Between painting and the reception, artists mostly want to stay out of the way. Lucky for us, our hosts had some lovely artwork, so we pottered around peering at things.
Yes, one can get blueberries from New Jersey, but they bear about as much resemblance to the Maine blueberry as plasticulture strawberries do to the ones that grow in my lawn.
Most women–including me–are too conventional to show up at a reception in their paint-stained work clothes. The big packing issue of a painting trip becomes what to wear to the reception.