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I know there have been reviews of this show before, but here is my 2 cents worth.

Philadelphia is a city with only a handful of Art Festivals for a local artist to choose from. There is Rittenhouse Square, which is limited to fine art only (Photography is excluded). There is the Museum Craft show in November which is mostly craft, obviously, and there is the Manayunk Art Festival, open to all. I think maybe this is a good thing, as there isn't any festival fatigue that I hear about in other cities and states.

The city has become more resident friendly in the past 30 years. Any one who knew Philly in the 70's and 80's knows what a transformation has taken place. The new census for 2010 showed a population gain over the past decade, rare for an East coast older city. Rittenhouse Square has always been a residential core, and it has expanded through the years.

This is be an excellent venue for an art festival. This is it's 80th year. I have teachers who showed here when it was a clothes line show for students. The show now takes place on the sidewalk around the square. In the past, it was in the square on the grass. It was moved recently to protect the park. I have only done the show in it's present layout. Set up is on Thursday evening and you park at the curb across from your booth, parking is first come. It can get crowded, but usually you can get a spot near your booth. Some artists wait to set up on Friday morning. I did this last Fall, and was mostly by myself from 7 to 9, when most arrived to finish. This would be my preferred method, except you are sweaty and beat when the show opens at 11.

Friday is a quiet day, 'though there were buyers prowling the square. Because there is no gate or admission charge, people come back two or three days. I got "be backs" coming all three days. Sales were light, but I heard some artists report that Friday was there best day.

Saturday gets busy. On Walnut street, we share the sidewalk with a farmers market that is there every week. Many artists don't like being where the market is. The sidewalk has 6 feet for all to walk past, and it can get jammed. I don't mind it. I think it brings more people to the fair. Just don't get stuck across from the Amish flower farmer!

I had a mushroom guy across from me. I just made a killer mushroom pizza with his fungi!

Sunday is the busiest day. Philadelphia is filled with art aficionados. There is a real mix of young people, families, and of course us older folk. I talked with many artists, and it seems all types of work sold. I have never had a blockbuster show here, but it has been consistently decent. I find I have a better show here in September, which you apply for at the same time.

Parking is expensive ($24 to $28 a day, less on Sunday). I don't know much about hotels, since I live 30 minutes away, but downtown is not cheap, and they don't include parking. My neighbor stayed  around the airport, but I know what a pain in the butt driving there is.

My one bewilderment is this show seems to be ignored by the local media. I would watch the local news for weather updates, and the show was never mentioned. (At Fort Worth the local news broadcast live from the show all weekend) The show director had paid announcements on the local NPR station (WHYY) but their Arts Calendar omitted the show, instead listing some much smaller events. The Philadelphia Inquirer likewise showed no love. This is a common complaint about Philadelphia news media. The visual arts are ignored, supporting the inferiority complex that since we are so close to NYC, there must be no art here.

Load out is like load in, you can bring your vehicle up to your booth at 5:00 right as the show closes. Do this if you can, 'cause it gets crowded at the curb. There is a large group of local art college student exhibitors in the center of the square (a nice touch, I think, to see so much student work. Philly has a large # of art schools, and some teachers require them to "get their feet wet") If you are near an entrance to the park, the students will compete for curb space. Some of them don't parallel park too well!

This blog is aimed mainly at you newbies or any artist who has never been at a show yet where a dangerous weather pattern hits.

I was at Columbus this weekend with Ellen showing too.  We both escaped any damage.  We were lucky, but also did some prudent things.

In the more than 1300 art festivals I have done, I have had my booth leveled twice.  A hurricane, in MARCH at Vero Beach in 1994, leveled my booth and everybody elses.  Winds came thru at 4:30 am clocking at 80 mph.  Had my canopy blown away at Springfest Charlotte.  Nasty winds downtown.

What we are going to discuss does not have anything to do with when you are at a show and you get a rainstorm.  You still need to take proper percautions to keep you and your work dry.

