Any Art Fairs and Shows on Non-Sundays?

I am a newbie on art fairs and I am currently thinking hard about getting involved selling my nature and landscape photos through the art shows, fairs and festivals. Currently I am selling locally only mainly through word-of-mouth recommendations.

I am personally not interested in actively out selling on Sundays, so I would like to find shows that are either on Saturdays only or Friday and Saturdays. Are there any (that are good)? I am mostly interested in shows on the west coast, mountain and central zones.

So far all of them were either Fri, Sat, and Sun or Sat and Sun. I am willing to pay full fees for all days, if they will let me skip sunday, but all of their applications have a requirement saying the artist must be present at ALL days, and if you don't you will be barred from participating in the future. How hard do they enforce this rule?

Can I work around this, by offering my booth space to the folks next to me take over (for free), or some other means if the main objection is that they do not want an empty space at the fair?

Any pointers on this would be really appreciated! thanks.

Replies

John Boyd December 7, 2010 at 9:17pm

Didn't realize that Chick-fill-a closes on Sundays. I can definitely TRAVEL to and from locations on Sundays. It is for personal religious conviction that I do not want to WORK on Sundays. Something my family did growing up that I kept up. My brother is a doctor and he does work on Sundays time to time, but because it saves and heals people. I can't use that same excuse for selling art photos :). Again it is my personal preference.

I know it makes it hard to pick the right events this way, so I will need to find great single Saturday events that I can squeeze in maximum revenue and profit. It would be interesting to hear whether people get more sales on Saturday or Sundays when 2 day events are happening.

Thanks for the feedback so far.
- Michael Reimer > John Boyd December 9, 2010 at 7:17pm
  
  Yes, despite the fact that all Chick-fil-A resturants are independently operated, they are all closed on Sundays. I'd say that $575 for a 30x40 photo is probably high for the 'table shows' but you never know. I'd think lower price points are a good idea.
Larry Berman December 7, 2010 at 9:02pm

All these suggestions. But you didn't say whether you wanted to not work on Sundays like the Chick-fil-A restaurants for religious reasons or whether traveling on Sunday would be OK. Staying local, Michael Reimer gave some good suggestions on how to find local (what I call) table shows. Everyone else gave you suggestions on shows that could be decent around the country.

Larry Berman
Digital Jury Services
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
Diane Wright December 7, 2010 at 7:17pm

There are a few 1 day (Saturday only shows) in Ohio near Cleveland during the summer. Most people couple them up with another 1 day Sunday show nearby. I can't remember which ones are Saturday and which are Sunday - Willoughby, Chardon, Lakewood, Medina - are the ones that come to mind.
John Boyd December 7, 2010 at 7:11pm

Thanks for the info so far! It looks like I might be able to do this, although far limited in terms of options. Any more recommendations for the Saturday shows would be great! Thanks.
Dave Hinde December 7, 2010 at 12:21pm

I do several Friday/Saturday shows, and Saturday only shows. The Friday/Saturday shows are in Chincoteague Island, VA, and are on Easter and Thanksgiving weekends. They are small shows, but I did OK this year. Easter weekend I barely made my booth fee, but have sold several of the pictures I took that weekend - so all in all it was OK. Thanksgiving weekend I made expenses (booth and hotel at least), but the weather didn't cooperate for taking new pictures. I may have one that will sell. In the Virginia Beach area there are a couple good Saturday only shows, put on by Virginia Images. They are also small, about 30-35 artists, but they are well attended and I've always done well. The Currituck, N.C. Art Association does a Saturday show in March that is also well attended. Setup 8 to 10AM, show from 10 to 3, pack up and go home! I sell as much as I've sold at some two day shows. They even supply the racks to hang work on! I don't know about other 2 day shows in the area, but the Ocean View Show would probably let you do Saturday only although they'd charge the same as 2 days. I suspect other shows would too, if they knew in advance. You'd need to be on an end or someplace that wouldn't make a noticeable gap between tents.
Michael Reimer December 6, 2010 at 7:54am

I doubt you'll get anyone to agree to letting you skip a day.

The only 1 days shows I've done have been smaller, although 1 in particular has been really good a few times I've done it (but it was on a Sunday). There are plenty of school/church/YMCA 'craft' fairs that are 1 day, but in many cases, you'll be next to crafty craft and non-hand made stuff. I did surprisingly well at my most recent one (at a local Y), but that generally isn't the case for me.

I've never heard of a Friday/Saturday show. Not saying they don't exist, but never heard of one.
Larry Berman December 6, 2010 at 7:48am

The short answer to your question is no. I'm not sure of the West coast but aside from one day shows (there are a few, some are on a Sat and some on a Sun) that the better shows are Sat and Sun, or Fri, Sat and Sun.

And no, you can't rent your booth space to someone else to sell their own work and you can't hire someone to sell your work because most shows require the artist to be there. And you can't break down before the show is over.

That being said, Ann Arbor (four shows that run simultaneously) ends on Saturday night.

Larry Berman
Digital Jury Services
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100