and video-makers, creators of gorgeous furniture, printers, designers, boutique beers and luscious cup-cakes, superb olive oils and cheese and chocolate, books, pottery and… well, you get the idea!
And then there we were, having a ball showing people Five Men Standing and playing games and finding out about where visitors had come from and what brought them to the expo. The friendly atmosphere at the show was a credit to the organisers, Pete and Al, and the great musicians they’d organised, and it rubbed off on all involved: everywhere you looked, people were chatting away and having a great time wandering around.
We’d luckily made a quick dash around before the show to local stockists Paper Plus, Almo’s Books and All Aboard, because we had quite a few sales too! Always nice to be able to support your local retailers…
But for me, the biggest thing was the positive reception for the game- visitors quickly understood it, almost everyone jumped in to try their hand, and we came away with a lot of fans, like young Euan in the photo. There were lots of impromptu playoffs at the stand as challenges were laid down, and as per previous demos I’ve done, interest across the spectrum from young boys and girls as well as adults.
Intriguing too, what happens when you wander away for a moment to grab a drink. This battle between NZ and Oz had been set up, with one of the Samoan team doing stand-in duty as the ref! Lovely when people take your ideas and extend them even further…
(Thanks to Bruce Levy Photography for the images)