The damaged pottery booth of Kandace Lockwood. Photo courtesy of Kandace Lockwood.Kandace Lockwood was one of dozens of artists who had gathered in Stowe for last weekend’s Stowe Foliage Arts Festival. She traveled from Utica, New York, with a booth full of handcrafted pottery to showcase, and was among the artists who opted to stay overnight at the event field Friday, following the first day of the three-day event.“We were camping on site so I could hear the wind over the van. It was scary all night long. I kept worrying about the tent,” Lockwood said.On Saturday morning, she awoke to a scene that would leave her and many other artists in disbelief. The enormous white tent that had sheltered their collections had collapsed, morphing into a chaotic scene of crushed booth setups, overturned racks, shattered ceramic pots, and scattered shards of glass.As with many other artists, she lost much of her collection — along with her hopes for a profitable weekend.“I would say 75% got broken at the show,” Lockwood said. “I have five weeks until my next show so I’m gonna be busy remaking things for the next show.”Photo courtesy of Kandace LockwoodDuring the peak fall foliage season, this arts festival represents a substantial revenue stream for the artists and other vendors, attracting thousands of patrons interested in their work. The event is crucial for generating sales and exposure, making the tents’ sudden collapse a notable disruption to the anticipated foot traffic and potential income. And there is the cost of securing a booth in the tent, which can run hundreds of dollars.Now, the organizer of the arts festival, Tim Cianciola, whose company Craftproducers based in Charlotte has put on the festival for more than 20 years, has launched a GoFundMe effort, hoping to raise $50,000 to be divided among all 160 vendors, including the 80-plus artists whose works were on display under the large tent.With the clean-up now wrapping up, some of the affected artists are questioning whether the tent should have been able to sustain the high winds.The National Weather Service reported high winds sweeping through the Green Mountains, with gusts reaching up to 55 miles per hour in Stowe on Saturday morning.Elizabeth Covone, owner of Alpine Drift, which specializes in handmade wooden ski mountain maps, expressed her uncertainty.“Mother Nature has her own plans that obviously can’t be avoided, though I’m sure there are questions,” she said, wondering aloud if a microburst, the tent’s setup or soggy conditions from the week’s rains might have contributed.She also credited the Stowe community for quickly rallying to support the festival’s artists. “We were blessed to have crossed paths with Kate Carpenter of Stowe Living who, without hesitation, took in our remaining products into her shop to help us salvage the weekend,” said Covone.The festival organizers have urged the vendors to remain patient as they continue to assess the damage and investigate why the larger tent collapsed while smaller tents withstood the wind.“I am in conversation with the tent company. They don’t understand why the tent went down. That’s one of the questions, how big were the winds?” said Cianciola, the event’s organizer.Cianciola was preparing to head to the festival Saturday morning when he received a call from the security company informing him that the main tent was coming down. Cianciola said the tent company, Big Top Tent Rentals based in Cairo, New York, is talking with their insurance company. “But it’s going to take more than a day to figure this all out,” Cianciola said, adding that he has emailed all vendors, providing them with his insurance information.A person answering the phone at the tent rental company said the owner, Michael West, was not available to talk about the incident.The three-day event is a draw for both veteran and first-time exhibitors. Lockwood, the Utica-based potter, has a decade of experience attending art shows. Her first time at Stowe Foliage Arts Festival was in 2012 and she came back in 2013 and 2014 before taking a 10 year break.Lockwood said she normally goes to the Letchworth festival in New York. But as the festival has been placed on “pause” for 2024, she decided to go to Stowe.On her drive back to New York, she had time to process what happened.“I’ve been doing shows for over 16 years now, I mean it is a disaster and it’s the worst experience I’ve had at a show in 16 years,” she said. “But I am somewhat used to it and now I’m just figuring out the logistics.”Read the story on VTDigger here: Stowe arts festival exhibitors assess damage after tent collapse.