40th Annual Syracuse NY Fine Art and Craft Fair

I was skeptical about this show because of the work "craft" in the title, no offense to craftsmen, but I usually do not do well at shows labeled a "Craft Fair", but seeing this was a very established show of 40 years, I figured I would give it a shot. This show was located in downtown Syracuse, was a 3 day show, took up about 2 city blocks, and coincided with a Wine and Jazz fest a couple blocks down from us. Set-up was Friday morning starting at 6am with the show starting at 10am, it was relatively easy, with the exception of one artist absolutedly refusing to move her cockeyed parked van that got in everyone's way, so some arguments ensued...not a good way to start a show. Booth spaces for the most part were nice, plenty of storage space, but several booths had to be moved because they put them right in front of parking meters or trees, who in their right mind would put a booth in such a spot? That sent up a red flag. I went to check-in, and the information booth was not set-up yet, and I coundn't find anyone working the show...red flag #2. Finally, at 11am, I was able to check-in, but my booth package was not available yet, that came around 3pm delivered by a volunteer. A newsletter was delivered around 10am letting me know I had to take a piece of artwork to be judged for prize money to the artist hospitality room by noon. This was a surprise, and my tent was already hung with my work, so I turned in an extra painting I had, a waste of my time since locals were the ones to win, including a booth that sold t-shirts. There were no booth sitters, but they did have regular bathrooms available for the artists...granted one of the women's restrooms were out of order the whole weekend, which left us with one, so long lines awaited me anytime I did get a chance to go. They did have a complimentary artist cookout Saturday night, wine/beer/pop and burgers and dogs, but no seats or tables, which kinda made people eat and leave...maybe that was the plan. The crowds for Friday were good, steady the whole day which was surprising. The quality of the show was all over the place, there was also another street set-up like a flea market which I felt really cheapened the show. There was a lot of entertainment walking around, bongo drums, guitarists, violinists, which was all good until they setup right in front of your booth...literally...and played for a half-hour. It was distracting for the artists talking to clients, you had to yell in order to be heard. The weather was great for the weekend, partly sunny, slight breeze, 70 degrees, which kept the crowds coming all weekend. My average price in my booth is $1200 for paintings, I got a lot of oooohs and awwwwes, but once the price was looked at, they quickly walked out of my tent. Artists around me were slashing their prices by Saturday afternoon just to make costs. Quite a few booths packed up Saturday night, I don't think anyone had a stellar show. I sold one painting on Sunday afternoon, thank goodness, but that's not enough to bring me back. It rained around 4pm on Sunday, which sent everyone into a frenzy to pack up and get out. Load out was mass chaos, no organization at all...and that could've been easily rectified if they had a plan. There were some artists that know better than to block the only way in/out, but I think they were so angry about bad sales that they were just looking for someone to fight with - that attitude doesn't put money in your pocket. The unorganization of this show was completely uncalled for when you have a 40 years under your belt.