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  Diana Sue Yum-Bucher November 24, 2011 at 6:47pm

  We, too, were shocked at the added $100 fee, and alsmost backed out.  Found out later that the city required the fee and did not differentiate between the business vendors and the artist "vendors" - the show promoters were very unhappy about that and hope it will be different next year.  This show is never more than average for us, and the extra fee was a big negative.  The topper was when we went to Foley to renew our AL business license (we being from Florida), only to be denied renewal and sent back home to Florida for an original stamped birth certificate or passort to prove we were US citizens!  If we had not already been packed up, house trailer, van, pets, and all, and doing 2 shows back to back in AL, we would have just said forget it.  This is the kind of info the artist needs in advance.
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  Susan Parry October 21, 2011 at 9:40am

  Thank you very much to everyone who answered my post. This was my first time and you were all very thoughtful and helpful.
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  Caroline Kwas October 20, 2011 at 6:53pm

  I've done Spacecoast for three years, and yes, the prize money is there but your traffic will depend on your location.  If you're on A1A there are a lot of beer and food tents and thus more partiers.  I've been on Brevard Ave. and there tends to be less casual beachgoers/drinkers on that street.  A very talented painter friend of mine was on Minuteman Causeway towards A1A and really had a tough time being recognized among the food and drink booths.  Yes, low ticket items are big here and you need to work the crowd, but it does draw art appreciators from the surrounding Orlando area.  Personally, this is a vacation/show for me, as I spend the week at Jetty Park in my RV and paint there.  I've had my share of award $, so it works for me.  Load in has been easy for me in my big rig; get there early.  There's also RV parking right in between the two big streets if you need it.  I'll be at booth 231
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  Connie Mettler October 20, 2011 at 1:54pm

  I can commiserate with you Susan, on the undesirability of having these additional fees tacked on after you had paid for your show. However, municipalities do not run on "art fair time" and city councils can get together and institute a vendor/sales/merchant fee whenever they want to. I'm sure the organizers were as disturbed as you were over this additional charge to the exhibitors. I've been in their shoes as a show organizer. As times get tougher cities are looking all around for ways to keep bills paid and you just happened to get caught in a change over. Sometimes if the fee isn't too stiff we've picked it up and paid it or negotiated with the city for a reduction for a first time fee, but sometimes the organizers have no choice but to pass it on. I'm glad to hear from Judy that it was a good show!
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  lori kay October 20, 2011 at 1:11pm

  Hi Susan, I've done Spacecoast for the last 4 years I'm in a high traffic prime location and my sales have been consistantly good every year (10xs booth fee). Some observations, I'd say 50% of attendees are tourists so small easy carry items sell well.  Decorative and high priced items are a tough sell according to the other artists I've spoken with, but because the prize money is pretty good they come back every year.  The ease or difficulty of setup depends on your space assignment. This is a festival so there is drinking but I've never had a problem with anyone getting out of hand.

  The twist this year is that NASA is all but shutdown so there have been massive layoffs in the area.
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  Judy Moeggenberg October 20, 2011 at 11:56am

  We did the show. It was our best show for the year. I do think that the extra fee for the license was unfair. But it really was worth the extra money. They had to of had record crowds. But the weather was perfect and that helped.
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  Susan Parry October 20, 2011 at 10:15am

  My booth fee was refunded, but not the application fee, of course--although I feel I should have gotten that considering the situation. When I apply for a show, I feel I should know all the charges up front. Who-ever heard of tacking on more charges months later. I also forgot to mention that I had called the local government at least a month before they decided to charge this money to ask what the license was going to cost as and they said they had never charged that it was listed as a formality. I guess they saw the opportunity to make money off of hundreds of artists--which would be ok if they told us up front not months later.