When a nasty storm cell, like what hit Columbus, things can become very serious as evidenced by the pics on Facebook showing the damage.

Most times shows are on top of dangerous weather and give artists a heads up.  Sometimes there is no time for a warning which was the case in Columbus.

If a bad storm is coming here is what you should do.

First, make sure all your weights are properly in place, if are staked to the ground, make sure everything is tight and right.

Second, zip the booth up tight on all four corners.

Third, if there is time, take down all awnings on front and rear--they are just wind-catchers which will endanger your booth.

Fourth, and most important, GET THE HELL OUT OF YOUR BOOTH. Get to a shelter or get to your  van, asap.  Do not try to ride out bad weather from the inside of your booth.  It could cost you your life or a limb.

The natural inclination of most people, when faced with bad winds and storm conditions is to stay and try to physically hold up your walls against the vector forces.  Don't do it.  Flying debris from your neighbor's booth or your own booth can cause nasty, sometimes fatal injuries.  Several artists were injured Saturday by flying objects.

Believe me, it is better to lose your booth and art and inventory then to sustain an injury.  The hospital bills will be much higher.  You can always buy another booth, you can always make more art.  But if injure yourself, it may cost you time in recovery without making art or money.

When winds were buffeting the rear of our booths I was yanking poles off the rear canopies as fast as I could.  Ellen was inside her tent trying to rearrange stuff.  I yelled to her loudly, "Get the hell out of there now, Ellen, go to the van.  She did.

If your booth takes a direct hit, nothing is going to save it.  You could have 10 Shaquille O"Neilles hanging on to your walls and they would be blown away as easily as grains of sand.

If you have a corner spot at a show, it is great for business, but it sucks for bad weather.  You have to be extra vigilant.

What was tough about the Columbus situation was that the show was checking with the local weather and it showed, at 7:15 pm, that really bad weather was supposed to hit around 9:30.  Guess what?  Two minutes later the cell hit.  It  was like it germinated right there at the show.  None of us had any real warning except for two big facts.  You could see the sky was getting dark purple, the temperature was falling fast.  Secondly, as a product of our SmartPhone culture, hundreds of shoppers were all showing the radar to each other.  There was a lot of anxiety.

I noticed it and took the very precautions I have previously mentioned.

After the storm passed, we got out of our vans and surveyed the destruction, it was everywhere around us.  The show said another bad storm was still coming and for everybody to get in their vans or shelter.  This was around 8 pm now.  I looked at Ellen and said, "We have done all we can do to protect our booths and they are still standing.  Let's go get some martinis and eat dinner."

And that is exactly what we did.

PS.  Before we left we helped others, but many did not want any help.

We were lucky.

        REMEMBER, GET THE HELL OUT OF YOUR BOOTH, YOU CAN ALWAYS MAKE MORE ART

I just remembered a kind of humorous  situation related to winds at art shows.  Hopefully you will appreciate it too, plus it leaves this blog on a lighter note.

So, about 1985 I was doing a December show on Miami Beach.  I had an early KD canopy like so many others.  Our booths were set up in a narrow park by the water between tall hotels--a classic wind tunnel if there ever was one.

This bad storm hit us late afternoon, winds were in excess of 30 mph.  My neighbor was this little old lady probably about five-feet-tall who was painter.  She had a KD and it was not weighted down anywhere.

So, me and several others are hanging out in our vans behind our booths, smoking hooters and drinking beers.  All of a sudden we hear this tiny plaintive cry through the wind,"Help me, please somebody help me."

We ran over to her tent. The wind was blowing fierce.  She was holding on to the canopy for dear life, and with each sudden gust, she was being lifted four feet off the ground with the canopy.  She kept yelling "Help Me."  

Finally we got six guys on the darn canopy to hold it down and release her.  She was one grateful woman.

The next day I went out and bought my Newton Porto-Canopy which I still use to this day.  It has weathered many bad storms and is till standing.

