Although this show has been going for 37 years, it is our first time attending the show. It is organized by the local Art Museum, which is located directly across the street. The show was reorganized this year, with the booths being placed around the perimeter of park. This made loading and unloading very easy. We were on the side street, which is narrow, just wide enough for 2 cars (works for me!). They are very accommodating to the artists, with easy parking and signs at the food booths asking people to let artists go first in the lines, so they can get back to their booths.
The booths are very roomy. Plenty of space between the 85 exhibitors and yet close enough for attendees to walk the entire show. There does seem to be room for expansion in this show. The quality is good, although it is the same weekend as a larger show in Koehler WI, which probably cuts into the number of artists who come to this show. It is timed 2 weeks prior to an other good show in neighboring Appleton, WI. This offered attendees a chance to look at art, go home, think about it and (hopefully) buy it at the Appleton Show. There are plenty of volunteers to help you, if you need it.
It was VERY hot, with heat-indexes over 100 degrees. We had a beautiful view from your booth and a little breeze, which made the heat a little more bearable. The show opens at 10:00, but people were checking out the show by 9:30---wanting to "beat the heat". It was slower in the afternoon. I think the heat did affect traffic. I has a couple of ladies come back to my booth who said, they were not going to come back because of the heat, but really wanted to so do. Overall, its a nice show.
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We've done this show for four years now. This year, with the new layout, we had hopes that sales would be as good as they were the first year we were there. Sales have dropped every year. The weather always seems to be brutal for this show. Last year, it really rained "buckets" and then stopped and became really hot, turning everything into a muddy humid sauna.This year, people showed up early and left by noon, leaving us artists to roast in the heat. At least the new set up had us under some trees instead of baking in the sun. That's an improvement!
By the way, the John Michael Kohler Art Museum Show is in Sheboygan, WI not Kohler, WI. It hosts about the same number of artists as the Bergstrom-Mahler Show. It is a two-day show, however. We're from Sheboygan, so we know that show very well....