hey , does anyone care to comment on the Winterfair Show in Cincinnati ,Ohio ...Thanksgiving wk end ?
I have checked the usual sources --Art fair Source , and SA...but am not finding any recent evaluations.
Thanks!
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I have done both Cincinnati Winterfair (Covington) and Columbus Winterfair.
Covington was not fun, lacked energy, not enough people. Needed coffee just to help stay awake.
Columbus, changed from four to three days this year. Why? Crowds are also down, but it did have some energy to it! I think most shows today are crap shoots........... you just never know. I think attendance has been down across the board when it comes to shows.
The ODC show in Covington is probably going to be, in the parlance we use too often these days, "a total crap shoot." Since they moved the show across the river from Cincinnati, it has suffered. Yes, the Covington facility is a nice venue, but load-in and load-out far more difficult, all done through a limited number of outdoor bays and one freight elevator if you store your boxes upstairs. At the convention center in Cincinnati, you used to be able to drive into the building to unload and load up, many artists at a time. I believe many if not most artists would love to see the ODC move the show back across the river to Cincinnati.
They do not draw the crowds they used to in Cincinnati. Nor does it seem each year there is much improvement in attendance. Yes, they are free of the horrors of parking that came with the convention center, especially when the Bengals had a home game (which they will this year on that weekend against the Cleveland Browns). So likely Sunday will be a wash. The show seems premised on the "Busiest Shopping Day" concept. I think most artists, myself included, experienced best sales on Friday and declining from there on.
It does make a good fit if you are doing the show in Columbus the following weekend but truthfully, both shows will be dicey. Wish I could say something more positive, but that reality thing keeps snapping me back.
I'm going back there this year -- reluctantly. The show has slipped in recent years. Two years ago, my most recent time there, I barely covered costs. So what am I thinking this year in going back?? Beats me. I describe myself as sufferer of "terminal optimism." It's gonna be the death of me yet.
I think you run with the pack on this one Lee! Love the phrasing "terminal optimism". We keep thinking we can pull the rabbit out of the hat (or some part of our anatomy) to save the day. We've probably all done it before at the ODC shows .... just not consistently .... and not recently.
See you there, riding the wave of terminal optimism to its destination.
thanks for your reply ! I am doing their other Winterfair show--for the first time--
and I just this week had contacted them, to see if they had any openings for Cinn.
after several days, I just heard back- and she said , " if you send the $20. jury fee --and if there are openings , we will contact you ".
Maybe it's just me .....but , really ? they can't just tell me if they have an opening ?
I mean, they can tack on the jury fee --with the booth - if they want ---but ,
also, apparently they were giving a $35. fee BACK , if you applied for both shows...so , the whole jury fee thing , seemed moot anyways.
Maybe I'm thinking wrongly on this, but it just seems unethical...to collect jury fees ---if
you don't even know if you have spaces available ??
so....I'm leaning towards my old stand by show , in Greensboro (I too suffer from "terminal optimism" :)
Yes, I will be in Wilmington. It's a nice $2,500 show. My wife will be in Sturbridge, MA the same weekend with Country Folk Art. That should bring in about $3,500, so we're hoping for a decent weekend if it doesn't snow.
Castleberry draws exhibitors from throughout New England and some surrounding areas. It's not a show I would travel halfway across the country to do. Price points are usually under $50.
Peggy Whitson > Chris HoytOctober 8, 2009 at 11:29pm
Thanks Chris, for the info .
Someday I hope to do a show in the New England area.... make it a Scenic Tour /Show trip :)
yeah , that's true. But in this case , I don't know that they really are ....just doing some research.
I know you do the Castleberry Shows ....are you doing the Thanksgiving show , in Mass ?
What is your opinion ? what price range sells best there ?
Is it mostly locals exhibiting , or does it draw in from far & wide ?
Replies
Covington was not fun, lacked energy, not enough people. Needed coffee just to help stay awake.
Columbus, changed from four to three days this year. Why? Crowds are also down, but it did have some energy to it! I think most shows today are crap shoots........... you just never know. I think attendance has been down across the board when it comes to shows.
They do not draw the crowds they used to in Cincinnati. Nor does it seem each year there is much improvement in attendance. Yes, they are free of the horrors of parking that came with the convention center, especially when the Bengals had a home game (which they will this year on that weekend against the Cleveland Browns). So likely Sunday will be a wash. The show seems premised on the "Busiest Shopping Day" concept. I think most artists, myself included, experienced best sales on Friday and declining from there on.
It does make a good fit if you are doing the show in Columbus the following weekend but truthfully, both shows will be dicey. Wish I could say something more positive, but that reality thing keeps snapping me back.
See you there, riding the wave of terminal optimism to its destination.
and I just this week had contacted them, to see if they had any openings for Cinn.
after several days, I just heard back- and she said , " if you send the $20. jury fee --and if there are openings , we will contact you ".
Maybe it's just me .....but , really ? they can't just tell me if they have an opening ?
I mean, they can tack on the jury fee --with the booth - if they want ---but ,
also, apparently they were giving a $35. fee BACK , if you applied for both shows...so , the whole jury fee thing , seemed moot anyways.
Maybe I'm thinking wrongly on this, but it just seems unethical...to collect jury fees ---if
you don't even know if you have spaces available ??
so....I'm leaning towards my old stand by show , in Greensboro (I too suffer from "terminal optimism" :)
Castleberry draws exhibitors from throughout New England and some surrounding areas. It's not a show I would travel halfway across the country to do. Price points are usually under $50.
Someday I hope to do a show in the New England area.... make it a Scenic Tour /Show trip :)
I know you do the Castleberry Shows ....are you doing the Thanksgiving show , in Mass ?
What is your opinion ? what price range sells best there ?
Is it mostly locals exhibiting , or does it draw in from far & wide ?