2024 Shawnee Cave Total Solar Eclipse Festival (April 5-8, 2024)

We pulled off the most incredible 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Festival at the Shawnee Cave Amphitheater last weekend and everyone is still buzzing about the festivities! We threw one heck of a good party and we have several more festivals planned for the remainder of 2024. We had the time of out lives, to say the least :) Below, I curated some of my graphics and family fun moments throughout the event. If you would like to see more of our traditional photos covering the past weekend, please visit us on Instagram or Facebook.

Above, my poster design which inspired the event t-shirts. Below, Travis and I at the Shawnee Cave.

Me and the venue owner, Alexis. Look at our shirts!!!

We had such a fantastic lineup and we made sure to personally thank each and every one of the bands for their incredible talents and hard work.

Above, we had great success with our Grateful Dead inspired graphics I made, which were completely inspired by one of our headliners, Terrapin Flyer Band - a 20+ year Grateful Dead tribute band from Chicago, IL. They played Sunday and Monday, April 7-8, and the second day (the day of the eclipse), they completely rocked the stage and played before and after the 202 Total Solar Eclipse! Below is my poster singed by every band member. What an unforgettable experience.

Below, one of the most successful and entertaining aspects of the festival was our Eclipse Eve Late Night Dance Party (another fun graphic I tested out for this one)! Midwest Music Supply’s lights and sound production got to test out their new lighting setups and it went over flawlessly! This was the great beginning to festival season.

For more information about upcoming Cave shows, visit www.ShawneeCave.fun!

Below, a great view from the Eagle’s Nest at the Shawnee Cave!

Shawnee Cave Amphitheater Venue Owners, Shane and Alexis Wade.

Travis looking fly in eclipse glasses & my t-shirt design!

Travis has been getting his setlists signed for decades :)

Frank & Gandolph

Travis shot the most amazing eclipse progression photos!

I just love this man so very much :) He was a huge support throughout the entire weekend and leading up to the festival.

Most of the photos here are just fun family pics, but if you would like to see what I have been sharing on the Shawnee Cave socials, visit them on Facebook and Instagram! Until next time, friends!

Shawnee Cave Revival - June 7-9, 2024

Yesterday, our tickets went live and on sale for our next festival, Shawnee Cave Revival! I am most excited for Greensky Bluegrass too - I remember seeing them back in Carbondale, IL at Tres Hombres when only 30 folks attended and NOW, look at them - headlining HUGE festivals and selling out large venues.

I created all the artwork for the festival, which I am so very proud of. Abive is the 18x24 poster and below is our schedule!

Below, you can check out all the Artist Frames I created using the same style as the poster. I am thrilled with this and all the bands approved them right away. So happy to be an integral part of this amazing place.

Additionally, I am in charge of working with Etix to re-design our new website, www.shawneecave.fun. Etix Rockhouse did such a fantastic job of making our venue shine. Below, is a photo of Travis and I last June at the Shawnee Cave Weekend At The Cave Festival 2023. We had the best weekend EVER.

Here is a photo of the venue at night. They have such high quality sound and light production, and I am happy to say this is somewhere we can be proud to help grow and flourish!!! If you want to learn more about the venue, please visit our website for details on Shawnee Cave Revival (June 7-9, 2024) and our incredible Shawnee Cave Total Solar Eclipse Festival (April 5-8, 2024), visit our website here, the Shawnee Cave Instagram page and Facebook page here!

Plus, they are now offering event rentals and wedding venue rentals, so stay tuned as that progresses!

Blogging For A Cause with bluehost.com

Are you part of a group or organization that is doing some really amazing things for your cause or community? It is so important to have a space where you can share all of your thoughts and accomplishments, in one place, on the web. If this hits home, have you thought about starting a blog? You can find a template pretty easily, and you really don't need much else.

Blogging For A Cause

I am also a web designer (by degree), so let me know if you need some help creating a beautiful website or blog, I offer web design services, and would love to talk about how I can help your cause. 

1.) Plan It Out On Paper. Make a diagram of what you want the blog to contain, as well as how you want it laid out. What do you want to click through to, what type of pages are important for your cause? A general, overall sketch will be important at this stage, too, and save you lots of time in the future.

2.) Build Your Website. There are so many places to start a free blog. I used to use blogger.com (and I know a ton of people use Wordpress because of how many templates are available for that platform). But, after many years of blogging via blogger.com, I decided it was time to have my very own dot com! I only pay about $8-10 per month to have a blog/website on Squarespace.com. I absolutely love this platform, because it is drag and drop designing (meaning I can just drag different elements around on the page until I like how they look). So streamlined, I just LOVE it!! 

3.) Stay Organized! Before you even start a new blog or website, make a folder on your computer (NOT your Desktop, the Documents folder is best for this). Then, start folders inside of that one called whatever you will name your pages, like Home, Apply, Blog, Vendors/Members, etc. 

4.) Create A Color Scheme. It's so easy to find popular blog designs and other color schemes on Pinterest or Google. 

5.) Create Some Content! If you are running a craft fair, begin to share images of work from artists, and share their bio photos if they would like it. Take photos of your group members out at dinner or other events. Share photos from past events. Text is also pretty important, so begin writing as much as possible to explain what your group does, and how you're helping the community! Asking group members or community members to write guest blog posts in their own words. Canva.com is a website that makes it SO easy to design website graphics, logos, and more! 

6.) Have fun! A blog is an incredibly rewarding project, and can be a very inexpensive way to create lasting memories and create awareness for your cause! If you have a blog for a group or organization, I would love to see what you have created! Please feel free to link us to it in the comments below. 

7.) Host Your Website. After you have done all this work designing your website or blog, it needs to go live. Bluehost.com has extremely reasonable rates, and have amazing customer service. Click the blue banner, below, to learn more about their services. Use my link to make sure you let bluehost.com know who sent you :)

Blogging Ideas

FARMER'S MARKET WEBSITES

Above, The Seattle Neighborhood Farmer's Market website contains links to their social pages, a search bar, and showcases a slideshow with bright and festive photos. Their main pages are: Markets, What's Fresh, Programs & Events, Vendors, Help Us Grow, and About. It looks like they have multiple locations, so on the right of the page, you can learn more about each location. If you are only operating in one location, use this area for images leading to blog posts or upcoming events. 

The Mill City Farmer's Market website is wonderful. They have a great video on their home page, which really brings the market to life. As you can see, their pages are as follows: Home, Visit, Meet Our Vendors, About, Eat Seasonably, Learn, and Support.

I also really enjoy the fact that they have bright and colorful recipes on their home page, which helps customers envision easy ways to use what they find at the market. 

CRAFT FAIR WEBSITES

Finders Keepers is lively and inviting! I just love how they highlight so many of their artists, and really give a face to each and every artist in their shows. They have pages such as Home, About, Markets, Information, Directory, Blog, and Contact. I think all craft show websites need an Apply Page. The Squarespace Form blocks are magic for this type of thing. 

The Handmade Market has a wonderfully inviting website. Not every design works well with the woodgrain background, but this one really does! I love how they are featuring artist interviews as blog posts - this is a great way to get quick and fulfilling content for your Cause Blog. 

If you want to see if your website is available, fill in the form below to get started. If you have any questions, just comment below, and I will get right back to you!