Blog

Just got back from my first time at Artsfest on Walnut Street in Springfield, MO.  Walnut Street is a residential area near the college so several rentals but also some homes being renovated as well as a couple of restaurants.  Nice wide street with booths set up on sidewalks.  Set up begins Friday at 500 but I got there about 3 and there were people already setting up.  Fairly easy in and out.  The hotel for artists is at the end of the street and had plenty of parking.

Booth set ups-  The back half of your booth will be sidewalk and the front will be grass.  Bring some bricks for the front as there is about a 2-3 inch drop.  I paid for a corner booth which put me at a driveway.   (All of the houses through here have access from the rear so there wasn't any car traffic during the show.  Because of the driveways...several people had corners even though they didn't pay the extra for them...luck of the draw.  I would request a corner again as the interior booths were 12 inches apart so no room to get behind tent if you store there.   Also, in some areas...there may only be a couple of feet behind you.

Staff-  Staff was easy to deal with.  They serve lunch but finding a volunteer to watch booth was a little difficult.  I have only done a few different shows and the ones I have done had tons of volunteers and they were constantly by seeing if you needed water, Gatorade, etc.  If you do this show solo...bring your ice chest as the volunteers are scarce.

Patrons-  great weather and great crowds.  Was steady and busy both days.  Did not see a lot of big art go by but did see lots of smaller stuff.  I sold more prints than I have sold at a show but total dollars was down because I didn't sell a single big piece despite having lowered my prices for this show to move some inventory out to make room for new pieces.  Lots of dogs and than even more dogs.  I like the dogs but now reflecting...I didn't see a single person walking a dog that had art in their hands nor did I sell to anyone with a dog.  Demographic was fairly diverse from the transgendered to college kids to senior citizens and young families.

Food vendors- Didn't eat at any but they were higher end vendors versus carnival food.  Wood fired pizza and empandas along with corndogs for kids

Artist Mixture-  Seemed like a good mix without any one medium being overly represented.  In the mediums....there was diversity so really didn't se a lot of booths selling similar art as others in the same medium.  Actually saw some art that I had not seen before.

Load out- Fairly decent control with getting load out cards and having everyone go same direction.  However, the rules didn't seem to apply to the festival contracted labor putting up chairs and tents from the coke stands and music areas as they were going wrong direction and would also block the main streets.  Would be nice to have them wait for the artists to clear out.

All in all....decent show but if I do again...I will bring more stuff in the 20-100 dollar range.