Outdoor Tent/Booth

Thanks for all the great ideas! I also have an EZ Up tent, and purchased weights that fit around each leg of the tent. I think there's a combined total weight of 20 lbs.

Ha ha ha I have to agree with Shannon on the wind here. I know in Lethbridge, it's an oddity not to have the wind blowing. Lethbridge has 116 days with wind speed of 40 km/h (25 mph) or higher (I found this info online.) Every outdoor event I go to, I bring a HUGE roll of duct tape, to make sure everything stays in place. If I can manage to get placed by a building of some sort, I use a patio umbrella and stand tucked behind my chair. I am always prepared to take it down when the wind picks up, which is inevitable. LOL

I guess that's why we have so many wind turbines out here now

Jessica, Where did you find your pop up? We love it.
I tried a beach umbrella with a stand and ended up scaring a child when the wind caught it. Lawsuits could happen,.

You know, I have to rebutt my comments from a couple of years ago. While pop ups can be great for the sun, they are truley a health hazard in the wind. No matter if you use stakes or sandbags they will roll down the field and can injur someone.

I know this cause one smashed into my daughter last weekend. I had mine up and told the other painter if the wind picked up AT ALL to immediately take ours down to which he did. The Pespi people didn't and even with sandbags theirs rolled down the field like a ball smacking into my 8 year old standing outside of the boucy house. Luckily it missed her head by about six inches and just left her with a nasy bruise on her back.

Do I still use one, yes. I generally have to replace it every year. Just know that these are like parachuttes made to catch any wind. Please take these down immediately if there is any wind. You know how heavy these are(you feel it when you set it up). Imagine that smacking into a child.

-Metina

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter -- That is so scary! I hope she is feeling better.

She's fine. I just wanted to reiterate that this can be very dangerous in the wind.

All tents are lethal in wind. We use 4 5 gallon buckets filled with concrete, and whenever possible, attach the back side to out truck as well. Even then, I only consider that safe for mild wind.

I have heard from many vendors at fairs that the best brand of ez-up type tent is Caravan. You can get them at Costco. You can get others for around $100. I think that brand is almost $200 but it would last longer. They do make special weights for the canopies that slip right on the legs. They are made by the companies that make the canopies. I just use 10lb barbel weights (one on each leg.) I will be buying sides to my canopy soon, but that's another investment to make. They will come in handy for wind and for covering the booth at night instead of taking it down and putting it back up the next morning for weekend fairs.
http://www.thefind.com/sports/browse-quik-shade-weight-plates

I got a banner from vistaprint that just says "Face Painting."

I have a caravan one from Costco that I got for $200... it's really nice and goes up very easily... it is MUCH more durable than the one I had before from Walmart. Last June, there was a tornado nearby here the same weekend Glitterfly and I were working a fair together... my Walmart tent got TRASHED. There were several of these Caravan ones that survived perfectly. Yes, so did all the crazy huge tents that go together with 2 inch metal pipes, but those won't fit in the back of my G5 like this one will.

For certain events, you have to have a tent or you can't be there. The caravan ones are really nice.