Here's the lineup of accepted artists at Fort Myers (February 2 & 3): 
http://www.artfestfortmyers.com/gallery/
I'm seeing many familiar faces on the list, including Amy Beeler, Nels Johnson, Jim Parker and John Leben. Sure hope John will report in here again this year with his Florida experiences.
This show run by Sharon McAllister and her sidekick Jeanne Seahaver, is a non-profit event. There is no way a for profit organization could pay someone enough for all the time they pour into it. Is Ft. Myers a place where artists can make money? Don't know, but these women are working overtime to make it happen.
Will you be there?
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No Connie, I don't believe it is. The art is still the main part of the show. The artists get the prime locations. The food is off in it's own area. The committee makes you feel welcome. They don't act like they are doing you a favor. They try and keep buy/sell out of the show. At one time I think this was questionable. They took a lot of heat a few years ago because they eliminated the cash awards, which angered a lot of artists because they didn't tell anyone until the awards breakfast. That was a huge mistake that they rectified the very next year. Since then, I think they have done a lot to make things good for us.
I have to laugh. I am not doing any of the shows that Jim is doing for all the same reasons he isn't doing Florida in February. I'm going early and leaving in mid-February to do Bonnie's Garage Sale. I'll wave to you as you go south on I-75 and I am going North. This has it's downside because I will be in the Upper Peninsula in March which is the coldest month with the most snow.
I had a good show there last year. I like doing the Friday night preview and I will be there, again. The way I look at it, I'm going to be there anyway. There are a lot of friendly appreciative people at the preview and it set the tone for the weekend. I have to admit, though, that you never can tell about this show. Some years it's really good and some years it is really bad. I took a look at the link and I believe this was last years list. It had last years image.
Sharon and Jeanne do a great job running this show. Plus, Jeanne grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I should bring pasties for her and Nels.
Last year I did a number of extravaganza shows and in every case, I came away with the feeling that we were there only to draw the people to the show so they could sell them food, alcohol, cell phones, t-shirts, and posters, while they watched rock and roll bands. This year, I plan to do mostly low key events where the art is the major focus of the show, like those extravaganzas used to be.
One last thing about Ft Myers. They redid the downtown and just had a celebration honoring the work they did. There should be a good vibe at the show as they show off the downtown. Also, they built on an area that was artist parking last year, so, you may have to park a little farther away, this year. Just be aware of that.
This isn't one of the "extravaganza shows" is it, Barry.
This will be my first year doing this show (oil painting), so I'm wondering how it will be. I live in Miami but am reluctant to apply to shows in the SW Florida area since it seems so saturated.
There doesn't seem to be a coherent list of just this year's artists. Although there is a link for 2013, it doesn't show them either alphabetically, or by medium in any sort of logical order. Appears to be random. When you select by medium, you can click on "load more". Then my image from last year showed up, so I'm thinking the gallery shows multiple years when sorted by medium.
I'm in David's camp. I won an award there, two years running. The first year, they didn't award the prize money, so I was out $500. The second year, they gave me a rather odd spot, and I just barely made money there, although I won an award again, and that year, they did pay out the award money. Then last year, I was at the end of the street, and didn't even make expenses. So this year, I decided to give it a rest.
In fact, I'm not going to Florida in February at all. No Naples National, no Artigras, no Coconut Grove. Just didn't apply to anything other than Gasparilla and Winter Park. My current work just doesn't resonate with South Florida that well, so I decided to stop beating the dead dog. Fort Myers puts on a very well juried show, but the buyers just weren't there for me.
Hope so. But I'm on the wait list. Congrats to everyone who made it in!
Hope so too, Geoff. Seems like this would be a good location for your work.