Returning to the Village Green, it’s Smyrna Pride’s fourth year! Whew, I’m playing catchup with my market blogs since I tucked myself out over the summer. I appreciate ya’lls patience!
Applications
In February Smyrna Pride emailed previous vendors to share early consideration applications for 2026’s lineup. We were given the official date, June 13, a list of goals to expand the event, and deadline by the end of the month to submit our applications before they opened to the public. Smyrna’s Pride table fee went up again to $175 for a standard booth, a little higher than what I’m comfortable with for a one day show. But it’s nearby, and I enjoy pride events, so I ponied up.
Come April, Smyrna Pride asked their vendors and sponsors for donations of items or services to their silent auction fundraiser, at their Queer Comedy Night event. I saw this as an opportunity to give away my framed copy of “Please Ask, Do Tell” from the Shanty Art Station Illuminated gallery showing. I wasn’t able to attend myself, so I hope it found a good home!
In early June we got our Vendor Day-Of FAQ email, outlining our details for Smyrna Pride, schedule for load-in and load-out, and of course, the official vendor map. Very important, as the vendors were separated into different color groups which had their own scheduled load-in times and entrances along downtown Smyrna. I could see how much bigger Smyrna Pride had grown on the map, with more booths up and down King Street.
There was a small mix-up, I couldn’t find my name listed on the map anywhere! I contracted Smyrna Pride right away, and apparently I had listed myself as “Artist Alley” when I submitted my application? >w< Which I’m like, what? But since I didn’t have a copy of my application I couldn’t confirm or deny it. They assured me that the space marked “Artist Alley” was for me, and that made me feel better, but!! Then when they posted on social media to promote their vendors, after I’d already spoke to them about this, they still called me “Artist Alley!” And I was like, “noooooo!”
I’ll admit I didn’t reach out again to correct them on that since I was so busy, but I was like come on man >w< I told you I prefer to be called Billie Liao or DragonBeak. I thought we were cool!
Smyrna Pride
My scheduled setup time was at 9 AM, so I stopped by Publix to pick up lunch, and then rolled up onto W Spring Street. A volunteer was there to let me in past the barricade and I pulled up to my spot. It seemed there was already some shuffling about with our booths, my neighbor realized there wasn’t quite enough room for us to match the map due to how the curbs cut into the street. So I had to angle my own booth, which was pretty interesting, and because of how we shifted it meant there wasn’t enough room for the vendor originally at the end of the row so they moved up next to me instead! I think it worked out, but definitely was a sign of the growing pains as Smyrna Pride increased its vendors.
I did have a couple of other hiccups during setup, I realized after unloading my car that I’d forgotten my folding tables at home! I live close enough to downtown Smyrna that it wasn’t too much trouble to pick them up, but I think it’s a sign perhaps I’ve been doing too many markets back-to-back ^__^;; Even after my drive home, I still managed to forget my big prints and their foldable display, oh well.
The crowd felt much busier than last year! I didn’t even get a chance to take as many photos as I normally would. Even before our official opening, I did see people wandering about even earlier, thought it was unclear if they were volunteers or attendees. By 11 AM there was already a steady stream of visitors and I had to excuse myself a few times for not being 100% ready. And after the Freedom Band parade came through, it pretty much felt nonstop.
As usual for Pride events, visitors felt high-energy and pumped to be there. Since Smyrna Pride makes a point to advertise themselves as a family-friendly event, I did see lots of parents with their kids. It was encouraging to see guardians teaching or learning about Pride with their children. And of course, there were the usual young adults there for a good time. I did see a few folks walking around with Democrat campaign signs for the primary run-off election. One of them did look suspiciously a lot like Dana Barrett, candidate for secretary of state, while carrying a Dana Barrett sign.
As you may expect of Georgia summer it was mega hot. Even at 9 AM it was already humid and in the high 80s. I was a fool and somehow forgot to bring the big battery for my Ryobi fan so it gave out about halfway throughout the day! Fortunately, Smyrna Pride was able to provide cool water, with volunteers coming around to check if we vendors needed more. I had the good luck for my tent to be under a tree’s shade, and supplemented with an umbrella during the morning. I was so grateful King of Pops had their popsicles for sale too!
And of course, no festival is complete without music! Big speakers played DJ sets throughout the day and would occasionally broadcast performances from the main stage. It was nice since I couldn’t see the stage from my booth but could have some idea of what was going on. The speakers weren’t too close to my booth so I didn’t need my Loops to prevent overstimming, but it was sometimes difficult to hear customers.
Sales followed an interesting pattern through the day. Basically, they grew every hour up until the final hour when there was a steep drop. I’ve just never had an event where the sales increase went on such a streak! The drop matches up with around the last performance on the main stage, and the evening lead to an easy segway towards dinnertime. Some of my neighbors even started to tear down their tents about half an hour early.
Smaller items were my best performers at Smyrna Pride, with buttons being the clear standout. My Amazing Digital Circus buttons were the runaway hit, which is no surprise since the finale had just released in theaters the week prior. I went and saw it on opening day myself, so I also added Ribbit, Kaufmo, Bazooble, and Noir Ragatha to the roster just before Smyrna Pride! Deltarune buttons came in second, I’d almost sold out of them! I definitely underestimated how much Chapter 5 release teaser a few days before brought Deltarune back to the forefront.
Billie’s Vendor Review
I was pleasantly surprised by how much Smyrna Pride and its attendance had grown from 2025, and my sales exceeded my expectations. I was able to make back five times my booth fee, which y’all know is my standard for a good show. With Smyrna Pride’s outdoor nature though, I’m hesitant to say I’d definitely apply for 2027 because it’ll depend on if they’ll continue to raise their rates. A hundred is a gamble on weather, and if it were to raise above 200 I would not have the warm fuzzies.
| Foot Traffic | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Attendee Vibes | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Restrooms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Pokémon GO | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Organization | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
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