I've just been informed that the FDA will inspect my candy shipment; I'm not yet sure when they'll schedule the sampling. I have no worries about the shipment passing sampling inspections, since the FDA did this before on a small FedEx shipment I received a couple of months ago. What I'm worried about is when my cargo will be released. Since the FDA is under no obligation to accommodate my schedule, and since the new anti-terror legislation makes the inspectors especially busy, I may be in for a long wait.
As a contingency plan for the festival, I'll still display the tiny number of samples I've got and offer to take orders and offer free or cheap shipping, but then shift most of the booth layout to focus on the ceramics maybe Eugene Levy's tea. It's also possible the second shipment, due to arrive in the morning, will clear earlier, and then I'll just be missing the bigger gift boxes and the sampling tubes.