Woodlands Waterway (TX) review

The festival is held along a man-made waterway in a wealthy, planned suburb of Houston. Booths are mostly along one side of a walkway and face the water. Some are in a slightly confusing lay-out in a grassy park.

The sponsors are a delight to work with. Well organized and helpful. Load-in and load-out are tricky. If one can arrive Thursday for set-up and wait until Monday to tear-down, it becomes easy. The show provides golf carts so that one can haul stuff to a nearby parking lot for loading Sunday night. We did this and were out in our usual time + 15 minutes.

There is a grand hotel (Marriott) at the show site, with rates for the artists. A very enjoyable preview party is held there on Friday night. Show hours are 10AM to 6PM Saturday and Sunday. There are terrific restaurants within walking distance, plus a lot of shopping (every chain known to man) and two movie theaters. Arriving early has its rewards.

As for sales: the usual, some terrific and some not so terrific. The $10 gate separated the lookers from the buyers. The actress Sharon Stone made a large sculpture purchase, I am told. She looked splendid.
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  • Thank, Travis! The info is very helpful!
  • Not true. Most people close Sunday night. Golf carts are provided to ease the process. One does have to haul out or wait in line to drive in. Hauling out is quickest. Packing on Monday is easiest, if you are in no hurry. BTW: There are often priceline.com hotels available, but it is very convenient to stay at the show hotel. It is ritzy. The preview party there is delightful (it requires a donation of your work for two tickets).
  • Hi, Everyone.

    Is it true that at the Woodlands Waterway show you have to break down your booth on Monday? Am considering applying to this show for the first time, and am still on the fence after what I've read about it. We're from Philadelphia, so it would be a long haul . . . . Thanks! ~Emily
  • It seemed to me that there were a lot of folks out looking for something to do, rather than coming just for the art. Although I still managed to sell my largest piece, the second largest sized wall hanging that I have and a smaller one; not the best for me but way above average in sales. I do metal cut-out of aspen trees.

    The staff and volunteers were WONDERFUL!! and very supportive. On Sunday there was a low number of volunteers so a booth sitter was imposible to find, as the helpers which were there were doing all they could to help. But, as with most shows you meet really cool neighbors who can keep an eye on your booth for a potty break.

    In many opinions the show could have closed at 4:00pm on Sunday, the crowd was lower and buying energy was almost non-exsistant late in the day. I don't think anyone likes tearing down in the dark.

    An o.k. show to do if you have another one in the area.
  • Sorry: I thought putting "jewelry" in my profile did the trick. Jewelry. There.

    I will try to figure-out adding a photo next time, if you promise not to laugh at my feeble skill as a photographer.
  • I forgot. Two more thoughts. What is your media, always helpful if you put in the blog. Two. A pic at the show would be nice, it only takes a second to do, and a second to post as a jpeg. Nice report though.
  • Well so far I have talked to 5 friends on the circuit and they all said Woodlands was a bust this year. Frankly for a show where you gotta set up on Thursday and teardown on Monday, it better be exceptional to do, otherwise there are easier fish to catch elsewhere.
  • Oops. I meant for my comment to come after Connie's.
  • We were at Madison "Fair on the Square" and it was raining , so instead of setting-up we went to a movie. When we got out the sun was shining and the fair in full fruit. We ran to the place we were "crashing" and grabbed our display and were set-up in time for a decent afternoon. This was 1976, before canopies, and set-up took minutes: unfold the table & throw out the work. Is this a new one: BITD (=back in the day)? BITD we crashed with total strangers, friends-of-friends. Now its priceline.com all-the-way.
  • Ahhh...Texas in the Spring! + Sharon Stone.

    Excellent, Travis. As I live in a rural area I always like to know there is lots of shopping nearby to round out the art fair experience. My favorite Texas experience was many years ago at Laguna Gloria in Austin where it just poured! Water up to our ankles in our booth, and I am told snakes swimming nearby. But we took the day off and went to the movies and had some excellent Tex-Mex and margaritas. I remember this better than how much money we made.
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