Enzie, Allan, Heidi, Chris, thank you all so much for all of the help and input (and keep it coming by all means!) I am starting to feel a bit better. My focus right now is just getting the whole thing set up to take pics BEFORE Saturday night. Then I can after that is done, I can think about if I just need to replace the tent, or what else creative I can do because I really need to get my work and myself out in the public. I'm determined!
The plan for now is this: I will get some nuts and bolts to put through the holes where the joints snapped, I'll brush off the dirt and such that ended up on the canvas part, and I will tie the tent down to some cinder blocks that I found I had right in my own yard. Then hopefully I can at least get a booth shot out of it! Winds for Saturday aren't expected to go above 5 mph, so my fingers are crossed.
Chris, actually I think my gridwall might be heavier than what you are thinking of. I bought some heavy-duty ones that are 2' x 6', and 3 panels come in a box. Each box weighs 40 lbs! I have a total of 14 2' x 6' panels, and 2 2' x 4' panels. I hope they don't budge!
Heidi, I remember reading on this forum about your experience. I am glad that this happened in my yard instead of at a show! Luckily the shows I am looking at are short, local shows with the longest being 2 1/2 days.
When I was a child, I used to do all of this stuff with my dad. He sold merch at carnivals, and I remember standing in his large, sturdy tent while we watched the kind of tents I have fly away.
