This is a blog (not the actual REVIEW, see art show reviews: Colorado art shows on this site) for the Downtown Grand Junction Art and Music Festival (Colorado), May 9, 10, 11, 2014. This was the third year I have done this show. Set up starts Friday morning at 8:00am and the show opens at 2:00pm, but there aren’t that many people showing up until around 5:00pm. Booths are on a redesigned city street with parking bays interspersed between patio eating areas, fountains and art in public places. This year there were four instead of five booths together and the show was spread out an additional block. There was a food vendor in each block. There was a main music stage and ancillary stages in breezeways between old historic buildings in each block. Free parking was available in a parking garage or lots on the other side of the breezeways. New management was trying some new things, but IMO most of the emphasis was on music, not art. Quality of the art has declined since I have participated since 2012, and other artists expressed the same for farther back. The show is way over populated with jewelry. In my block of seven art booths, 3 1/2 were jewelry. There were very few out-of-state artists from AZ, UT and ID. There may have been others, but not all artists displayed their show signage. Colorado artists were from all over the state. Fees for the show were $25 jury, $230 booth, and $10 City tax license. You can Pay $250 for a booth in the “fine art” block where small cash awards are given (this isn’t a wash IMO unless you like to gamble).
The crowds were large but there were very few affluent buyers. The money didn’t come out until after 5:00pm on Friday and Saturday. Not many showed up on Sunday before the rains started, and the show was closed early at 2:00pm. Several artists packed up and left Saturday night as the forecast was not good. A major state-wide storm hit Saturday night dropping over a foot of snow on the mountains and Front Range (east side of mountains) through Monday. I did not reach my $2K minimum for returning to a show. My gross sales and special orders have declined from $2.75K in 2012, to $1.6K in 2011 and $1.1K this year. My average sale this year was $66.00. I do not plan to do this show in 2015 but I might consider it for every other year. The up side is we visit grandkids before and after this show and the trip is a business write off.
Takedown was easy and you could drive to your booth to load up. There are always some homeless guys around looking to help for a few bucks. Three guys and a dog asked if they could help us, as were about the last ones off the street. Three Pacificos and $30 helped get us out of the rain a little quicker. I just looked out the window here in Battlement Mesa, CO on a Monday morning and it is snowing, but is just a squall. Friends on the Front Range are posting patio pictures with over a foot on their tables. When we get home it’s going to be drying out tent, drop cloths and table skirts. None of my leather inventory was damaged by the rain.
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Forgot to add that there were three AFI'ers in a row: Pam Sharp, me, and Steve Appel. We had lots to chat about.
IMO you hit it on the head richard. I too have my min. to do at a show and this show did not even come close. Every other booth was jewelry and mostly stringed. In my section of the show there was someone selling pizza and another gourmet chef selling salmon taco's, beef sandwiches, weinersnitzel and fancy deserts. Then also the grand junction art guild was there with 4 booths. I never have done the show, but heard they changed the person running show this year. There was a lot of emphasis on music and not much on artists. It was like they needed the artists to fill space. There was a band about 25 ft away from my booth and the music on fri night was so loud i could not hear what my customers had to say. Sat. the music was not as loud. so i could hear myself think. Bathrooms were around corner from booth. Said they had booth sitters but no one came around to introduce themselves, so had to ask neighbor to watch booth when going to bathroom. Clientele on Fri night had very few packages in their hands, mostly beer & wine glasses. Not a real buying crowd the whole weekend. If i got fifty cents for every thumbs up i got or how clever i would have paid my booth fee. I would rate this show about a 3.5. Not worth the drive from out of state. So with that I probably will not return.