Bethany Penardo is a special education teacher. She has a job but she’s not feeling good about the way things are going.

“How much job security is there. It’s not a good thing now,”  she brushing back the hair from her wolf costume.  But Penardo was feeling pretty good about things Saturday at Rocky Point where she and about 200 vendors circled the center of the park with a turnout of at least 5,000 for an arts and  crafts festival with a Halloween flavor organized by Debbie Wood of We Be Jammin and of Wood Boats in Apponaug and Officer Mark Jandreau of the Warwick Community Services division. Wood is a veteran of organizing and promoting these events and having built up a following food truck operators  and arts and crafts vendors know what to expect.

This was a first for Penardo, who lives within walking distance of Rocky Point. She sells an eclectic assortment of jewelry that she’s assembled from estates, auctions, thrift stores and even her own collection. She tells browsers if they like something they “should grab it” because they’re not likely to see it again. She has named her business Closet 354, a number that has special meaning to her as she considers it lucky and it evokes happiness.

Penardo admits she’s a rookie when it comes to running a small business. She’s ready to take any pointers she can get.

It’s a trait of those running small businesses, especially those at Rocky Point on Saturday.

“What’s your gripe?” Paula Lopes asked looking up from a table covered with painted rocks applied with decoupage pictures and paintings.

Paula’s question was surely an opener.

“Everybody has to have a gripe,” she said when challenged why anyone need to complain.

She pointed to a flat rock with a map of Block Island cut from a chart.

“And if you don’t like Block Island, turn it over and you have Jamestown.”

Fish Talk Creations from the Taunton area is the name of the business she runs with Cheryl Sitzer. Lopes is a realtor and Sitzler a retired teacher and artist. Saturday was their first arts and crafts show. Rocks were selling from $5 to $20.

The park was humming. By 10 a.m. cars were backed up on Palmer Avenue as the giant parking lot quickly filled. Soon those tired of the line parked on Palmer Avenue and walked into the park.  Those attending were a mix of ages. There were the seniors and disabled in wheel chairs to the toddler..  Ashley Kalus, Republican candidate for governor was the only candidate for office spotted although for certain there had to be others in the crowd.

Like Penard, Kalus is queasy about how things are going, too albeit on a far larger scale. She shared her concerns on what’s happening globally with the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well on the lack of an upcoming generation interested in public service. She was soon pulled away by Dan Friel, political director, who informed her it was time to get back to meeting people.

After all it couldn’t be a better day or location for a political newcomer to meet Rhode Islanders nor for a first time small business owner to sell her wares.