 |
I have had a love affair with Mukilteo since 2008,
that’s why I made this video. I
know, my name is spelled wrong in the lower thirds, that was my intention,
which can be explained at another time.
Mukilteo is a tiny coastal city with huge character. Traffic here has picked up quite a bit over
the last few years, which has worried me, but the city has been able to keep
some of its original qualities during these times.
Here you can find a tight knit community and thriving small
businesses. The small businesses I visit
regularly are Red Cup Café, Cafe Soleil, Z's Burgers, Ambrosia, Mukilteo
Thai Restaurant, Mukilteo Chocolate Company, Arnie’s and will blog about
them at a later date. I just love this
place!
The 2016 Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival was a great
event, there were a few issues, but overall pretty great.
These festivals are cash cows, not only for vendors, but for
local businesses. These types of events
are good for the city. So, why would you
have people pay for a shuttle ride to the event? Vendor’s paid booth fees. There are business and property taxes. So why would you charge $1 each way, to
shuttle visitors in a school bus? It just seems to me that the
city should value guests a little more.
Charging for a shuttle ride doesn’t show that much appreciation...just my opinion.
Ok, that was my issue.
Just being familiar with the area, the whole thing felt too
opportunistic for me.
The vendors provided the usual fun for kids. There were a few bounce houses and rides,
just enough, considering the size of the park.
One vendor that caught my attention was Rick Hartman. Mr. Toymaker is what he’s known as and he
makes toy making fun and easy for your kiddos.
If the kids area don’t satisfy your kid, there’s always the park.
I also enjoyed the merchant area. Allan Carandang, who collects his used
coffee grounds and applies it to his art, just brilliant. I also loved the work of Normiehead,
another unique perspective and art application that I found fascinating. It’s digitally created on an iPad, and if
you’ve ever tried doing art on a computer, it’s a constant challenge.
I would like to point out, I appreciated these artists being
open to conversation and allowing photos of their booths. There’s nothing better than an artist being
comfortable with their work and sharing that with other people. I point this out, because there were a few vendors
that requested photos not be taken. It’s
too bad other artists were not open to photos.
The world becomes smaller with the more that is shared. If an artist
wants to survive they have to grant visitors the right to social expression.