We are getting started in this art fair world. This is our first year, and we have been hitting anything we can large and small. This was the first larger fair of the year for us. We have to stay somewhat local since we have small kids. We figured we would do a broad survey this year and then narrow down as we learned more.
The booth fees were really affordable - $100 for a single space if you are not from Cary, NC. No additional commission or donation requested. $15 extra for a corner space. $10 for delivered lunch. $10 for a t-shirt.
There were a couple choices as far as load in. The encouraged option was to load in the night before. If you were in a parking space, you could go ahead and set up. If you were in the street, you had to stage and leave it for the morning. The second option was to load in the morning of the show. They had scheduled hours per zone starting at 4:30 am. If you did not arrive during your allotted time, then you had to walk your stuff in.
We loaded in the night before. We had no issues getting into the park, finding our slot, and off loading. There were volunteers there that helped unload, helped us put up our tent, and wanted to do more! We only set up the display stands and tent and planned on bringing paintings the next day. We arrived 10 minutes after our allotted load in time the next morning, and while we were prepared to walk everything in, the majority of people had loaded in the night before, so they were lenient and let us drive to our booth. We didn't ask to, but got directed straight to our tent and considered it a score!
The show is held in Bond park, which is very large, gated, with paved streets, gazebos, restroom facilities, playgrounds, and good signage. The marketing was well done. We saw large banners on every corner as soon as we entered Cary. There were locals ads up on tv, print, and radio. They have a large volunteer staff for directing traffic, giving help to vendors and artists, and just general help. There were also shuttles available to bring people from parking.
The show opened at 9 am, but we had people showing up at 8:30. This park is used by a lot of early morning joggers and they just hung around. We had hourly check ins with volunteers to make sure we didn't need anything. They do a quick scan of each booth to make sure it complies with what was submitted and juried, so there is quality control.
We were on target to have the best show yet, but then the rain started and never stopped. After the rain started the attendance slowed to a trickle. The organizers decided to call it at 2 pm, which was disappointing since it is a 1 day event. (The next day turned out just as nasty, so it wouldn't have helped anyways.) There were volunteers there to help us take everything down, to direct traffic to release everyone by zone, they helped us load, and were just friendly.
All in all, we would do this show again. The people (staff, volunteers, and fair attendees) were nice, welcoming, and very helpful. Like I said, we were on chart to have a great show and even with getting cut short, we made booth fees, cost of merchandise, misc fees, meals, travel all covered and made some money to boot!
Comments
Ok we got moved to section E randomly.
We are in section D. I found you and looks like you are in B, so I will try to wander over there and say hi!
Sounds fantastic. I can't wait to see them at Artsplosure!
Gotcha! Right now we have just been doing everything we find that is somewhat close and then I figured we would start crossing off the list. The company name is Zendustria and the current series we have been promoting is big biomechanical bugs. It was my concept and my husbands execution. I'm working on getting my collection together to start showing more too. I do more geometric pattern work in acrylic and sumi like watercolor work.
Yes, I've done it since 2007. It's a good show. If the weather is nice there will be upwards of 90,000 people there.
I worked with the Festifall folks one year because I told them what was wrong and they invited me be on the jury. There were two other artists on the jury. They didn't listen to anything the artists said. I know people who do it, and since you are in the area you might want to try it. But it is one day, a Sunday, and they don't really advertise at all. The people who show up are basically out for brunch and stumble on it.
John is in for Artsplosure and we were pleased to see the lead judge is lope max who was our painting professor at the school of design. we have apps in for centerfest and i tentatively put in aps for festifall, but was worried about it. are you in at artsplosure?
Well, with paintings and prints which appeal to kids, you should do very well in Cary, at either show. Centerfest in Durham is okay. Since you want to stay close to home, this might work for you. The deadline is coming up this month, I think. They claim 20,000 attendees, but I am not sure I believe it. Festifall in Chapel Hill is a waste of time. They just can't seem to get it together. Artsplosure always gets out the crowds, and you might want to consider that for next year. I've never had a bad year in downtown Raleigh. They are moving the event to Fayetteville Street this month, and I am not sure how that will affect the crowds. I'll let you know!
Hey there Carol! Thanks for the info! We are doing paintings and prints. We do have a strong appeal to kids and we are finding parents are buying a good number of prints for their kids which seems to be making the difference between us and other artists. We didn't go into it catering to kids. There are no pink princess paintings here! And while they don't buy paintings (because you know it is better to buy an xbox then art), we have been happy to see some art prints going to kids! We just found out we are in for Lazy Daze. Are there other local shows you can recommend or tell us to run from?
As someone who lived in Raleigh for 15 years, owned a gallery, and did all the local art fairs, let me just say that this is probably best for crafters. Fine art does not do well at Spring Daze, rain or shine. Fine craft has a good venue here, and the Cary crowd has money. Don't know what your product is, Anne-Marie, but Lazy Daze is the bigger crowd. We did Spring Daze ONCE.
Thank you for this review. I have been looking at art fairs in other states and since my daughter lives in NC this will be one that I look in to for next year.
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