Do you do festivals?

[Former_Member]

We live near a town that has festivals for almost anything - wine, lavender, olives and more. They sell vendor spaces for these festivals - sometimes everything you sell has to be handmade and others not, and you are not required to be selling things in the "theme" of the festival.
My question is whether or not you sell at these type of events and if so, are your tactics different? And if not, could you share your experience that turned you off about attending these type things?
Thanks!

[wavejewelry]

I quit doing themed festivals because so many in my area seemed to be using the artisans to fund their event and to create a festive backdrop rather than to promote the sell of crafts. The only festivals I do now are juried fine art and craft festivals.

[HomeSewnByKate]

I did a local "Apple Harvest" festival that attracts thousands of people. But they aren't there to shop necessarily. Its more of a walk around, see music and eat apples. I am doing a music festival again that was much more suited for me. The people who attend are my target customers.

This year I am adding products geared toward them. My husband and I came up with a bunting banner that has LED string lights in it so the lights shine thru the fabric. They will make great camping decorations. There is always a soap seller so why not sell some washcloths. People need an activity so now I make hacky sacks.

After last year I started thinking what do they need? People will camp out for a week to come here so it makes sense to sell items they need like headbands and sleep masks. And then something really unique and fun like the banners.

[PlaynwithScraps]

I've never done a specialized festival. But I have a friend who makes jewelry who tried some local wine festivals. She said the only thing she sold was a few wine glass markers and people were just interested in partying and not buying.

[TigersandDragons]

Just like any show, I strongly suggest you visit any event before you book it.
It's true that generally the crafts or vendors are the "side show" for any event, so whether it is good (for you) will depend on multiple factors

- Will your target market be there?
- Are your items good fit for the crowd or the event?
- Where is the vending area? Is it tucked far away? Close to main events, where people will be walking?
- Is there time for people to shop? Different parts of the event that they will be walking around to see, and thus have time to stop and shop? Because if there's just one major concert, people will be busy watching that, and no one will be shopping.

I do some music festivals, street fairs, cultural festivals,and town festivals (the big event that town has every year). Some are handcraft only, some have a craft area separate from the commercial vendor area, and some have commercial and craft vendors mixed together.

For pretty much all the ones I do, I either visited the year before I booked/applied to see for myself what the crowds were like (and if they were shopping), where the booths were located, etc. There were a couple that were too far away to visit, but I had multiple crafter friends recommend these shows.

Based on previous threads I know that others will chime in here and tell you to never do events where crafts are not the main attraction. I don't agree with that as a rule. Just like a regular craft show, there are good events and bad ones, some are well organized, some are not. If people are there for a full day or a full weekend, they have the time to look around and shop (if they can find you) What you sell, and how well it fits a specific event plays a big part too.

As for tactics? Making your booth eye catching as possible so people will stop is more important than at a regular craft sale. Banners with your shop name, banners with photos (especially if your work is small).
I also find that I do have to work a little harder talking to people, to get them to look around longer.

As with any show, it's also important to keep in mind whether you can spare the time and money if it doesn't work out - risk management.

[ElunaJewelry]

We did a local festival yesterday, the theme was celebrating the town. It is not an "Arts" festival. But it is juried.

There was a kids zone, a skateboard park, and four music stages. Plus various other attractions.

But yesterday we did sales equivalent to our holiday sales. The reason? Because our target market was there.

Find where your target market is, and go there.

[babydelights1]

One of my best shows is a festival. Like others have said, there is a lot of factors to consider. For me, I've tried a lot of different shows, and for my shop, the trend I have noticed is that most of my sales occur in the fall so I tend to stick to shows in the fall. However, my Etsy sales soar in the spring, so I focus online during that time. Every shop is different, so it will take some time to find what works best for you!

[BohemianHollow]

I'm right there with Tigers! He took the words right outta my fingers. :P

In my area, there's hardly any shows that are strictly artist shows. Nearly all of them are some kind of festival dedicated to something else first; food and wine, beer, music, food alone, etc. So I have hardly any choice in the matter, I gotta do festivals. And yes, most are pretty darn good. Show organizers know to put vendors up close to the main attractions, to make us visible. And people know that there will always be shopping opportunities when they go to such festivals. It works out pretty well around here. Except beer shows. Beer people only shop for beer. Seriously. Don't ever do a beer show around here haha!

[PrairiePrimitives]

Years ago, and back in Indiana, one of my best shows was a festival in a tiny rural town where "downtown" was all of 2 blocks long! The craft booths were on the main drag and there was a huge flea market on an adjoining street. There were kiddie rides, but they were somewhere else, not near the vendors. And food, LOTS of food, including the world's best cinnamon rolls!

[Former_Member]

Thank you everyone for sharing your experience and advice. I'm glad to hear they're worth doing (unless it's a beer festival 🍺!).
Karen

[CoquetteBath]

like Tigers said...be sure your market is there. I don't do 'outside' events so that does limit me. My items are heat sensitive and I have body issues, so I only do inside shows where the focus is on selling and buying.

Not bounce houses. Not music. Not performances, etc.

there are a lot of events around my area this time of year. Nice weather (usually) and I do go to them as an attendee. Honestly, I don't see people buying much. The Main Street Arts Festival in downtown Fort Worth (a few weeks ago) was crowded. There are music stages, and food vendors, but the arts are what they are showing. This is a juried Zapplication show, and the cost to setup is high.

And so are the items. With nothing much under $50 and most of the time at $200 plus, there's virtually nothing I'd consider buying because of the cost.

I do see a lot of people looking but I do not see a lot of people buying. The event is free...so you do see huge crowds of folks. It is crowded and there are trip hazards everywhere. Again, since I have body issues, that's a problem for me.

I can't see how anyone can afford to come back. I do see a few of the same artists every year, including one who makes shadowboxes featuring her clay people that are just amazing (but at $1500 each, not within my price range)...but mostly, nope.

cause even though it is cool, it is also commerce. So, if you do go to an event, chat up a few other sellers and see how many years they've done at the show. Most people won't tell you what they make (and even the answer is it 'good' for you won't help, cause 'good' to one may be 'horrible' to you).

but if they've come back 3+ years chances are they are making money. So that's what I'd look for. Good luck.

[Former_Member]

We do a couple of large apple related outdoor festivals every year. And this year, we were accepted to do an outdoor show on the inlet near Rehoboth Beach. That theme is the sea/nautical. No problemo. We make several varieties of soaps, body butters & sugar scrubs that are apple related, and many of our soaps are sea/beach themed, along with using sea salt in a few products.

If we were to do a beer festival, then we could make some beer soap to cover that. If we wanted to do an art type show, I think we would be covered as many of our soaps have artistic swirls and designs that Cindy comes up with.

[BeachFleaMarket]

Yes, visit the festival first. Tana-consider the Gravenstein Apple Fair in Sebastopol. It's in mid August about 2 hours from you. It was my best show back in the day. I think you will do well there and people come from all over the bay area to shop.

[PrairiePrimitives]

Thanks, Anne! I've heard of that event but not having a place to stay and the cost rules it out for me. Don't even want to think what lodging would cost there.

$250 + 10% for artists. $15 admission for shoppers?!

[Former_Member]

We have a couple of big Apple festivals we do each year, with attendance ranging from 30,000 - 70,000 people. We just did a new festival for us a couple weeks ago, that one was an Art & Seafood festival. We were doing great all day until around 3:00 when a huge thunderstorm moved in, the monsoon started and everyone scattered, lol. But we'll definitely go back again next year because we did extremely well during the hours the sun was out.