ANOTHER UPDATE! PLEASE READ!
The Junior League has a 5k coming right through McAllister Drive so the road WILL BE BLOCKED OFF! This is a huge bummer, but I've made a lot of calls and there's not a whole lot we can do. My plan is to have Tulane deliver the tables an hour earlier, and we unload through Law Road (previously known as Option 2). This is not great, as there's stairs leading to the space, but we are changing the load-in time to 8am until 10pm to accommodate for the extra trouble. The race should be out of the way by 10, so it shouldn't affect customers too much. Since Freret will be blocked off, you will likely have to park to the west of the campus, rather than the eastern spots suggested earlier. Again, a little bit of a hike. I'm really sorry about this, nobody notified me about this race, I was just lucky to have a friend that knew about it.
And here's a few images from the last show we had at this spot to give you an idea of how this works
This is why we're still looking for new spots :(
Updated Instructions
Load-In
Loading begins at 9am. Tables will not be setting up until 8:50, so there's no point in arriving earlier. I have called Tulane Security to ask if we could have the barriers removed at McAllister Dr. They said to call the day of. This wasn't really what I wanted to hear, but their tone indicated that it's not a big deal. If that works, you will be able to drive right up to the site, entering on Freret st, and continue on towards Willow st to repark. If this fails we have option 2, which is to pull up on Law Rd behind the site and unload that way. The reason this is option 2 is because a) you need to go up a set of stairs b) parking in this area is rarely available (by the way, DO NOT park here for the day).
As soon as you have unloaded, please repark your car to make room for others. If you do not have a helper to watch your stuff, it should be OK but you may see me and if I'm not able to monitor it myself I'll find somebody trustworthy to watch it.
The story ought to be the same for the way out as well. PLEASE try to start closing up at 5. They'll be picking up tables at 6 sharp and we'd like to be completely finished by then.
Parking around Tulane is bad. I have looked into it and there isn't even an option to pay for the day. My suggestion is to take one of the blue street spots. Despite the many 2 hour parking signs that some of these spots have, I have never received a ticket despite parking in this area on a weekly basis. I especially don't think this will be a problem on a Saturday.
General Stuff
Weather forecast looks pretty good! 83 degrees, partly cloudy but zero percent chance of precipitation. Please remember that when the sun comes out it might get pretty hot, so if you're worried about records or yourself you might want to bring a tarp or a parasol. IF IT RAINS the show is off, but I'll have to be pretty certain about it before I cancel. If you need to cancel for some reason, please let me know ASAP. If it rains while we are out there (again, projections show 0% chance) we can move our records inside for shelter but not sell inside (building policy), the show would be off.
We're still getting a few DJs together for some light music while we're out there. Unfortunately Li Yaffe from the last show is out of town, I know she was well liked.
We didn't have much luck with the press this time, though we're at least on nola.com's event calendar and a few others. We'll be in Offbeat's Thursday email blast as well. WTUL has been running regular announcements and our facebook event page just hit 200 people, which is pretty promising.
Please let me know if you have any questions at all!
Vendor registration is closed! If you missed out, make sure to join the vendor mailing list
We're back at Tulane and since it was a hit, we're actually setting up at the the "backup" location from the last Record Raid.
Where "Pocket Park" Tulane University campus. Check the map below. Further load-in instructions forthcoming. When October 18th 10am-5pm. Load-in begins at 9am, must be completely gone by 6pm. How much? Event is free for shoppers. If paying online, Vendor fees are $30 per table until September 27th, then $40 per table. Payment day-of is $40. Vendor registration closes October 8th. Maximum 2 tables. We provide the tables (8 feet wide), you cannot provide your own.
About the Record Raid
We're by far the largest record show in Louisiana and have been running for 5 years. As the main record show in New Orleans, our customers tend to run the gamut: plenty of kids looking for the "classics", plenty of people looking for niche material like punk reggae etc, and a good bunch of blues-hounds, soul-searchers and 45 collectors. Personally, I have noted that classical is rarely in demand, and the amount of reggae/ska/etc rarely meets demand. If selling records isn't something you always do, you're very welcome to set up: it's why we keep the vendor fees low! If you're an experienced vendor, I'd suggest playing to your strengths. Atmosphere is casual, social and friendly, and we'll have a few live DJs (at tasteful volume) to keep things fun.
What you can sell
Music of any format, vintage, used or new. Record labels are free to sell their music as well. Consumer audio equipment is great too, in fact there's always somebody there looking for a turntable. Music-related ephemera (books, movies, memorabilia, t-shirts) are OK so long as they're not the focus of the table. We do make some exceptions, so feel free to ask.
What you can't sell
Food and drink. As above, Crafts are generally discouraged unless they're clearly a "side item", musical instruments are discouraged, though you may leave a paper at your table letting people know (so long as they're not the focus). You should be selling *something*, for instance you cannot set up a table promoting another event.
About the location
We have only set up at Pocket Park twice: our second show, and last April as a backup to our old spot on Broadway Avenue. The backup proved popular (and profitable!), with a number of big upsides: more traffic from Tulane students, closer food and bathrooms, and SUPER close ATMs (open the door, and there they are!). We also lucked out by having a security guard that removed the traffic barriers to the location. This made unloading VERY easy. This is not guaranteed at the moment (it wasn't expected then) but I'm going to try to make sure we can do that again.
To be clear, there are a few downsides to this spot: while it is surrounded by high walls, it will be in direct sunlight for a reasonable amount of time. This is October, often the nicest month of the year in New Orleans, so I don't think this will be too uncomfortable, but you may want to keep a cover handy for exposed 45s. There is also no rain location. We moved here because it drains, so if it rains the day before that won't be an issue at all, but we cannot move inside the building. If it rains, it's cancelled. Parking after you've unloaded is going to be obnoxious. You will likely need to park several blocks away during the show, which isn't great for non-Tulane customers either.
Tulane announced this year that they are a tobacco-free campus. To be honest, I don't know how this policy affects non-students, but I believe you will need to walk to the street if you need a cigarette. Record Raid won't be enforcing this, but please try to keep us out of trouble.
Map
We'll be talking with Tulane Public Safety about getting the road next to Pocket Park opened, which will make things much easier. If not, we can unload on Law Road, which unfortunately has a set of stairs.
Other details
- Table layout will not be decided in advance, which table belongs to whom is first come first serve
- The campus center right next door provides bathrooms, ATMs, and food
- Do not count on there being an outlet, though feel free to use a battery operated turntable
- You can have merchandise underneath your table.
- Special displays are fine so long as they're not in anybody's way
Getting the word out
We usually place at least one print ad in a local publication, and push facebook pretty heavily. A flyer is in the works. WTUL will promote the event as well
How to sign up!
Vendor registration is now closed
Sign up for the vendor list
One more thing!
There is a show in Houston *the next day!*. Might make a nice double-header weekend. See this facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/329645987289/
