Austin, TX

The long-awaited Capital Confectioners Cake Show took place at the weekend. We got started with the set-up at 9AM on Friday morning by loading up all available cars and trucks and heading over to the event center. There was a lot to be done. From setting up the concession stand to organizing registration and a myriad of other tasks. We could have used a few more hands but we all worked hard and finally quit around 7PM only to return at 6AM on Saturday.

By Friday evening I’d pretty much decided that there was no way I was going to finish my own show piece. Doing so would have meant staying up the rest of the night and I knew I needed to get some sleep if I was going to make it through Saturday. I got a little bit of a second wind when I got home, though, and I decided that I would at least try and finish my entry for the tasting competition. Unfortunately my first cake did not set up properly but I valiantly started over again. The fates were not shining on me however and the same thing happened with the second cake. I decided to just go with it and left it to cool overnight and went to bed. I got up at the crack of dawn, having slept 3 hours, filled the cake, iced it quickly and ran out the door. I was about 15 minutes late arriving but I felt better having at least some part of my entry.

We opened the doors at 7AM for competitors to begin dropping off their cakes. For the next three hours they seemed to come in waves, busy one minute and slow the next. I’m not sure yet how many entries we had but it was a lot. From the children’s entries to the adult entries, the quality of work was just amazing. Just take a look at this stunning piece done by Pflugerville sugar artist, Janette Pfertner:

Photo by acshepard on Flickr.com

Yes, that really is cake!

When I attended the show a year ago I blogged about the lack of organization and other petty stuff. I had no idea at the time that the show was put on by a volunteer army of local sugar artists from the Capital Confectioners Club. When I made that discovery I felt a bit stupid for complaining. I looked up the club information and resolved to attend the next meeting. I figured that I shouldn’t complain without walking a mile in their shoes. Imagine my embarrassment when I saw a copy of my blog all printed up and sitting next to the sign-in sheet. I slunk down in my seat hoping no one would notice. As it happens they spent the meeting talking about the show and what went right and wrong and how things could be improved for the next show. I piped up here and there with suggestions and I feel fortunate today that they listened and didn’t punch my lights out.

Working an event like the cake show is a labor of love. Volunteers do not get paid. We are short staffed and there is more work than there are volunteers. It’s tiring and the hours are long. At the end of it you’re mentally and physically exhausted and you’re a little sensitive to criticism. After all, it’s your baby, and no one likes to hear criticism of their baby. Right? Right!

This year’s show was better than last year’s. The venue, Texas Star Meeting and Event Center, was beautiful. We were better organized. We were better advertised. We had more entries. We had more vendors. We had a better concession stand. The show was awesome! We heard a lot of “Great Job!” and “Beautiful facility!” and many other wonderful compliments.

The reason this year’s show was better than last year’s show is not because I joined the group. I played my part, certainly, but the real reason is because a core group of dedicated volunteers listened to last year’s suggestions, took notes of what worked and what didn’t and set out to make this year’s show better than last year’s. It’s as simple as that. I have no doubt that next year’s show will be even better and the year after even better yet.

We’ll meet shortly to debrief and start the process all over again. We’ll take your suggestions to heart. We’ll make notes of what worked and what didn’t and in no time at all we’ll start over again. In the meantime we’ll put this show to bed knowing we did our best and that our show was a success.

Thank you to our vendors and demonstrators and most of all thank you to each and every one of you who submitted an entry this year. We are proud to have had the opportunity to display your work. We hope to see you again next year and if you have suggestions on how we can improve the show, drop us a note or better yet, come join us and walk a mile in our shoes.

capital, confectioners, club, cake, show, 2008, That Takes The Cake, Janette Pfertner, Austin, Tx, Texas, Event, Meeting, Center, South, Sugar, Artist