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Naples National was the second of my first two ever art fairs in florida.  I have commented on Artigras on Nel's post.

My first impression as a first-timer is that Naples National is a very well organized show.   It takes place in and along the edge of a park a block away from the business district.  All artists were given check in times dependent on booth location. ranging from 7:30am to 5:30 pm or later.  I set up in the morning, but when my husband and I strolled back after dinner big lights had been erected and people were still setting up.  Artist booths were in the park- some shady on mulch, and some sunnier spots on grass, and also on the street that runs along the west side of the park.  A visitor could start at one end and wind all thru the park and not miss anything.  I thought the setups on the street were a little disconnected from the rest of the show and quite hot, though not as dirty.  (There was a constant deposition of brown dust on everything, I assume stirred up from the mulch)

There was a very efficient artist shuttle to and from the parking lot for artists, (though it was a pleasantly walkable distance) that ran all through setup, the fair, and take-down.  I thought the quality of the art was superb.  Lots more wall art than I am accustomed to see, and less ceramics and jewelry.  Naples is a place of great wealth (We saw more Bentleys and Jaguars there in two days than I have seen in my entire life), and I would speculate that a higher percentage of people are looking for paintings/prints for the empty walls of their condos than at most art fairs.  I would be interested in hearing from a 2-d artist on their take.  My next door neighbor, a potter with lovely wares, said he was disappointed because he brought the wrong price points - he brought the cheaper stuff, and he sold out on his more expensive pieces.  My other neighbor, Zacki, was a character with aggressively modern paintings and did not sell anything. 

For my part, my booth was always busy, and I made more money in two days than in three at Artigras.  The sales were mostly in the $40-120 range with enough larger sales to make me happy. 

I found that customers were interested and not jaded, and in the mood to be pleased.  There was extremely little ethnic and racial diversity.  I don't know what the average age was, but there were no strollers here.  I got the feeling that price was not as much as an object as finding exactly what they wanted.  I was delighted to get into this show, and would be delighted to do it again.

For all the organization at setup, takedown was something of a free-for-all, but seemed to work ok nonetheless.  Organizers seemed to concentrate on coordinating vehicles the on-street portion of the fair, but the big lights did make their appearance which helped a lot in making sure everything got back in the van. 

On the fun side, the beach at Naples is great, and the food is wonderful, if pricey.  The best meals we had were are Bha!Bha! a persian bistro on 5th.  Wow.  We stayed a short (walkable) distance away, at LaQuinta.

If any of you drive north (or South) thru Florida from Jacksonville to Ocala/Tampa on 301, you should stop at a great local restaurant in Starke called Grannie's Country Cooking.  I liked all the fruit stands, too, and am still eating the oranges!