Just lost my first blog on this show, so please excuse any typos.
This is a great locals favorite ATL Festival. The weather was perfect and I would guess 100k people showed up. This festival has lots going on. There is a b/s street market, juried arts and crafts, lots of music, tour of homes, one of the best ATL parades and lots of beer.
Set up is early morning on Saturday. For being so big they handle it well. There is free parking for artist althoug it is a bit of a hike. The booths are set up in an old established neighboorhood very close to downtown Atlanta. Booths on both sides of the street, with a sidewalk behind the booths. You have some storage and working area behind the booths. They also give every one 10'x 15' of space, so plenty of room to move around. Break down is normal, put stuff off to the side, go get your vehicle. I got out in less then an hour.
The crowds are always big. This is not your traditional art fair crowd IMO. Near the port a potties and a kid zone there was a student artist tent. They had a large 36"x 48" painting at the front of a nun hitting a bong and next to that was a large painting of the pope (with out the hat) smoking a joint. The kids were curious and the parents just laughed. If you are someone who has a problem with this, then you shouldn't be at this festival. The shoes and purses going by are not high end, but $500 price points are not a problem. Anything over $1k is not as popular, but there are buyers at this festival who can handle this price point. The jewler next to me had a great day on Saturday and was happy with Sunday. The booth next to me (you can see their work in the 2nd pic) almost sold out. He sold collage type work of Turtle Lisa and Block heads. I was able to walk around Sunday morning before the show to say hi to everyone I knew and talked to anyone who would talk. The 2d people I knew and showed around me had an OK day on Saturday, but wanted a better Sunday. I felt the same way. Sales on Saturday don't really start until after the parade. Like I said the parade is fun, but starts in the middle of the day, 2pm, and stops sales. My booth is along the parade route. The street is narrow so in and around your booth is filled with people watching the parade. If you are prepared you will trap potential customers in your booth right before the parade and then you have them for the next hour. I actually just had to stop writing this because my parade victim just called and I am going to his home next week for a commissioned piece. Sunday sales start off slow but pick up again later in the day. By the end everyone I knew and showed around was happy and would be back. I do feel like there should have been more sales considering the crowd. Most people going by were only carrying a beer. I think contemporary, fun and funky things do better at this festival. I have a photographer friend who shows images of Italy and he had an OK show, but would be back. A close friend turned 40 this Sunday and I made her delay the celebration until next week so I could do this show. I am happy I did and will plan around this show again. If you are a local artist you can get a ton of contacts that will keep you busy all year during slow times.
Attached pics- 1st one shows what the crowds looked like most of the time. The second one is less crowded and not as typical. The rest are of the parade, very colorful in more ways then one.
Comments
LOL Nels you crack me up. If you do it next year request to be on Edgewood. I set up at Edgewood and Waverly, which is the center of the main street. I would love if you were set up close by.
Never mind Lori, just saw your review. Glad it was a good show too ;)
Yes they were, but I don't think they practiced because they just walked by discussing what they should be doing. Most people knew them and cheered them anyway ;)