Joseph Stalin supposedly said, “Quantity has a quality all itsown.”

Ole Brook Festival organizers are saying, “We want both.”

Vendors of all sorts, from far and wide, are quickly reservingbooth spaces for the 36th annual festival, and this year thosesidewalk sellers are meeting new quality requirements. While theannual downtown get-together, which will be held Friday, Oct. 1 andSaturday, Oct. 2, will still be big with more than 200 vendorsexpected, this year Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commercecoordinators have placed a new emphasis on fine wares.

“We’re looking for more quality, hand-made arts and crafts and lessplastic flags,” said Jeff Doremus, a member of the chamber’s OleBrook committee. “We are really looking to bring in moreartisan-style vendors, people who are making a high-quality product… rather than having what people who just consider being a fleamarket.”

One method the chamber used to find high-quality vendors for the2010 festival is a vendor referral program, where veteran Ole Brookdeal-makers are offered reduced prices on booth rental in exchangefor bringing new blood to town.

Vendor evaluations have also helped organizers seek out appropriatecraftsmen, and this year registration rules will be more strictlyenforced keep vendors peddling low-quality items from bullying intoa booth at the last minute, said Ole Brook committee chairmanHampton Sims.

“We’ve issued to our vendors a booth permit to be clearly displayedso we know the folks who have taken care of their registrationprocess and those who have not,” he said. “It’s a security issue.We value this festival … and we don’t want people detracting fromit.”

To make shopping – the festival’s bread and butter – easier forfestival visitors, similar vendors will be grouped together, Simssaid.

“You walk into a department store and you know exactly whereeverything is. Not necessarily so in an open festival,” he said.”We’ve tried to better complement vendors so people get a bettershopping experience.”

Chamber executive vice president Cliff Brumfield is expecting thisyear’s festival to be big, with attendance likely topping 8,000again. With 28 days remaining until show time, almost all boothspaces reserved for the food court have been filled, and around 50percent of vendor spaces are spoken for – more than were reservedat this time last year.

“There’s always a last-minute push the week of the festival,”Brumfield said.

This year’s Ole Brook will also feature an expanded kids’ zone,with Just Kiddin’ toy store and Mr. Charley’s Fun Jumps serving upentertainment. Children will be the focus for the festival’s grandfinale, too, as the traditional closing band has been traded forKidz Blitz, an interactive, Christian, Nickelodeon-style show aimedat elementary-age students.

The rest of the festival entertainment will be intact, with localacts performing onstage Friday night and the Mid-SouthFair-sanctioned talent show going on throughout Saturday.