Just finished up an exhausting weekend (Nothing like doing a 3 day outdoor show at 6+ months pregnant!)
I spent the weekend at the Cain Park Arts Festival. This was year 2 for me and as usual it didn't disappoint.
The show gets top points for me for treatment of artists. They have a very professional system of check in, escorting your car right to the booth (after walkie-talkie checks giving clearance, it's so official!) We always get lots of offers to help and though my husband and I have set up down to a science, I have seen many artists get complete help unloading and even setting up their booth, including helpers willing to unpack and even help set up.
Set up times are staggered so it's not too difficult to get in and out (of course, we tend to set up early, and we set up quick, so I'm not the best judge there)
There really isn't a bad spot in the park as there are entrances on each side. Some parts are shadier then others of course, and we backed up to a wooded area so it could get buggy at times.
We're fed (always a good thing) doughnuts and coffee each morning, a lunch on Friday set up day and an artists breakfast and awards on Sunday. (It's the little things sometimes!)
On Sunday a volunteer even came around repeatedly with a Brita pitcher of water and cups since it was hot. (Again, those little touches are nice)
Now, sales....
I like that Friday is free to get in. I made my booth fee back quickly, and went on to profits and that is always a good feeling early on in the show. For jewelers I think Friday is the best night. Saturday and Sunday were a bit more of a struggle with pulling in the $$s for me. Though I know a lot of the 2d artists tend to do better once people check out the work, measure at home and come back to purchase. I had a tough Saturday afternoon particularly with a lot of questions (some really not necessary, more on the "entertain me" for free level).
I got the general impression that buying was lower than usual. (from comparing my own sales, and artist impressions) I was a bit bummed I didn't meet my goal of beating last years sales, but still was happy with the outcome (I came awfully close!) . I did sell some of my higher priced items though, and did see bigger ticket work walking around as well (paintings, sculpture etc...) so there were people there who were willing to invest a bit more. It still beats sales for most of the shows in the local Cleveland area though.
The directors of the show are really encouraging of patrons to support the artists (getting on the intercom even to tell jokes, and inspire people to buy) It's just nice to do a show where you feel appreciated by the organizers and the patrons alike. Even when there were patrons could not purchase they were very friendly for the most part and super complimentary. Not a lot of haggling or inappropriate comments encountered here.
My highlight was winning my very FIRST award, as I got a judges selection ribbon this year. Woohoo! :)
Comments
Congratulations on your award and also for making it through 3 days outdoors being pregnant. OOOOOOOOF!
Congratulations on your award!
Well, congratulations on that award, Valerie. Good job.
Thanks for this review. We participated in this show for nearly 25 years, in fact, if you look at that big rock out by the Lee Road entrance I think you can still see the imprint of our tent ;)
Cain Park literally wrote the book on hospitality at art fairs. I'm serious about this. The founder Audrey Feinberg had it ingrained on all the staff to treat the artists like visiting royalty. After her death her husband, Harvey, continued the tradition and now that Harvey has joined Audrey (and the watch over this show from a special place), Harvey's second wife Honey stepped in to keep it going. The reason I am even talking about this is when Bill Charney was starting up the Cherry Creek Art Festival he traveled the country looking for "best practices", he met up with Harvey, they became friends and Cain Park's policies became the textbook for "how to treat the artists." The hospitality at Cain Park set the standard.
Why did we do the show for so many years? Hospitality, lovely park in a cool ravine, surrounded by neighborhoods full of well-educated people, a diverse ethnicity, judges who make an effort to speak with everyone, loyal buyers, people who "owned" their local show. This is the only Cleveland area show where we could count on an above average.
I miss Cain Park.