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Hilltop Art Fair, Parker, CO, May 5, 2018

      I’m writing this review for newcomers as a case history of “don’t overlook what is in your back yard”.  I have been doing shows for over 20 years, and 1 day shows, school shows, and church shows are not on my list.  The Hilltop Art Fair is held at the UCC Parker Hilltop Church (about 200 members) about an hour SE of metro Denver in rural Douglas County.  Douglas County, CO is the 9^th wealthiest county in the US. The show was on Saturday, May 5, 2018 from 9:00 to 3:00.  Set up was on Friday afternoon. I laid out 23 booths 5’x 7’ in a fellowship hall and 8 booths 10’ x 10’ outside.  The booth fee is $35. There was a silent auction with 2-D art and a lot of merchandise donated by local businesses: everything from oil changes to essential oils.  The show was originally organized in the 1980’s but it dwindled when organizers moved elsewhere.  Because it had been successful in the past, it was revived in 2013.  A student art exhibit is held across the road in a historic school house in conjunction with the church show.  A tractor drawn hay wagon takes patrons back and forth.

      Art exhibited included jewelry, wood, fiber, mixed media, photography, homemade jams and cosmetics, and my leather.  Exhibitors were from the local area.  Upstairs and outside were adult and youth musical groups, dance troupes, and student musicians.  A face painter and caricature artist were present.  Kids’ activities include side walk chalk art. The middle and upper middle-class clientele for the art show and silent auction are parents and grandparents of all the youth artists and performers, church members and their extended families and locals who were looking for something to do in the area. The show is advertised with local fliers and posters, and road signs as far as 3 miles out. Set up and take down are very easy from the church parking lot.  Hand truck/dollies are provided, and Boy Scouts help artists load out. Lunches are sold by the historic school house.

      My sales have ranged from a low of $100 to $700 since 2013. This year I had ten sales of belts, dog leashes, checkbooks, billfolds and flask with a sale average over $60. Sales were about equally divided between cash and credit cards.  Although the show is inside, heavy snowfall in 2016 and 2017 impacted attendance and sales. The show was moved to a week later this year, and the weather was beautiful.  A fiber artist gained a fall appointment for a trunk show with a ladies group from the church.

      This small show is worth diving an hour to reach. Similar shows exist in other communities and I encourage artist to seek them out. I do this show be because it is at my church and it gives me the opportunity to get my inventory out of storage and ready for my Colorado summer resort area shows. Photos: inside booths, silent auction area, and 2016 snowfall.