Festival date confusion allows artists ample opportunity to still apply for the show

(COLUMBUS)- Production staff of the Riverfront Art Festival have agreed to extend the exhibitor deadline to June 22 because of confusion regarding the festival dates.

“It has come to my attention that not all of our artists were aware the dates of the festival had changed to September 30-October 2,” said Mike Collins, Riverfront Events President. “To ensure all interested artists have the chance to apply we will extend the exhibitor deadline for two more weeks. This extension will also allow us to account for the greater growth of the festival.”

This year, with greater sponsorship from local, Central Ohio organizations, the Riverfront Art Festival has the opportunity to give more back to its artists. Each accepted exhibitor will be automatically entered into a contest to win a FREE 10x10 booth. The winning artist will be chosen at random and notified the week after the jury process.

“We’re hopeful with the increased support from our partners and additional programming, this will be the best Riverfront Art Festival to date” said Collins.

Join us for the 2011 Riverfront Art Festival September 30 through October 2, when Genoa Park will play host to more than 150 local and national artists of the highest caliber, featuring a variety of fabrications and designs from fine oil paintings to functional pottery and textiles. While the heartbeat of the festival is the amazing selection of visual artists, the park also features a waterfront amphitheater, which will host our most incredible musical lineup ever - including two nights of WaterFire performances!

For more information please visit www.riverfrontartfestival.com.

Amanda Leeman, aleeman@promotions-one.com, 614.299.8628 -or- 614.425.1591 Communications and Partnership Manager
Mike Collins, mike@promotions-one.com, 614.299.8596 President

This festival is held  on a tree lined street amid beautiful old homes in a very trendy neighborhood of midtown Atlanta. Sounds like a great recipe for an art show right, not so much.

I spoke with several artists who have done this show for a few years and they told me it used to be a good show until it was turned into a drunken music festival. The music was so loud that by the end of the weekend I had a sore throat from trying to talk to my customers.  Good crowds came out but they were not art buying people, they were saving their money for beer and corndogs, good for the vendors, not the artists. The steady stream of people didn't look left or right, they were intent on the libations & entertainment at the center of the festival. It was like watching a parade of zombies.

While I didn't lose money ( close) several around me did, lots of zeros or close to it. I'm sure there might have been a few success stories but no one I spoke with was happy and I made the rounds Sunday morning.

If you have a Red Stripe or meat on a stick concession this is the show for you, but if you're looking to make a paycheck selling your art, look elsewhere.

Many thanks for recent pledges including: Pamella Harris, Judy Zeddies, Marilyn Troutman, Donald Dixon, Marcia Grout and Michael Ries. Your names are went into the drawing for today's winners.

Monday's drawing:

1.  Suzanne Krongold

2.  Barbara McLaughlin

3.  Susan Miller

4.  Melanie Rolfes

5.  Rush Creek

6.  Donald Dixon

7.  Barbara Nelson

8.  Michelle Wermuth

9.  Carolina Niebres

10. Frances Hurst

Please visit the Prize Page to choose your prize. Please email me (info@artfaircalendar.com) your first three choices and don't forget to include your mailing address. Do this as soon as possible please.

Prizes that have already been awarded from Friday's drawing:

1.  Dorraine Watts - Kindle

2.  Brian Bass - pottery from Sarah Silva

3.  Tahmi DeSchepper - digital services from Larry Berman

4.  Shirley Baker - weights from CanopyWeights.com

5.  Scrap Felt - subscription to Sunshine Artist

6.  Woody Smith - peanut brittle from AuntieM's

7.  Lenore Lampi - free booth space at any Howard Alan Event

8.  Barbara Johnson - polaroid mobile printer

Congratulations to them!

Everyone who pledges receives our AFI insignia bumper sticker, the "Red Dot". Please send me your mailing address so we can get these out to you.

We will be drawing names again on Wednesday morning for the remainder of the prizes. If you'd like to be included in the drawing - and you think this website is worth supporting - pledge today!

