"Springfest" is a low-cost, low-key, and well-established arts and fine crafts festival put on in Holmes Beach by the Anna Maria Art League (which also produces "Winterfest" each November). The entry fee was only $150 (with a $20 jury fee), plus a request to donate work for a Sunday-afternoon raffle to benefit the art league's young artist program.
The show is held on fairgrounds adjacent to the municipal building. Nominally, setup was scheduled for Friday afternoon starting at 1 PM, and Saturday morning starting at 7, But 5-plus inches of torrential rains soaked the Gulf Coast from Thursday night until nearly 5 PM on Friday, so about half of the artists chose to show up an hour or so early on Saturday. Wisely, show director Joyce Karp did the same, and the sandy fairgrounds miraculously absorbed nearly all of the deluge, so the show launched in good shape at 10 AM. Booths were arranged in groups of six (two back-to-back rows of three booths each), which gave four artists corner spots. It worked well, particularly at load-out, which was easy as could be.
This event is not just an art show, but a community festival, with plenty of food vendors and music starting at 11 AM and continuing through both days. The organizers did a nice job controlling both: Food vendors were organized into a "food court" just inside the show entrance (adjacent to, not commingled with, the art). And the music started mellow and amped up the energy appropriately in the afternoon (featuring a country/Cajun-style rock band with one of the best honky-tonk piano players I've ever heard). At no time did the music ever cause problems talking with my customers, but it might have been an issue for artists closer to the band than I.
For such a small show, the quality was surprisingly high, with a good mix of media. Even more surprising (at least to me), was the number of artists who had traveled hundreds of miles to do this show (my neighbors included folks from Indiana and Tennessee). The judge visiting my booth stayed less than a minute, asked no questions, and made no comment on my work (always perplexing to me), but I can't argue with the top-shelf quality of the winners. Awards were handed out across the board (that is, no categories by medium), with a best-in-show gift of $500, four awards of distinction, and 10 merit awards. The top prize winner was a first-year exhibitor here, so you can't say the judges had "pre-race favorites."
Sales were mixed. Folks were in "browse mode" early on Saturday, but luckily, I had brought a set of unusual pelican photographs on an island where they're plentiful and loved by the residents, which led to a happy feeding frenzy most of the afternoon. Most of my neighbors sold well, too. But on Sunday, the crowds were lighter, arriving later, and a bit drowsy (due, perhaps, to Daylight Savings Time). Or maybe they were waiting for the St. Patrick's Day parade that kicked off at 4 PM from the fairgorunds. It seemed like everyone was struggling a bit, though after the parade wrapped up, there was time for folks to come by and make last-minute purchases, saving the day and weekend for some of us.
A travel note, if you decide to give this show a try next season: There aren't any big-chain hotels on the island, so if you usually forego mom-and-pop hotels for those listed on Priceline, Hotwire,and their ilk, you'll need to stay on the mainland, a good 20-30 minutedrive away. )
I was happy enough with my results, and the show had a low-key, artist-friendly community vibe that lent a nice change-of-pace to the big festivals that come with high season in Florida. One area of concern for the future: Several locals told me that the town leases out the fairgrounds most weekends, including to groups who also put on art shows of far lesser quality. Whether that will dilute the market in this small town remains to be seen. As for me, it's hard to say if my pelicans will fare as well next year. But if they'll have me, I'll be back.
Comments
I have always loved the shows put on by Art Leagues. Looks like the folks here know what to do.