The iich igan Daily = Tuesday, July 19, 1483 -Page 7

Merchants tempt

By Cheryl Baacke
Sure the art fair is fun, but what's the
use of wandering the streets for four
days looking at original paintings and
sculptures when the price of a hand-
dipped candle could buy you meals for a
week?
No one should go home empty-handed
from the extravaganza, however, and
most local merchants are prepared to
offer big bargains on everything from
summer shoes to Japanese-style shirts.
STORES LOCATED near the art fair
have been making special sale plans for
months. Many will participate in
sidewalk sales and extend business
hours to accommodate about 500,000
people who come to the city prepared to
spend money during the July fair.
"We will have 26 racks (of shoes) set
up outside," says Ron Eisenberg of
Shepard's Shoes, located at 529 E.
Liberty. This means as many as 5,000
shoes at ridiculously low prices, he
say, adding that "ridiculously low"
means bargains up to 80 percent off.
At savings like these, Eisenberg says
he isn't counting on any leftovers.
During the fair, "everything goes.
Everything," he says.
"I ENJOY the revenue that the art
fair brings," Eisenberg says, "but I
think the art fair should be the art fair
and people should be able to enjoy the
art without being hassled by sales."
Other merchants are also expecting
big crowds and sales. "The sale with
the art fair is just enormous-wall to
wall people," says Pam Moore,
Art fair
shuttles
relieve
parking
headaches
By Halle Czechowski
Finding a parking place is never an
easy task in Ann Arbor during the
art fair, it becomes nearly impossible.
But for 60 cents and a little patient
waiting, this problem can be avoided.
Fair directors and city police are
recommending that this year's fair
goers avoid parking headaches by
using the special art fair shuttle bus
system.
VISITORS CAN park for free at
Briarwood Mall and Pioneer High
School and take an Ann Arbor Transit
Authority (AATA) shuttle bus, wich
will transport them directly to the fair.
Shuttle buses marked "S. Univer-
sity" will drop art fair enthusiasts off
on South University near Tappan -
close to the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair,
the State Street Art Fair, and the Sum-
mer ArtsFestival.
AATA buses labled "Main Street"
will service the Main Street portion of
the Summer Arts Festival and the
downtown shopping area, dropping off
riders on the corner of East William
and Main.
Buses cost 60 cents one-way and run
about every half hour from 9 a.m. to 10
p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and
from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

manager of The Bagpiper, a women's
clothing store at 1200 S. University.
"Everything in our store just clears
out; it's a phenomenal success."
For many stores, the sales consist of
summer clearances and discontinued
merchandise with 20 to 80 percent
markdowns. But some stores, like The
Bivouac at 330 S. State, bring in items
especially for the fair.
ACCORDING TO Lisa Weiss,
Bivouac's manager, Japanese-style
shirts and clothes from New York
designers will make their debut at the
fair. "The special things coming in are
basically what we would consider 'art'
types of things," she says.
No matter what the style, some
people will buy anything that's on sale.
i {
u . + rs .!e . . m .

bargain
According to Tom Allefh of Liberty
Music, 417 E. Liberty, the best seller is
"just a plain old bargain." Liberty
music wil have plenty of bargains,
selling records for 50 cents to $3.
The skeptical shopper perusing every
display in town will find storekeepers
who just want to "peddle off" items to
"legitimate sales" of quality goods that
are simply being discontinued.
LAST YEAR, State Discount, two
locations at 307 S. State and 1235 S.
University, sold a lot of things they
wanted to get rid of. But this year,
Manager Linda Schaumann says the
stores will make an effort to offer
"real" bargains.
"We want to have more mass appeal
instead of having (only) 45-year-old

hunters
women shuffling through our stuff,"
she says. Schaumann predicts this
year's biggest sellers will be albums and
University paraphernalia.
But not all merchants are excited
about the fair and the crowds of people
it brings. For some, it's business as
usual. Michael Lang of Schoolkid's
Records and Tapes, 523 E. Liberty,
says he doesn't expect his business to
increase because the store isn't plan-
ning any sales and most people don't
want to tote records around the fair in
hot weather.
"Our competitors have battled each
other to death with huge sales," Lang
says, "that's something we're not in-
terested in doing."

Art fair shoppers at a local store go wild in search of sales and bargains.
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