This has been a whirlwind week for us with this pledge drive and the two podcasts. Once again many thanks to all who have pledged to keep our websites alive and happy and continuing to make your art fairs more satisfying to you in every way, physically, emotionally and monetarily.

We have a bunch of prizes to award to those who pledged. We have chosen the following names using the www.Random.org site. Instead of directly awarding a specific prize will the following people please contact me and let me know their 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices, as I know not everyone wants web consulting or a Kindle or some of the other prizes on the list. You can find the prizes here: http://www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/pledgedrive.html

The winners are:

1. Dorraine Watts
2. Brian Bass
3. Tahmi DeSchepper
4. Shirley Baker
5. Margaret Hagopian-Slack
6. Scrap Felt
7. Woody Smith
8. Steph Mader
9. Lenore Lampi
10. Barbara Johnson

Please have your choices to me by midnight June 5.

Everyone who has pledged is receiving:

• an official Art Star on their profile page on this site (going up soon)

• a "Red Dot" bumper sticker. Please send me your mailing address so I can get those out to you.

Haven't pledged yet? Get in on the next round of prize drawings. Pledge here now.

Next prize drawing at 9 am on June 6.

Preparing Your Images

Thanks for the Advice, Larry!

• white
• grey or
• black?

What did I do?

1. I erased any extraneous accoutrements (like on the purses, the wire I used to hang them)
2. I removed all the original background
3. I added a layer of pure black behind the original image
4. I made several copies of the image and using various tweaks adjusted the color, saturation and contrast to better reflect the reality of each piece
5. I sized the image to match the requirements of the major online application site (Zapp!) or 1920 pixels square
6. then I optimized each image (high resolution jog) to upload into my media file on the Zapp site.

Rick Bryant, executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of Arts in State College, PA, just sent me this jpg of his show's 2011 t- shirt. Isn't it amazing? It is by assemblage artist Robert Villamagna of Wheeling, WV (www.robertvillamagna.com). The name of the image is "Surrender Rabbit."

The next person to make a pledge will with this t-shirt!

Our deepest sympathy is extended to our artist friend, Eugenie Torgerson, and her family upon the sudden loss of her son, Ryan, who died unexpectedly this week. Although, I was unable to locate an obituary, I did find this website with many wonderful tributes to this young man. 

http://209.216.63.141/news/news.cfm?ID=63086

If you wish to send condolences to Eugenie and her partner, Edward Avila, her email is:

eugenietorgerson@sbcglobal.net

This entry is from my friend Lynn Fisher who does wonderful porcelain and stoneware work. I'm copying this to my blog (with her permission) because I think it's important that we bring to light how some shows deal with a tragedy in an artist's life. Luckily, it's not all shows...

It might have started days ago, possibly even two weeks ago when there was an electrical storm here and two huge poplars were completely split open after being struck by lightening. That may have caused a short or spark in that particular outlet that may have hit the flexible metal gas line nearby. It all sounds stupid, especially since the furnace man had installed the gas line so close to the outlet. They were both hidden behind the furnace; if I'd known about it I would have had it changed immediately.

The photos don't do the damage justice, since most of the soot or creosote rose in the heat, covering the ceiling and 2/3s of the upper walls. Surprisingly, it didn't stick to certain surfaces -bisqued molds, for example, or some of the fabrics. The windows are still black in these photos, although moths and flies have left some delicate patterns of light where they brushed against the glass. I've since wiped some of the windows to let in more light but I'm not sure which is worse, the dark studio or or the light one that shows just how awful the place is. It's like a little den of horrors, a nightmare.

Once the studio is cleared out it will be gutted and rebuilt, but it will be several weeks before I can move back in. I won't get my hopes up for anytime earlier than mid-July.

Arg. What a thing to come home to! At least it isn't the total loss that it is for all those people who've been wiped out in floods or tornadoes. I feel really fortunate that it isn't worse!

So here it is, Bonnie, ready for you to share however you like. I think it might be nice to show what Old Town and its cavalier attitude is like to those of us artists who are suddenly faced with a situation completely out of their control. They are truly compassionate, sticking by their rules, and then making it even worse by telling me I don't need to apply again next year."

This was the show's response...

Joan Goldstein

Exhibitors Committee Co-Chair

Just joined the "Insiders" and am stoked about improving my show success.  Does anyone have info about the Santa Clarita CA Cowboy Festival?  I just learned about it last month.

I've already seen one of my pet peeves-"juried" shows that include lots of commercial vendors.

Dian

I've been in several shows where we had some extra room around the 10'x10' area, and some people have been very clever about erecting awnings or "back room" areas.  This is especially handy for rainy or extremely hot days!  Unfortunately I haven't really paid attention to how they made these areas, and I'd love some suggestions.  I have a Flourish Trimline tent, and know I could just buy the 5' awning, but I'm not sure I really need that or want it.  One lady made sort of a lean-to arrangement behind her tent where she stayed nice and dry while i was squeezed into the back of my tent space.  Does anyone have any clever ideas?  Thanks in advance!

This past weekend did a show called Hermosa Beach Arts and Crafts Festival in Southern Calif.   I was told by friends that it was a good show.   I did the show in the early 90's and it was an true arts and crafts. There were fine art painters, ceramics, metal work and others handmade arts.  Well, now this show has sponsors,  natural juice, milk, bottle tea, satellite tv.  The show had very little handmade arts and crafts and a lot of buy/sell.  What used to be a great show has turned into a not so good swapmeet.  The surprise were all the sponsors and they got the good booth locations.  Artists were there but not that many.   The show was crowded I would say around 100,000 people.  But most seemed to be out there just to go to the beach.  Did not seem to be  that many buyers.  I did ok not great, but with all the sponsors and freebies  I would not return unless they clean up the show    I also drove from out of state.  Cost me over $300.00 in gas alone, and the show was $600.00

I was also approached by another promoter who is looking to fill their show in two weeks, and that show has around 20  sponsors and a carnival.  What are happening to the good old arts and crafts festivals.

Pledge now and you will be entered into drawings for great prizes, too!

You could win a new Kindle with built-in Wi-Fi, a free booth space at any Howard Alan show, a Polaroid Mobile Printer, 3 Expert Website Design Reviews, original art from our artist members, private consulting with Connie, memberships in my ClickMillionaires.com online marketing coaching community, digital imaging from Larry Berman, CDs, subscriptions and memberships, cookies and t-shirts from your favorite art fairs, and more!

Visit our website to see the entire list donated by our generous supporters.

We love the Art Fair community of artists, collectors and organizers and believe you do, too. Please take a minute now to send a friendly birthday wish and a small pledge to celebrate this birthday.

Please pledge here now!
http://www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/pledgedrive.html

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This was the third year for this Howard Alan show which is held on Memorial Day weekend in Hilton Head, SC. The first year it rained both days, the second year it was HOT  & HUMID, this year was also hot, humid & a sprinkling of rain during setup. This show is hidden from the main road & banners of any kind are PROHIBITED.

Even with all those obsticals the people come, and every year the crowds get better.  The show is held in Shelter Cove in a parking lot with a marina full of beautiful boats as a backdrop. Set up is the day before and quite easy, breakdown can be hectic, but was very well controlled by Helayne and Pia. This year the show was smaller than past years, around 85, and I think that is the ideal number for this space. The mix of fine art and fine craft was very well balanced. I spoke with several artists in many different mediums all were either happy or extremely happy with sales. Those of us that have done this show from the beginning have seen our sales improve every year, my sales have increased by 50% every year.

The crowds are a mix of tourists, beaching it for the weekend, and residents which are quite conservative. With that mix of crowd I saw all different types art being purchased from jewelry to large sculpture and these people have deep pockets.

This show definately has a future and is one I will continue to do.